""Leave the seats,"" Molly said as Diane reached the door.
Diane looked at the cart. ""I brought them. I'll bring them back when Lauren is ready to have a reasonable conversation.""
""The babies can't leave without them,"" I said.
""They're not leaving today.""
She wheeled the cart toward the elevator. Molly went after her, but I called my sister back. I couldn't bear the thought of a shouting match in the hallway while I was still trying to learn whether my three children had eaten.
""Let her go,"" I said.
After Molly shut the door, I stared at the place the cart had stood. Three rectangles of clean floor showed through the scuffed hospital linoleum.
My phone lit up.
Mom says you're making this harder than it has to be, Evan wrote. Please tell them I got there.
My husband missed the birth of our triplets because he was at a hotel with another woman.
THE STORY IN THE FAMILY CHAT
I took a picture of Evan's message before I replied. My hands were shaking, and I didn't want to answer him with something I would later struggle to explain.
*The babies are stable. I need you to tell me exactly where you are.*
The typing dots appeared, vanished, and appeared again.
*At work. I'll be there as soon as I can.*
I called him. It went to voicemail.
Molly found me sitting on the edge of the bed with my feet against the cool floor. She handed me a cup of water and then helped me into the wheelchair the nurse had brought. We went down the hall to see the babies.
Ada had one fist beside her face. June wore a pale yellow cap that made her look remarkably serious. Theo stretched his fingers as if he were trying to catch something in the air. Their nurse, Nina, told me how much each had taken at the last feeding and showed me where the information was written. She said we would go one day at a time.
