Vivien replied that she understood.
When Joanne was finally admitted, Melissa was exhausted and pale but able to speak briefly.
Joanne sat beside her and held her hand.
She did not mention the argument at Sunday dinner.
She did not mention Grant or Charles.
She asked what Melissa needed in that moment.
“Stay,” Melissa whispered.
Joanne stayed.
Hours passed while staff monitored Melissa’s recovery.
Joanne answered practical questions, called the childcare contact Melissa had listed, and made sure Grant received the information he needed about the children.
She discovered that several adults had been calling the hospital asking for updates.
The staff declined to share information without appropriate authorization.
Joanne thanked them because she had begun to understand how easily other people’s curiosity could overwhelm a patient.
Near dawn, Vivien visited the doorway and asked whether Melissa was resting.
Joanne said she was.
Vivien looked as though she wanted to say much more.
Instead, she said she was sorry that the day had been so frightening.
Joanne replied that an apology could wait until her daughter was safely home.
Vivien nodded and stepped away.
Joanne watched the corridor become quiet again.
She had spent years fearing that Grant might be too rigid with Melissa.
Now she feared that Charles had been too skilled at making every objection sound unreasonable.
She kept that thought to herself until Melissa was ready to hear it.
Chapter 20: The Waiting Room
Vivien spent the first hours after delivery in a waiting room decorated with generic photographs of flowering trees.
She held a paper cup of tea that grew cold before she remembered to drink it.
A nurse had told her the baby was receiving careful attention, but Melissa still needed medical care.
Vivien kept picturing the months of appointments and the messages in which Melissa had said she was tired.
She wondered whether she had responded with enough concern.
Charles returned from the hallway and said he had arranged for a family announcement to go out the next morning.
Vivien asked whether he had spoken to Melissa’s mother.
He said he had not because Joanne seemed upset.
Vivien said upset was a reasonable thing to be when a daughter was ill.
Charles told her that everyone was frightened and suggested she rest.
She stood instead.
“Why did you ask our communications team to prepare a statement before we knew Melissa was safe?” she demanded.
Charles said the announcement was only a contingency.
Vivien asked him to cancel it.
