"Mom, Fern was incredibly lucky to find a matching donor. If we don't operate tomorrow, someone else might take the kidney. What then?"
My sister-in-law looked like she was about to cry.
"Please, just cancel it. If you don't, you'll regret it. I know you will."
Benedict shook his head. "How could I possibly regret this?"
"Saving my wife's life? I couldn't be happier."
Then he turned to me—I'd been silent this whole time—and his voice softened.
"Honey, you look terrible. Are you feeling okay?"
"Is something wrong?"
Looking at the concern on his face, I felt a tightness in my chest.
"It's nothing."
"I'm just a little scared."
That was the truth.
But it wasn't the surgery I was afraid of.
Benedict smiled gently, his voice impossibly tender.
"Don't be scared. I'm right here."
"Tomorrow, once you're in the operating room, you'll just fall asleep. When you wake up, it'll all be over."
No.
He didn't understand at all.
What that surgery truly meant.
Victoria and Daphne wanted to say something more, but my parents cut them off and hurried them out.
Before leaving, my parents looked back at me.
Their eyes were full of complicated emotions.