One Day in December

Jack survives the accident, but when everyone arrives at the hospital the doctors still need to run tests for brain damage. When he regains consciousness a couple of days later, he is stubborn in his treatment. His situation is frustrating, and Laurie sees that “His streak of independence is generally one of his better qualities, but his refusal to ask for help is borderline dangerous in his condition” (173). To steer the conversation away from his injuries, Laurie talks to him about her new job. In a revealing moment, she tells Jack about a teenage boy who wrote to her about his girlfriend moving away. Laurie tells Jack, “I said that I know how painful it can be letting someone you think you love go, but that I don’t believe that there’s only one person in the world for each of us. It’s too fanciful, too limiting’” (175). In basically describing the situation she was in with Jack, Laurie comes to the conclusion that one must make oneself happy after too much time in sadness.

When Jack is released from the hospital, he becomes belligerent to his family and friends. He has lost the hearing in his right ear, and he had quit his job right before the accident, having shaken hands for a new job but not yet signed the contract.