His voice trembled.
“But I had no right to do it secretly. I’m sorry.”
For the first time, I could see that Daniel truly understood how much he’d frightened me.
“Then what were you whispering every night?”
He closed his eyes.
“I was saying, ‘Please, don’t let it be too late this time.’”
“Why?”
“Because my mother used to say she was fine all the time, too. She avoided going to the doctor for so long that by the time she finally went, her illness was already advanced. After she died, I promised myself that if I ever noticed something was wrong with you, I wouldn’t ignore it.”
For the first time, I understood where my husband’s fear came from.
But I also said something I should have told him a long time ago.
“Daniel, you can love me and worry about me. But you can’t make decisions about my body without asking me.”
