“Did they find Mommy?”
“They found her.”
“Is she coming?”
“Yes.”
The answer changed the girl’s entire posture.
Not dramatically. She did not cheer or burst into tears.
She simply leaned back against the chair for the first time since she had arrived.
Minutes later, the sound of an incoming ambulance carried through the emergency department.
The girl stood so quickly that the unopened sandwich slid from her lap.
A nurse caught it before it hit the floor.
“Is that her?”
Nobody wanted to promise something they could not yet confirm.
Then the paramedic who had borrowed the key appeared at the far end of the hall.
He was walking now instead of running.
The girl recognized him immediately.
Her eyes dropped to his hand.
He understood what she was looking for.
The paramedic reached into a secure pocket and took out the small house key on its piece of string.
