He did not ask me where the wipes were stored or how many milliliters of medicine she needed.

He reached into the top dresser drawer, pulled out the Braun digital ear thermometer, and pressed the power button.

The familiar electronic beep sounded soft in the warm room.

He gently placed the soft blue probe into June’s left ear canal and waited for the reading.

The screen lit up with a clear green light displaying 98.6 degrees.

“Normal,” Ethan whispered, showing me the screen.

He picked up the black ballpoint pen sitting on the dresser and recorded the number in June’s care logbook, right below the twelve o’clock entry.