She also did not look at me as if I were incapable.

“Who is your support person?” she asked.

I thought of my grandmother’s old friend Miriam, who lived in Charlotte, and my former colleague Priya, who had offered me a room while I restarted my career.

I thought of Nathaniel too, because whatever our marriage had become, these were his children as well.

“I need to tell their father,” I said.

That night I wrote him a letter.

I told him about the appointment, the three heartbeats, and my address for the next several weeks.

I told him I wasn’t asking him to take me back.

I hoped he would want to know his children.

I sent it certified mail to the family firm’s executive office, where he received personal correspondence.

A week later, the tracking record showed a signature.

No reply came.

I called twice and left messages with his assistant.

The first time she sounded uncomfortable.