“Of course,” Daniel said. “I just want to make sure my wife is taken care of.”
The orderly helped me into the wheelchair, my side aching with every movement, and began to push me out into the hall. Patricia was still sitting on one of the vinyl chairs near the drinking fountain, her silver rosary beads dangling from her fingers. She did not look up as we went by.
Daniel walked beside the wheelchair, his hand resting on the back of my seat, his presence a heavy weight. We turned a corner into the X-ray waiting area, a quiet corridor lined with plastic chairs and lit by the pale blue glow of a computer screen.
The orderly stopped the wheelchair near a row of empty chairs.
“The technician will be right with you, ma’am,” he said, before walking back down the hall to fetch a file.
Daniel stood over me, his shadow falling across my face, blocking out the light from the ceiling vents. He leaned down, his voice a low, tight whisper that barely carried to my ears.
“This is what happens when you let things slide, Elena,” he said, his face inches from mine. “Your inability to manage the house is the real reason we are in this position. If you had just done what you were supposed to do, we wouldn’t be here.”
I felt the deep humiliation of his words, a cold weight in my chest that made it hard to breathe. I had to agree, I had to nod, because I knew what would happen if I didn’t.
“I know,” I whispered.
“Good,” he said, straightening up and tapping his watch face again. “Just remember that when the doctor starts asking more questions. We are going home today, and we are going to put this behind us.”
The double doors of the imaging room opened, and a technician in blue scrubs stepped out with a clipboard.
I looked down at my hands, unable to meet the eyes of the orderly who came to wheel me down the corridor.
The X-ray room smelled of cold plastic and rubbing alcohol. The technician, a young woman with a small gold hoop in her nose, slid a heavy, cold metal plate under my shoulder.
“Take a deep breath in,” she said, stepping behind her lead shield. “And hold it.”
The machine gave a low, heavy hum that vibrated through my teeth. I let the air out slowly, my ribs catching on the sharp edge of the breath.
