“Dr. Patel called me earlier.”
Melissa looked up.
“He said Hope’s case appears mild. She’ll likely need surgery during her first months and follow-up therapy. But she’s been given an excellent chance of living a full, active life.”
Melissa closed her eyes and held Hope tighter.
Across the room, Ryan covered his face and sobbed.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Eventually Melissa looked at him.
Her expression wasn’t soft.
But it wasn’t empty either.
“I need time,” she said.
Ryan nodded.
“I know.”
“I can understand panic.”
Another nod.
“I can understand fear.”
She looked down at Hope.
“What I cannot live with is silence like this again.”
Ryan lifted his head.
Melissa held his gaze.
“If we stay a family, then we face things as a family. You lose a job, you tell me. You’re afraid, you tell me. We’re broke, you tell me.”
