Chapter 1 - The Hospital in the Rain
I sat in my car, staring through the windshield as the cold rain washed over the large glass doors of the medical center.
The velvet ring box felt like a heavy stone in my pocket.
Amelia was waiting for me at an upscale restaurant with crystal chandeliers and a string quartet.
But I could not take my eyes off the building where my ex-wife had just disappeared.
Three children.
Three years.
The math was a jagged pill stuck in my throat.
I turned off the engine.
My phone buzzed again with another impatient message from Amelia, but I ignored it.
I stepped out into the freezing downpour and crossed the busy street.
The sliding doors of the hospital hissed open, welcoming me into a sterile lobby that smelled of bleach and quiet desperation.
I walked straight to the reception desk.
A tired nurse looked up from her glowing computer monitor.
I asked if a woman named Grace had just checked in with three small children.
The nurse asked for Grace's last name.
I gave her my last name, the name Grace used when we were happily married.
The nurse typed for a moment and then shook her head.
She said there was no one in the system under that name.
My heart sank as I realized Grace had completely erased me from her life.
I desperately described the three little kids in the matching red raincoats.
The nurse’s expression softened with immediate recognition.
She pointed a finger toward the pediatric oncology wing down the hall.
She told me the little boy had a scheduled appointment for his chemotherapy.
The word hit me like a physical blow to the chest.
I walked down the long white corridor, my legs suddenly feeling like lead.
I turned the corner and saw Grace standing outside a glass observation room.
She was pressing her forehead against the glass, crying silently into her hands.
May you like
I looked through the window and saw the little boy with my eyes sitting on an examination table.
His small head was completely bald.
