it.”
Her expression stayed pleasant.
“Nobody said anything about signing.”
Daniel shifted his weight.
“Mom.”
She turned to him.
“You do not need to defend me from Elena.”
“I am not.”
“Good.”
She put the napkin beside the tray.
“Then let us keep this simple.”
That was when I understood how she intended to make it difficult. Not by shouting. By making refusal sound impolite.
A volunteer came through the lounge carrying clean blankets. Vivian moved the tray closer to the wall to give her room.
“Do you know,” Vivian said, “the family has been waiting a long time for this?”
I looked at her.
“For what?”
She touched the basket.
“For Leo.”
Daniel’s head lifted.
“Both babies, Mom.”
“Of course. Both.”
She said it quickly enough that the correction stayed hanging between us.
At 3:10, we stood near the elevators. My admission bracelet was loose enough that I
