Patricia closed the calendar with a soft snap and tucked it back into her bag.
“We must pray for her recovery,” she whispered, her fingers returning to her silver rosary. “And for her cooperation. The family name cannot be dragged into this.”
Daniel nodded, his face hardening as he turned back toward my bay.
He was carrying a small paper cup of machine coffee when he stepped back through the curtain. He did not offer it to me. He set it down on my bedside table, right next to the small plastic washbasin.
“Your mother is here,” I said.
“She is worried about the girls,” Daniel said, his voice flat and cold. “And she is worried about how this looks. You have the staff here looking at us like we are criminals, Elena.”
He walked over to the small window that looked out onto the parking lot, his back to me.
“If you could keep the house in order, we wouldn’t have to explain ourselves to strangers,” he said.
The words were quiet, but they cut deeper than any physical blow.
“I try,” I whispered.
“Well, try harder,” he said, turning to face me. He tapped his gold watch face with his index finger. “This whole morning has been a disaster. I had to cancel my eight o’clock meeting with the city planning board because you couldn’t manage to walk down a set of steps. You are embarrassing the family in front of the staff, Elena.”
I rolled my wedding band around my finger, keeping my eyes fixed on the blue cotton of my hospital gown.
“I didn’t mean to fall,” I whispered.
“That doesn’t change the fact that we are here,” he said. “Patricia is with the girls now, but she cannot stay all day. We need to get you out of here.”
A few minutes later, an orderly in green scrubs pushed a wheelchair through the blue curtain.
“Time for your scans, ma’am,” he said, his voice kind.
Daniel immediately stepped forward, his hand clamping down on my shoulder.
“I will take her,” Daniel said to the young man. “I can wheel her down myself.”
“Only staff and patients in the imaging area, sir,” the orderly said gently. “But you can walk with us to the waiting area.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened, but he nodded, his face smoothing out into his professional developer smile.
