“I thought she was trying to make sure the family had a plan.”
“Which family?”
He looked at me.
“Elena.”
“No. Which family?”
He rubbed his ring again.
“The Sterling family.”
There it was.
I pulled the chair away from the table and sat.
“Does her plan require my signature?”
“I do not know.”
“Then find out.”
He stood.
“I can ask her to leave the papers here.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am not signing anything while I am recovering.”
He was quiet.
I straightened the forms on the table into one exact stack.
“Not today. Not tomorrow. Not because your mother thinks refusing would be rude.”
Daniel nodded once.
“I should have asked her what she brought before she came upstairs.”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the door.
“Do you want me to tell her to leave?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know what she thinks she is entitled to ask for.”
Before he could answer, there was a knock.
Vivian opened the door without waiting.
She carried the blue folder under one arm.
“I thought we could talk like adults.”
She placed the folder on the table.
I did not
touch it.
“About what?”
She looked at Daniel first.
“About what happens after the babies arrive.”
Then she looked at me.
“You should not have to handle all of this alone.”
I rested my hand beside the folder.
“Concern does not require my signature.”
Vivian smiled at Daniel.
Not at me.
Daniel had one hand on the car seat buckle when the nurse came in with the morning checklist.
“Only the approved visitors,” I said. “Please.”
The nurse glanced at Daniel, then back at me. “We have that noted.”
Daniel picked up his phone from the counter. “I will make sure.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“I know.”
He looked at the two empty car seats waiting near the door. One had a folded blanket tucked inside it. The other held a package of newborn diapers that had slipped sideways during the night.
