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“I accused him without evidence. I was wrong.”
When the meeting ended, Sophie looked toward Daniel.
“Are you still mad at Dad?”
“Yes,” he answered honestly.
“Are you going to stay mad forever?”
“I don’t know.”
She considered that.
“You tell me science changes when there’s new evidence.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“People are harder than science.”
“But you can try.”
The next MRI showed that the tumor had shrunk significantly. The pressure near Sophie’s visual pathways had decreased, although Dr. Shah warned that treatment was not finished.
“The scan looks better,” she said. “And the hCG is approaching the normal range.”
Eric stared at the monitor.
“How can something that small have done all this?”
“It affected a very sensitive area,” Dr. Shah replied.
I thought of how the test result had done the same thing to our family. A few words on a screen had exposed every crack between us and forced those cracks wider.
Eric withdrew his emergency custody petition. He did not ask me to forgive him. He only asked for permission to keep showing up.
I gave it because Sophie wanted him there.
After the final chemotherapy cycle, we gathered around her bed while a nurse drew one more blood sample. Sophie watched the vial leave the room as though it carried the verdict on her entire future.
The result took four hours.
Dr. Shah arrived just before sunset.
She carried the report against her chest.
Daniel stood. Eric stopped pacing. I felt Sophie’s fingers close around mine.
“Please don’t make us wait,” I said.
Dr. Shah looked at Sophie.
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