“Goodbye Mr. Ross,” said the head nurse, Faith, as she wheeled my dad toward the elevators with Ryan and I in tow. Her relief was evident. “Don’t come back to visit us, now.”

“I can promise you that I won’t,” my dad replied. “This has been the longest six weeks of my life. I’ll be the healthiest man in the world from here on out.”

“From your lips to god’s ears.”

My dad stayed in the hospital for much longer than expected. It would have been a lot shorter, but he refused to comply with half the instructions he’d be given and kept pushing himself too hard, eating the wrong things, and generally being a nightmare patient. Poor Faith was run ragged trying to take care of him.

I visited him every day, usually with Ryan. Our strategy was to acclimate him to seeing us together. It seemed to be working.

“So, dad,” I said casually as we descended down from the eighth floor in the too-quiet elevator, “do you want to come to my show tonight? I’m playing Stubbs.”

Rebecca had me playing a lot of local venues over the next couple of months. She said it was ‘tour practice’, although I hadn’t even begun recording my first album yet. At this point though, I was just happy to play. Every show I played felt like a step forward.

“Rosie’s a part of her first sold-out show tonight,” Ryan added. “It’s a New Year’s Eve show, and Rosie’s playing the midnight set. That’s the best one.” He was looking at me with a mixture of pride, affection, and attraction that didn’t seem like it would ever get old. I reached for his hand and he held it.

“That’s lovely,” my dad said. His voice was sarcastic, but I could deal with it. He was trying. I didn’t expect him to suddenly embrace my vision for my life. I’d settle for him tolerating it, and he seemed to be doing that.

“So, do you want to come?” I asked. “You can sit in the VIP area where you’ll be more comfortable.”

“Actually,” Faith chimed in, “Mr. Ross needs to spend the rest of the day resting. I don’t think he’ll be ready for outings this week. Especially at night. He’s still very weak.”

“Bullshit,” my dad replied. “I’m as healthy as a horse.” He looked up at me belligerently. “I’ll be at your show, Rosie. Front row. Dancing.”

I looked over at Faith, but she merely winked at me as we walked through the lobby and I realized what had just transpired. She’d reverse psychology’d him into coming to my show. I smiled back at her. She was a master of perception and smooth manipulation, which I guess was a necessity in her line of work. The only thing she didn’t seem to grasp was that my dad’s young, handsome doctor, Dr. Carter, had an enormous crush on her.

“Thank you,” I mouthed. I was really going to miss Faith. She was like a crazy-person whisperer. I’d learned more than a few good tricks from her. They were even working on my mom.

“Ok,” she said, pushing us through the automatic doors and perching my dad’s chair on the sidewalk. “You’re free Mr. Ross.”

“Finally,” he groused, standing up and glaring at Faith who smiled serenely back at him. “I’m ready for things to go back to normal.”

Ryan and I exchanged a glance. While he’d been out sick, my dad’s firm had decided it was time for him to retire. In fact, they were making a number of changes, including investing heavily in Rebecca’s new venture, Bat City Records. When they found out that my dad had fired Ryan, they made him a counteroffer: senior partner. He agreed to stay on, but only if he no longer reported to my dad, and only if he could continue to support Rebecca. But all of that could wait.

“Normal?” I asked, sliding into the passenger seat of the Bat City Records car that now carried me around wherever I wanted to go. I’d lost my apartment, met the man of my dreams, lost my virginity, got my big break, signed a record deal, dealt with a sick parent, reunited with an estranged parent, quit the university, signed a record deal, and started writing an album all in the past two months. “What’s that?”