The Standing She Did Not Know She Had

He glanced at the door, as though someone important might walk in and catch him being honest.

“I’m not signing anything that places her in the family structure,” he said.

“I can handle things privately.

I can make sure you’re comfortable.”

Comfortable. I was lying in a hospital bed with stitches and a tray of melting ice chips, our daughter asleep on my chest, and he was offering to make me comfortable.

I did not raise my voice, and I watched that surprise him — I saw his jaw tighten.

“You’re choosing them,” I said.