Amber had left Jimmy, had left all of them, really, after the doctor’s pumped his stomach and announced that he would live. She couldn’t face anyone. She was lost in a sadness that came within minutes of relief. She no longer knew what to do. She could not love him enough to make him happy, and it did something to her. It made her a coward. She walked out of the hospital, drove home, packed some clothes and was gone by the time he was released the next morning.

*a couple of Deciduous sentences