“Don’t try to move too much, Mr. Tulliver. You’ve had major surgery.” The nurse easily held Herb’s shoulder to the bed. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“What happened?”

“You had a massive heart attack. Your heart stopped twice during surgery. The doctor had to put in a stent and do a double bypass.” Herb winced as a stab of pain poked his chest. He lifted the sheets to spy a purple scar stitched down his sternum.

“You’re going to be sore for a while. We have you on morphine and will wean you off slowly. You are moving to a private room today.” The nurse began unplugging machines and wrapping cords up on the bed.

His private room was green. He turned off the flourescent lights with a button on the remote and asked for the blinds to be drawn. “Of course, Mr. Tulliver, you must rest.” The nurse finished plugging in machines and drawing the blinds, leaving before he could ask her to hand him the TV remote.

When he’d asked her what happened, he hadn’t meant what happened to him.