Chapter 11 - The Woman in the Lobby
"Please don't tell her where I am," I said.
The nurse nodded. "We won't." She asked a colleague to alert hospital security and returned to my bedside without making a show of it.
Through the half-open door I heard Linda's voice: "I'm family. My son is in there."
Daniel rose. "I'll handle it."
"Don't promise to handle something by handing her what she wants," I said.
He flinched. Then he went into the hall. I heard him tell his mother to go home. At first his voice was careful and soothing. Linda grew louder. She accused me of poisoning him against her and announced that she'd brought clothes for the baby, as if gifts could move my due date.
A security officer asked her to leave the patient area. Linda demanded his name. He gave it and repeated the request. Eventually the lobby doors slid shut behind her.
Daniel came back pale. "She said she'd call the whole family."
"She can call anybody she likes," Mara said. "She can't make Emily invite her in."
After the examination, a hospital social worker named Erin spoke with me privately. She asked whether I felt safe going home and whether anyone had threatened me or interfered with my care. I told her about the chair and the way the people around me kept trying to rename it a misunderstanding.
Erin listened. Then she showed me how to keep a clear record and discuss a safety plan with the care team. She didn't make promises about what a court or agency might do. That honesty helped more than another speech about family.
We left after dark. Daniel didn't ask me to return to our house. Instead he handed me a folder containing copies of my missing documents. "Mom gave these back."
I turned the pages. One was still missing: the handwritten letter I'd tucked behind my insurance card, addressed to our daughter in case something happened to me.
May you like
"Where is my letter?" I asked.
Daniel swallowed. "Mom said she kept it because you sounded like you were planning to leave us."
