The next time Alex sees Sol, the nurse informs him that Sol is at the doctor’s for tests related to congestive heart failure and emphysema. The nurse compliments Alex on his “special relationship” (226) with Sol. Alex realizes that she is telling him that Sol is getting closer to dying and feels an intense rush of emotion. He has about an hour to wait until Sol comes back, so he goes to get his new gifted guitar from the storage locker.

When Alex reaches for the guitar, he knocks the boxes in the locker over, dropping a bunch of photos on the floor. After an hour, Alex waits for Sol, “trying to process what [he’d] seen in the ‘Judy box’” (228). Sol comes in, looking very sick and struggling to breathe. Sol asks Alex to play some music, and Alex obliges, playing for so long that the nurse has to come in and ask him to leave.

Before going, Alex asks the nurse to explain what is happening to Sol. She describes the “work of breathing” (230), and how much Sol has to do to take each breath. After leaving the hospital, Alex goes to see

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