“Ryan helped you choose the surgery?”
“He supported my decision.”
“Did he ever tell you that you didn’t need it?”
She paused.
“He wanted me to be happy.”
Her answer troubled me, but she was exhausted, so I stopped questioning her.
The next morning, her doctor discharged her with recovery instructions.
I reserved a nearby hotel room to care for her.
That afternoon, Ryan phoned, and Emily answered on speaker.
“Hey, beautiful. How’d everything go?”
“Okay. Mom’s here.”
He hesitated.
“Oh. Did you tell her?”
“She knows about the surgery.”
“Good. That’s one less thing to worry about.”
I moved closer.
“Ryan, did you know Emily told me she needed emergency heart surgery?”
He fell silent.
“She said she was going to ask you for help.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Look, I didn’t tell her to lie.”
Emily disconnected.
“Mom, please don’t start.”
Later, she showed me Ryan’s texts to demonstrate his support.
