Sometimes it was simply the question someone chose not to ask.
My surgery was scheduled for three weeks later.
The fibroid was large enough that my surgeon, Dr. Patel, recommended an abdominal procedure rather than a less invasive route.
She was direct without being frightening.
“We expect this to be benign,” she said. “But the size is contributing to your symptoms, so removing it is reasonable.”
Daniel attended only because I invited him.
The distinction mattered.
He sat beside Nora in the consultation room and took no notes.
I knew how difficult that must have been.
Once, Dr. Patel mentioned an approximate measurement.
Daniel’s right hand twitched toward his pocket.
Where he would normally keep his phone.
He stopped himself.
I saw it.
So did he.
On the drive home, I asked Nora to take a different route.
Daniel was in the back seat.
“Why?” Nora asked.
“I want to stop somewhere.”
