I looked at the nurse.
“Can you stay until he gets here?”
“I can.”
She pulled the chair closer to my bed.
“You did the right thing calling.”
I did not answer. Leo made a small sound and turned his head, and I adjusted the blanket beneath his chin.
Down the hall, a man’s voice carried through the closed door.
“My mother is a visitor. She is not being held here.”
A staff member answered, but I could not make out the words.
The nurse looked toward the door.
“That will be Daniel.”
He arrived at 3:05 carrying both infant car seats, one in each hand. He stopped when he saw my face, then looked at Leo.
“Is he all right?”
“Yes.”
Daniel set the car seats against the wall.
“Where is Vivian?”
“Outside.”
He turned toward the hallway.
I said his name once.
He stopped.
“She needs to
leave,” I said.
“I know.”
He took one step toward the door.
“Daniel.”
He turned back.
“Let the hospital handle it.”
His mouth tightened.
“I should have stopped her.”
“You can help me by staying here.”
He came to the side of the bed and looked down at Leo.
“Did she hurt him?”
“No.”
“Did she try to take him?”
“Yes.”
He rubbed his wedding ring with his thumb.
“I should have stopped her before she ever got this far.”
I looked at the two car seats against the wall.
“You thought she was asking for family access.”
“I thought she wanted to help.”
“She brought papers.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What papers?”
I pointed toward the blue folder on the counter.
He picked it up but did not open it.
“The same folder?”
“Yes.”
He lowered it.
“What did she want you to sign?”
“I did not sign anything.”
He looked toward the hallway again.
“I need to talk to her.”
“No.”
“Elena, she took our son.”
“I know.”
“I cannot just sit here.”
“You can sit here while the hospital deals with her.”
He stood beside the bed, holding the folder against his chest.
“She is my mother.”
“And Leo is your son.”
He looked down at him.
Then he set the folder on the counter.
A nurse came in with a fresh blanket and asked Daniel to keep the hallway clear.
He moved the car seats closer to the wall.
“I’ll stay.”
At 3:20, the room was quieter, but the door remained open only a few inches. Staff passed outside without stopping, and Daniel kept looking at that narrow opening.
I told him what Vivian had placed on the tray table, how she had held the folder when I reached for it, and how she had
