“You are not going into her room tonight,” I said.
“Hannah—”
“No.”
“You cannot decide that.”
“Maybe not.”
A voice came from behind us.
“But Lily can.”
We turned.
A nurse stood there.
“She’s awake.”
Noah covered his mouth.
The nurse smiled.
“She’s asking for her husband and her sister.”
Not her parents.
Mom heard it too.
She looked down.
Dad took her arm.
Without another argument, they turned toward the elevator.
This time, I didn’t stop them.
Lily’s Choice
When Noah and I entered the room, Lily looked impossibly small beneath the white blankets.
She was pale.
Exhausted.
But awake.
Beside her were two bassinets.
Two tiny babies.
Two miracles.
Lily looked at Noah first.
“You cried.”
He laughed through fresh tears.
“A little.”
“Hannah?”
I walked to her bedside and took her hand.
“You scared ten years off my life.”
She smiled weakly.
Then her eyes dropped toward the folded document in my hand.
“He told you.”
“He did.”
Lily looked at Noah.
“You kept your promise.”
“Always.”
She squeezed his fingers.
Then she looked back at me.
“Are you mad?”
“At you?”
She shrugged faintly.
“For not telling.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“I’m mad at a lot of people tonight.”
Her eyes widened.
“But not you.”
“Good.”
“And not Noah.”
She smiled.
“I told you he’d explain it badly.”
