“We broke up a month ago.

He left two weeks after my diagnosis.” Emeka didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing, and pulled the visitor’s chair a little closer, and sat.

A short while later a doctor stepped in and asked to speak with him out in the hall.

Chapter 5 — The Diagnosis

Her name was Dr.

Ngozi, and she spoke in the low, careful voice doctors use when the news is heavy.