Behind me came a soft, terrible sound, and I turned to see Wyatt sway and fold and go down beside his brother.

“Kenneth!

Call 911!” I shrieked.

“Mom, help me — help me!”

And then it reached me.

A crushing weight came down on my chest, as though something enormous had been set upon my sternum, and the edges of my sight began to gray and narrow.

I could not pull in a breath.

My legs went out from under me and I came down onto the cold stone, my cheek against the spilled cake, and through the closing tunnel of my vision I reached one trembling hand toward my husband’s expensive shoes.