Fueled with enough foam cups of coffee to power a small nation, I stayed awake the entire night at the hospital. Deep vein thrombosis, the doctors had told Charlotte. Blood clot. She would have to stay in the hospital for at least a week, and Nicole and I were happy to keep her company from our permanent spots on the couch that had been shoved into her room by one of the nurses.

Happy. Such a relative term. My mind reeled the entire night with everything that had happened. With ...