She shook her head.

“I’m handling it,” she mouthed.

I stepped back.

Afterward she told me, “I know you want to help.

Sometimes when you take over too fast, it feels like the hospital again, when everyone was deciding things while I lay there.”

I apologized.

We agreed to split the calls by asking each other first rather than assuming.

Ruth found a folder with pockets for medical statements, insurance notices and appointment information.