He closed his eyes.
“You let me marry you,” I said. “You let me have your children. Without telling me who you were!”
The nurse stepped closer. Her voice was gentle but firm.
“Ma’am, please stay calm. Your eyes need—”
“I want to leave,” I said. “Right now!”
“Hannah, please,” Nigel said. He reached for my hand on the blanket.
I pulled it away so hard I hit the bed rail.
“Don’t touch me!”
He pulled his hand back like I’d burned him.
Dr. Osei stepped forward. She looked at Nigel. She said something to him, very quietly. He nodded and stood up and backed away from the bed.
He looked so small, standing by the blue curtain. A tall man, and he looked small.
Within minutes, I was in a wheelchair.
Everything was overwhelming. The lights were so bright. Everything was moving. People’s faces went by in the hallway and I couldn’t make sense of them. Eyes, noses, mouths, all of them strangers. The floor was shiny and it looked like it was moving. A sign on the wall said something in big red letters, and it took me a full five seconds to realize it said EXIT, because I hadn’t read printed letters since I was eight.
