Nora paused.
“Mrs. Brooks, I’m very sorry. Lily was admitted to our end-of-life care unit three weeks ago. Her condition has worsened over the last two days. She was lucid for a short period this afternoon and asked me to call you. She had your number saved as ‘Mom, Emergency.’ I think you need to come as soon as possible.”
Three weeks.
Those words hit harder than anything else.
Not hospice.
Not end-of-life.
Not come quickly.
Three weeks.
My daughter had been dying in Alaska for twenty-one days, and I was only learning about it from a stranger.
“Where is her husband?” I demanded. “Where is Colin?”
Another pause.
This one was worse.
“Mr. Mercer filled out her admission paperwork,” Nora said quietly. “He listed himself as unavailable because of urgent international business travel. He has not visited since.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Not once?”
“No, ma’am.”
The little storage room seemed to tilt. The smell of cardboard, alcohol wipes, and disinfectant turned suddenly unbearable.
