The hospital doors opened again, and a nurse called for someone by the wrong first name. Karen smiled at the mistake, then looked back at us.
“Elena, if Mom asks me to do something strange, I’ll call
you.”
That was the first promise anyone had made me that day without attaching a condition to it.
By two o’clock, I was in the preadmission office with Daniel beside me, answering questions about medications, allergies, and emergency contacts. He carried the hospital bag in one hand and kept checking that the car seats were still in the Buick.
The clerk slid another form across the desk.
“Just this one.”
I signed where she pointed.
Daniel leaned over the bag. “I packed the blue blanket.”
