"You need to hang something there," he said, pointing to the wall where Melissa Etheridge had once hung. "It's too big of a bare spot." Well, I used t... have a poster there, but it was one Alicia gave me, so I took it down. All of the stuff that brought back memories of her is now buried in the closet." Smart move." So," I said, changing the subject, "we have a couple of hours before dinner. How about I show you campus?"Allen gave a non-committal shrug, which I decided to take as a yes. I locked. My baby girl was perceptive, no doubt about it. Perceptive, but wrong.I pushed my chair back from the table and stood up slowly. Their eyes followed my ascent, but I kept mine on Tink's face. The dull ache in my chest and stomach were growing all out of proportion. I'd lived with pain and suffering on a scale no one could imagine, lived with death as my only companion, my dearest friend and closest confidant. But Tink's words pained me in a way that those other feelings never had. And in the. “Well,” Naomi said, “I’m on shift tonight and the Sleep Lab is like Fort Knox! Off limits except to staff who are assigned there, behind locked doors, and the rooms are sound-isolated from the rest of the hospital, so I can’t help!”“I don’t think anyone can,” I chuckled.“You’re going home on Saturday morning, right?”“Yes. My kids would not understand if Dad wasn’t home for Christmas. I’ll be back in February, and will do as you asked.”“What was THAT?” Mary asked.Naomi laughed softly, “Not. Meagan was a gorgeous 8th grader who returned home from school on what appeared to be an ordinary day. There was about a month left in the semester, but the the buzz of excitement emanating from the students eager to be out on summer break was nothing compared to what Meagan was about to see. Meagan knew that when Debbie, her mother, didn't great her it meant she was painting. She walked into her mother's studio, but her greeting died on her lips.Directly in front of her was a fantastically.