Chapter 19 - THE LINE
My mother moved closer.
“Nora, whatever happened between us, Hannah is innocent.”
“I know.”
“She’s six.”
“I know.”
“Then please.”
I looked at her.
“Do not use a sick child to climb over a boundary you created.”
She recoiled.
My father said:
“We don’t have time for this.”
That sentence almost made my decision for me.
Almost.
Then I looked at the photograph again.
Hannah had Leo’s eyes.
Which meant, unfairly, that she also had eyes that resembled mine.
Six years old.
Cancer.
None of this hers.
“I need time.”
My mother shook her head.
“We may not have weeks.”
“Then you should not waste today arguing with me.”
I pointed toward the parish office.
“Leave your hospital information with the secretary.”
Then:
“If I choose to contact the transplant center, I will contact them.”
My mother tried touching my arm.
May you like
I stepped away.
“Do not touch me.”
