By the time Noel reached Estelle, she'd stopped twitching. He helped her to her feet, then continued to hold her hand. 

​     "You okay?" he asked her.

     There was a sob in Estelle's voice, but still she said, "I'm as good as I'm gonna' be. Let's get this shit over with so we can all go back home."

     "Sounds good." 

     They reached Gramps and Adam. Noel, again, became the most popular guy around. Estelle already had a hand on his arm. Gramps and Adam held his other arm, and they held on tight. 

CONTINUE