Sure enough, Sheri stood at Joey’s door. She had a little plastic bag with her, and she appeared every bit as surprised to see the guys as they were to see her, if not more. She more or less huddled against the doorframe, her eyes set to pop loose, her whole face and neck a brilliant pink tint.

“Sheri?” Joey couldn’t hide his own astonishment, for he had never expected the girl to come around again, least of all today. At the same time, he couldn’t hide—at least entirely—how glad he was to see her.

“Hi, Joey,” she said, looking and sounding nothing short of mortified.

“What are you doing here?” JC asked the girl again, none too kindly. “What business do you have snooping around this place?”

“I’m sorry,” said Sheri in a small voice. “I…I just came to see Joey. I didn’t realize all of you were here.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve—” JC began, but Joey cut him off.

“Ease off, JC. She’s done nothing wrong.” Then he nodded gently to his friend. “It’s all right, Sheri. Come in.”

Slowly, shakily, she made her way into the room. Joey could see the same butterfly charm on her neck, though her head now sported a bright fuchsia bandanna with a white paisley design. While JC continued to glare at her, the others gaped at her absent leg. Chris went ghostly pale and Justin rubbed his eyes, as if to make sure they were not fooling him. As Sheri ambled closer, Chris and Justin both backed away from her, a little too hastily. Lance stayed put, though his posture was cardboard-stiff.

Only Joey smiled at her and addressed her in a friendly tone. “Hello, Sheri. Didn’t expect to see you again.”

“Oh, yeah,” JC muttered darkly. “We really weren’t expecting someone like you to drop in.”

“I’m very sorry,” Sheri said with her eyes on the floor. “I don’t mean to…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Joey insisted. “Don’t worry about it.” Hoping to lighten the mood, he asked, “What’s in the bag?”

“It’s for you.” She held it out to him cautiously. “Just a little something I put together myself, in hopes of cheering you up. I understand you’ve been going through a rough time." 

“For me?” Surprised and touched at the gesture, Joey didn’t hesitate to accept the bag and peer into it. Inside was a black wool hat; when he lifted it out, he saw a big red J on one side in the fashion of Superman’s insignia. As his fingers traced the design, he asked in an awed whisper, “You actually made this yourself?”

“Yes. I love to knit and crochet, and I figured you could use something like this.”

Now Lance softened, and he said sincerely, “That was sweet of you, Sheri. Very sweet.”

Joey tried the cap on. It was a soft, snug, and perfect fit. Beyond that, the pure, simple fact that the girl would take the time and effort to make something like this for him, especially considering her own situation, truly moved him to pieces. Unable to help the new mist in his eyes, he whispered, “Oh, wow, Sheri…thank you. Thank you so much!”

Lance nodded and added, “You did a nice job, too; I can tell.”

The pink in her face deepened, but all she said was, “You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do.”

JC, on the other hand, wasn’t so moved. “I suppose you think this excuses you from infringing on other people’s privacy,” he told Sheri brusquely. “Thought you could just barge right in on Joey at any old time, did you?”

“JC!”

“No, it’s okay,” said Sheri as she turned to the door once more. “I wasn’t planning on staying long, anyway. Glad you like your present, Joey. Please excuse me.” She took care to avoid everyone’s gazes as she hobbled out of there as fast as she could.

When she was gone, Joey now lay into JC. “Geez, JC, you didn’t need to go that far. I can’t believe how rude you were to her!”

JC shot back, “And I can’t believe that girl would have the gall to mosey in and out of other people’s rooms like it was nobody’s business! She’s lucky we didn’t call security on her. From now on, we’ll need to keep an eye out for her.”

Caught somewhere between anger and bafflement, Joey exclaimed, “For crying out loud, man, she’s not some crazy stalker, or anything!”

“You have no way of knowing that,” JC countered sharply.

“She just came to drop off a simple present. Is that so wrong?”

“That’s not the point! In case you’ve forgotten, this is a hospital, not a social establishment. Everyone here is as entitled to their privacy as everyone else—and that girl had no right to butt in the way she did.”

“Well, if she has to go away, then you go away, too.”

“What?”

“I mean it. Get out.” Joey pointed to the door. “All of you, out. Now.”

Chris and Justin needed no further persuasion. Chris went away first, with Justin close at his heels. JC started to open his mouth furiously, but at a touch and a reproving look from Lance, he sighed, shook his head in obvious disgust, and strode out the door without another word. Before Lance headed out, he glanced at Joey one last time and offered a brief shrug; whether it was a sign of confusion or apology, Joey could not tell.

When Joey was alone, he made a resolution on the spot to find Sheri himself and talk to her. Regardless of what JC or any of the others assumed about her, Joey knew she had been perfectly nice to consider him this way, and he could not forget that look on the poor girl’s face as she was leaving.