Through the partly open door, I heard her say:
“Nobody moves either infant until we verify everything.”
Either infant.
Caleb heard it too.
He slowly sat beside me.
“There’s another baby.”
I couldn’t answer.
Ten minutes later, Denise returned with a hospital administrator.
“There was another baby girl in the assessment area,” she explained. “She was born shortly after your daughter.”
“Where is she?” Caleb asked.
“With her parents.”
“Do they know?”
“We are speaking with them now.”
I looked at the infant sleeping against my chest.
“And the identification bands?”
“The band on this baby matches your records.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
Denise paused.
“No. It doesn’t.”
The administrator began explaining transfer logs and verification procedures, but I barely heard him.
“Bring the other parents here.”
“We need their consent before—”
The door opened.
A woman wearing a hospital gown sat in a wheelchair while her husband stood behind her holding another bundled baby.
