I ran into Samuel in the hospital lobby, and he was holding a bag that looked like it was packed with ointments.

“Where’s Nora?” I asked, skipping any formalities. Calling him “Mr. Cooper” felt too stiff, and “Uncle Samuel”? Yeah, no. He wasn’t much older than me or Nora, so that was a hard pass.

“She’s upstairs getting checked,” Samuel replied, glancing at his watch. “She should be done by now.”

“I’ll go check on ...