fingertips. “No one is asking you to decide anything today.”
That was not what the signature line said.
I picked up the next page instead. It contained another block of formal language and a blank space beneath it. My blue hospital blanket had slipped toward the floor, and I pulled it back with my free hand.
“What does this page do?”
“It puts the family on the same page.”
“Which family?”
Vivian looked toward Leo’s bassinet.
“The Sterlings.”
I waited for her to answer the question I had actually asked, but she only straightened the papers into one neat stack.
“Vivian, I am not signing anything.”
“You do not have to sign it this minute.”
“Then why did you bring it here?”
She looked at Luna, who had fallen quiet.
“Because after all the trouble about access, I thought a practical arrangement might help.”
A nurse passing the open doorway
glanced in and then continued down the hall. Vivian watched her go.
“I have never asked you to leave the babies alone,” she said.
“You have asked for access to my house.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
Vivian did not answer. She turned one page back and tapped a paragraph with her fingernail.
“I can take Leo downstairs for a little while. Karen is waiting. She has not even met him properly.”
I set the feeding cloth on the tray.
“Karen can meet him here.”
“She is downstairs.”
“Then she can come upstairs.”
Vivian’s hand remained on the folder.
“Elena, you have two babies now. You cannot make every family member come to you.”
“I am recovering from surgery.”
“You need rest.”
“Then let me rest.”
Vivian looked toward the bassinet again. Her expression stayed composed, but she did not move the folder away.
“Just Leo,” she said. “Twenty minutes.”
“No.”
She stood and moved closer to the bassinet.
I pressed the nurse call button.
“Do not make this difficult.”
“I am asking you to leave before anyone has to make this official.”
Vivian stopped with one hand near the bassinet rail. She looked at me as if I had changed the subject.
“I am not leaving my grandson’s room.”
“Then I will ask someone else to ask you.”
She returned to the chair and sat down.
“Daniel will be embarrassed by this.”
“He can be embarrassed.”
Vivian folded the top page over the others.
“You have made him choose between his mother and his wife before.”
“Not today.”
The room became very quiet except for Luna’s small movements under the blanket. Vivian picked up the folder.
“You should think about what happens when you need help.”
“I will ask for help when I need it.”
She stood again.
“Then
I will speak to Karen myself.”
She walked toward the door with the blue folder tucked under her arm.
“Leave the folder.”
Vivian stopped.
“I think you should keep it.”
“I do not want it.”
“Then you may regret not reading it.”
She placed it back on the tray and walked into the hallway.
I watched her go without calling her back.
A minute later, the nurse returned and checked Luna’s blanket before looking at me.
“Do you want the room secured?”
I looked at the blue folder, still open on the tray.
“Yes.”
The nurse nodded.
“I will make the request now.”
She stepped into the hallway and spoke quietly to someone I could not see.
I heard Mike’s name.
The nurse came back.
“Mike is checking the visitor record.”
“Thank you.”
She touched the folder.
“Do you want this put away?”
“No. Leave it there.”
She gave me
