The drive back to Saint Louis was supposed to take three days, but we knew we could cram it into two. We drove for upwards of twelve hours the first day and stayed at a hotel that Emma's parents specifically placed closest to the best ER the way back had to offer. It was in Oklahoma City which, except for an apparently amazing cowboy museum, didn't have much.
We stayed in the hotel and I spent most of my night in a restless sleep. I should have been tired, but every time Emma so much as twitched I was forced alert.
The morning was spent in slight melancholy as she packed up her things from the trip for the last time. I tried to think of a way to spin this in a positive way, but I couldn't. Our trip got cut short, Emma didn't cross everything off of her list, and I started school the day after we got back.
We drove back in silence. Nothing was said, but a million things were thought. To speak them into existence would be pointless.