Tony Partly Cloudy (37 page)

Trying to convey to me the actual length of my coma was a challenge for the group surrounding me, who tried explaining that I was now thirty-four, which of course was not helpful. Then one nurse had an inspiration, and ran to get her purse. When she returned with it, she extracted her wallet and shook it, spilling out a lengthy accordion of plastic-encased credit cards and photographs that dangled almost to the floor. Leafing through them, she selected a photo and held it up for me to see.

“This is Megan – my daughter – when she was a newborn, just a couple of days old. This picture was taken around the same time you had your stroke. Do you understand?”

My grunt indicated assent. The tiny infant had the wrinkled misshapen look that can only be found appealing by blood relatives. My aphasia saved me from having to come up an obligatory compliment denoting the beauty of this human-raisin hybrid.

The nurse shuffled through more folds of her extensive collection, saying, “I just got these back from the Fotomat.” Finally locating the desired photo, she leaned over me once again, displaying a new image for my perusal.

“This is Megan now,” the nurse announced.

No grunt from me. This time I managed a full-on scream.

If you enjoyed this sample of Keith Cronin's novel ME AGAIN, you can get the rest of the story here:
http://www.keithcronin.com/writer.html

About the Author

Nick Rollins
is a Miami native who has survived multiple hurricanes, bad dentistry, and male pattern baldness. An author and blogger who also publishes under another name, Nick continues to live in South Florida, where he can keep his friends close, and his enemies closer.

Dedication

To LJ, for never giving up on Tony, or on me. Like the song says, don’t stop believin’.

Acknowledgments

In researching the meteorology aspect of this novel, I was consistently surprised and delighted by the helpful and gracious responses I got from all the meteorologists I contacted. They freely offered me some wonderful insights into this fascinating profession, with an enthusiasm that was both genuine and contagious. Matt Strahan, the Meteorologist In Charge at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Key West, gave generously and repeatedly of his time, sharing some of the quirks (and dangers) faced by the dedicated men and women of his organization. And some of Florida’s top TV meteorologists – including Kate Wentzel, Steve Weagle, Mike McCall, Steve Jerve, Don Noe and Jim Farrell – all shared invaluable insights into how TV meteorology teams operate, from both sides of the camera. In addition, members of the former WxChat online community of professional and amateur meteorologist helped me craft some of the key weather scenarios that occur in the novel, all showing the same level of enthusiasm and helpfulness. I am indebted to them all, and want to give them credit for everything I got right. And for anything I got wrong – either unintentionally or to enhance the story – I happily take the blame.

It takes a village to raise a child - or to write a book. So I offer my heartfelt thanks to A.S. King, Catherine Magee Johansen, Chris Graham, Danielle Younge-Ullman, David Fausel, Dawn Kintigh-Trombo, Dennis Cronin, EJ Knapp, Jackie Kessler, Jael McHenry, Jennifer Gomez, Jessica Keener, Jon Clinch, Karen Dionne, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Linda MacLean, Lynn Sinclair, Maggie Dana, Mark Bastable, Marlys Pearson, Maureen Ogle, Patricia Wood, Sara Gruen, Susan Henderson, Terri Molina, Tish Cohen, and all my friends, family, and members of the Backspace writers’ community who shared your insights, opinions, and reactions during Tony’s long and winding road to publication. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I couldn’t have done it without you.

Copyright

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.

Copyright © 2013 by Nick Rollins.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

Cover design, ebook design and formatting, graphics design and cover photography:
Luna Jade

First edition: October 2013 by Muscovy House.
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