Chương 7
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“You keep wanting me to tell you that what happened makes sense.”
“I want you to admit you pushed me.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And you were the one who walked out the door.”
Ryan’s face went pale.
For the first time since arriving at the hospital, he had no answer.
Daniel came downstairs shortly after midnight to buy coffee that was unlikely to improve anyone’s life.
He saw Evelyn alone.
Ryan was outside near the parking garage entrance, visible through the glass, speaking on his phone.
Daniel considered turning around.
Evelyn noticed him first.
“Daniel.”
He stopped.
She stood.
“How is Claire?”
“Alive.”
“I know that.”
“Then you know enough.”
Her face tightened.
“I deserve that.”
“I’m not interested in what you deserve.”
“I want to see her.”
“No.”
“I want to apologize.”
“Then want it quietly.”
Evelyn flinched.
Daniel immediately hated the satisfaction he felt.
He walked toward the vending machines.
Behind him, Evelyn said, “I told him she was manipulating him.”
Daniel stopped.
He turned slowly.
Evelyn held the dead corsage in both hands.
“I told Ryan not to let Claire make my birthday about herself.”
Daniel said nothing.
“I didn’t know she was bleeding.”
“That supposed to help?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Evelyn looked toward the parking lot.
“I spent years telling myself Claire was pulling my son away.”
Daniel’s laugh held no humor.
“He’s forty.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
She looked at him.
“I do tonight.”
Daniel bought coffee.
The machine dispensed something brown and overheated.
He took one sip and grimaced.
Evelyn almost smiled.
“Still terrible?”
“Hospital coffee is proof nobody actually wants families to stay overnight.”
The sentence escaped before Daniel could stop it.
For one strange second, they were two tired adults sharing an ordinary complaint.
Then Ryan came back inside.
His eyes moved from his mother to Daniel.
“What did she tell you?”
Daniel took another sip.
“That your coffee preferences are inherited.”
“Don’t screw with me.”
Daniel’s face went flat.
“I’m not in the mood to screw with you.”
“Did Claire send you down here?”
“No.”
“When can I see her?”
“When she wants you to.”
“She’s my wife.”
Daniel looked at him for several seconds.
“Maybe stop using that sentence like it’s a key.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“I need to explain.”
“To me?”
“To her.”
Daniel shook his head.
“What explanation makes leaving her on the floor okay?”
“You weren’t there.”
“No.”
“I thought she was exaggerating.”
“Why?”
Ryan opened his mouth.
Nothing came.
Daniel waited.
Evelyn looked at her son too.
Ryan finally said, “Because she’s done it before.”
“Done what?”
“Made things bigger than they are.”
Daniel’s voice remained calm.
“Give me an example.”
Ryan looked irritated.
“This isn’t a deposition.”
“Give me one.”
“She called me out of work once because she thought she smelled gas.”
“There was a gas leak.”
Ryan blinked.
Daniel remembered Claire telling him about it months ago.
A faulty connector behind the stove had required an emergency repair.
Ryan looked toward Evelyn.
She said nothing.
“What else?” Daniel asked.
“She made me leave a client dinner because she was sick.”
“She had influenza.”
“You don’t know every detail of our marriage.”
“No.”
Daniel set the coffee on a nearby table.
“But I’m beginning to suspect you don’t either.”
Ryan’s face reddened.
The elevator opened before he could answer.
Nora stepped out.
She spotted the three of them and walked over.
“Mr. Hayes?”
Ryan straightened.
“Yes.”
“Claire has asked to speak with you.”
Relief crossed his face so quickly it almost looked like joy.
Daniel saw it and, against his will, felt a flicker of pity.
Then Nora continued.
“She wants her brother present.”
The relief vanished.
Ryan looked at Daniel.
“Fine.”
Nora shook her head.
“There’s one more condition.”
Ryan waited.
“She said your mother does not come upstairs.”
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
Ryan looked as if he might argue.
Then he saw the security officer watching.
“Fine.”
Daniel picked up his coffee.
Nora led them toward the elevator.
Inside, Ryan stood on one side and Daniel on the other.
Neither spoke.
The doors opened on the fourth floor.
Claire had asked for the meeting because lying in bed waiting for Ryan to become someone else suddenly felt more exhausting than seeing who he actually was.
When he entered the room, she barely recognized the confidence she had once mistaken for safety.
He looked tired.
His tie was gone.
His shirt collar was open.
There was a red stain near his wrist.
Wine, she guessed.
That detail settled something inside her.
Ryan stopped near the foot of the bed.
“Claire.”
She looked at Daniel.
“Close the door.”
Daniel did.
Ryan took one step closer.
“I’m sorry.”
Claire watched him.
He waited for her to react.
She did not.
“I should’ve taken you.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t understand how serious it was.”
“I told you.”
“I know.”
“I begged you.”
His eyes dropped.
“I know.”
Claire’s hand tightened around the blanket.
Ryan moved toward the chair.
“Can I sit?”
“No.”
He stopped.
Daniel remained beside the window.
Claire could feel his anger from across the room, but he stayed silent.
Ryan rubbed his palms together.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
Claire looked at the man she had shared a bed with for four years.
“A mistake is forgetting the car seat.”
“I know.”
“A mistake is going to the wrong hospital.”
“Claire—”
“You looked at me on my knees and left.”
Ryan swallowed.
“I thought you were trying to make me choose.”
“Between what?”
He did not answer.
“Me and your mother?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“It was exactly like that.”
Ryan’s eyes filled, surprising her.
“I want to see Madeline.”
Claire’s chest tightened at the sound of their daughter’s name in his mouth.
“Why?”
He stared at her.
“What do you mean, why?”
“I want to know.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“That’s not an answer.”
His face changed.
“She’s my baby.”
May you like
“You left her too.”
Ryan stepped back as if Claire had struck him.
