He says that a doctor just called from Brooklyn. Nic is in a hospital emergency room after an overdose. “He is in critical condition and on life support.” I have been waiting for this telephone call, and yet it is no easier for having previewed it so often. I hang up and tell Karen. “Will he be all right?” “I don’t know.” I begin praying, pleading with a god I have never believed in. “God, don’t let him die. Please don’t let him die.”
