The Ex-Husband of Alice Langley

9

TAYLOR SWIFT
After a couple of weeks, they finally discharged me, sending me home with a list of prescriptions and a strict recovery plan. Most of it involved therapy—speech, cognitive, the works. Paris, of course, is determined to make sure I stick to it. Today is my first session, and she's practically dragging me out the bed.

"You have to do this, Mom," she insists, her voice firm. "If you want to get better, you can't just mope around and ignore it. Doesn't matter how...down you feel."

I sigh, rubbing my temples as the familiar headache pulses. "It's...hard, Paris. Talking...is hard."

"I know, but you're stronger than this. You've handled worse. This is just another challenge."

"I'm tired," I mutter.

She stops and looks at me with a serious expression. "I know you are. But if you want to get better—really better—you have to fight for it. I'm not letting you give up."

I stare at her for a moment, seeing that stubborn determination she got from me. "Fine...okay. But no promises."

"You don't even have to get out of your pajamas. Okay? You can sit on the couch while I do the exercises with you," Paris says, trying to sound upbeat.

I give her a tired shrug. "Are you going to do the flashcards again?"

"I made them more entertaining this time! You'll like it." She grins, pulling out a stack of flashcards from her back pocket.

"Fine, fine." I settle into a chair, and she plops down in front of me, holding up the first card.

"Okay, what cat breed is this?" she asks, pointing to the picture of a fluffy, wide-eyed cat on the card.

I squint at it. "You made cat breed flashcards?"

Paris beams. "Yeah! I thought it'd be more fun."

I raise an eyebrow. "Okay, we can...use the regular ones."

"No!" She laughs, waving the card in the air. "These are better!"

I shake my head with a half-smile. "Fine... let's...do the cats."

Paris flips to the next card, her smile growing wider as she shows me a sleek-looking cat with large ears. "Alright, what about this one? It's easy."

I tilt my head, trying to search for the right word. I can picture it in my head, but the name just won't come. "That's the...uh...the...Egypt...uh Egyptian Mau?"

"Close! Sphinx!" Paris says, nodding encouragingly. It's not even close.

"Sphinx, yeah," I mumble, a little frustrated. "I knew it."

"I know you did," Paris says gently, flipping to the next one. "Okay, how about this one?"

It's a fluffy, long-haired cat with a round face, and I immediately recognize it, but the word just won't come out. I snap my fingers, hoping it'll help jog something. "It's the...uh...Pers...Pers-something?"

"Persian cat! You're right!" Paris says enthusiastically, giving me a proud smile. "See, you're doing great!"

I let out a small sigh of relief. "I'm...better with...cats...than people," I say with a weak laugh.

Paris chuckles. "Hey, we'll get you back to both in no time."

I nod, still feeling the weight of everything. "I just...I don't like...this. Not being me."

"I know. Oh, hey, you'll love this one." She shows me a flashcard of a cat with a round face and large eyes. The distinctive feature is the ears are its folded ears.