"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" said Alice in a sob. Heather understood. There were too many "most-likely's" and "probably's" involved to comfort them. Shit, she wanted God Almighty to come down and assure her that Jane was going to be okay.

"And before you two say what's coming next, she doesn't want anyone to change their plans. She wants you," Heather continued, looking at Alice, "to go home and deal with your family." She looked over at Laurie. "And she wants you to keep your promise to visit your folks so you can come visit her," she said with a slight break in her voice, "over Christmas...