I looked at Layla and she said, while stretching her hands out to Sam, “Doggie.”

We all kind of laughed and I said, “Yes, baby, yes. Doggie.”

Sam said, “Praise the Lord!”

We were all just speechless after that.

Sam called to Beth and as she entered the room Sam asked if he could kiss Layla on the cheek. As Maggie passed Layla to Sam, he kissed her sweetly on her cheek and said, “Thank you, child. You are my angel.”

We quietly left the room and walked down the hall.

There were no words.

Maggie and I were holding hands while we silently walked down the hall that led to the hospital exit. Layla was sitting in the crook of Maggie’s right arm. We were all silent, connected. We both knew that what had just happened with Sam was big, really big, and just as I was about to speak Maggie said, “Let’s go home, Jim.”

“Yeah, baby, let’s go home,” I said.

That’s all we said and, as we walked out into the parking lot, a light rain began to fall. There was a sweet fragrance of magnolias blooming, a humid softness in the air.