Chapter 4 - THE PAPERS ON MY BED
The documents Linda threw beside me were not discharge papers.
They were the bridge-loan authorization forms.
She had brought them from the wedding reception.
Daniel recognized the lender’s logo despite the hospital staff blurring and moving the pages away from my medical equipment.
“You brought financial papers into her recovery room?” he asked.
Linda lifted her chin.
“You were supposed to sign them hours ago.”
“My wife nearly died.”
“And she is alive. Megan only gets one wedding.”
Daniel picked up the documents and looked at the payment schedule. The monthly obligation exceeded the income generated by the trust. If the loan defaulted, the lender could force the sale of the Charleston townhouse and pursue additional trust assets.
“Did Megan understand this?”
“She signed.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Linda’s expression hardened.
“She understands family duty.”
Nurse Kelly stepped between the papers and the IV stand.
“This conversation is over. The patient needs medical care and rest.”
Linda tried changing her tone.
She said she was a worried mother who had entered the room at the worst possible moment. She claimed she only reached toward me because she thought I was exaggerating my pain.
Daniel looked at her hand.
“You were trying to prove she was lying.”
“I lost my temper.”
“You reached toward a fresh surgical wound.”
“I did not touch her.”
“Because I stopped you.”
Hospital security arrived moments later.
Before they escorted her from the floor, Linda turned toward Daniel.
“If you do this to me tonight, do not call yourself my son.”
May you like
Daniel stood beside my bed.
“If being your son requires letting you hurt my wife, then you are the one who changed what that word means.”
