A nurse asked me how badly I was hurting.
I had only one question.
I wanted to see him myself.
“Is Daniel okay?”
She smiled.
“His new kidney is working beautifully.”
I cried.
Later that afternoon, after I had gotten up with assistance and shown that I could walk a short distance, stubbornness overcame common sense.
I gripped my IV pole and shuffled there with a nurse beside me, warning me not to overdo it.
Daniel’s room was farther down the hallway.
I wanted to see him myself.
I gripped my IV pole and shuffled there with a nurse beside me, warning me not to overdo it.
His door stood partially open.
Before I stepped inside, I heard a woman laughing.
A slim brunette sat beside Daniel’s bed, leaning over him.
At first, I assumed she was a coworker or perhaps someone from his side of the family whom I had never met.
Then I pushed the door farther open.
A slim brunette sat beside Daniel’s bed, leaning over him.
She kissed him.
Not his cheek.
Daniel kissed her back, smiling like nobody else existed there.
Not his forehead.
His mouth.
Daniel kissed her back, smiling like nobody else existed there.
“Daniel?”
Both of them turned toward me.
“I guess everything is finally out in the open.”
For half a second, the woman looked startled.
Then she smiled.
“What the hell is going on?”
Daniel opened his mouth to answer.
She spoke first.
She looked at Daniel, then back at me.
“I guess everything is finally out in the open.”
My grip tightened around the IV pole.
“Who are you?”
“Jessica.”
She looked at Daniel, then back at me.
For a moment, I honestly believed I must have misunderstood what she meant.
“We’ve been together six months. We were waiting until after you gave him the kidney. Now we can be together without you.”
For a moment, I honestly believed I must have misunderstood what she meant.
“You knew?”
Jessica’s smile weakened slightly.
“Daniel told me everything.”
He barely even looked embarrassed.
I stared at my husband.
He made no attempt to deny it.
He barely even looked embarrassed.
“Daniel?”
He shifted against the pillows.
“He told me your marriage has been over for years. He said you both knew it.”
“Please don’t make a scene. I haven’t been happy for a long time.”
My mouth became dry.
Jessica placed a hand on his arm.
“He told me your marriage has been over for years. He said you both knew it.”
I stared at her.
I could barely stand, yet anger held me upright.
Then I looked at him.
“You told her that?”
Daniel sighed.
“Emotionally, it has been.”
I could barely stand, yet anger held me upright.
