“I assume a person with power should be careful when making a request that could change another person’s life.”
Melissa locked her screen and left the room.
Later, Grant reviewed their household calendar and calculated what the treatment appointments might mean for daycare pickups.
He was not trying to build a case against his wife.
He wanted to know whether either of them had considered the ordinary logistics of an extraordinary undertaking.
The following Friday, Melissa told him her first consultation had been scheduled for Tuesday morning.
She had already arranged coverage for her shift.
“Will you come with me?” she asked.
Grant studied her face.
“Do you want me there to ask questions, or do you want me there to agree?”
Her silence answered more clearly than words.
He told her he would come if they could both ask questions without punishment afterward.
Melissa nodded, and for one evening the distance between them stopped growing.
Then Charles called her during dinner.
She left the table to answer, and Lily asked why Mommy was talking to the man from work again.
Neither parent had a good answer.
Chapter 4: Questions on Paper
Grant bought a yellow legal pad after the clinic appointment because he did not trust himself to remember every unanswered question.
He divided the page into sections for medical care, childcare, compensation, employment, and privacy.
Melissa looked at the headings and accused him of treating her like a business project.
He said he had no better way to make sure they did not overlook something important.
She suggested that he was trying to build a list of reasons to reject her choice.
Grant tore out the page and offered her the pen.
“Write your questions first,” he said.
Melissa stared at the pad for several seconds.
Then she wrote down what would happen if she needed more time off than planned.
She added a question about whether she could change her mind before treatment began.
A third concerned who would be with her during delivery.
Grant did not comment on the questions.
He simply left enough space for answers.
That weekend, they took the children to the playground while the weather was still mild.
Ben refused to leave the swings, and Noah lost a small toy beneath the slide.
Grant crawled under the equipment to retrieve it while Melissa watched Lily attempt the monkey bars.
From a distance, they looked like any family trying to enjoy a Saturday afternoon.
