it as if we’re an item, a permanent item. We’re not.
“Sandra.” The nurse who fetched us from our seating area in the corridor touches Sandra’s arm.
“If you want to leave the little one with Carol, we can go and see Liza, okay?”
“Okay,” Sandra says with a deep breath in. “Is it time?”
“It is time, lovely, yes.”
“Okay.”
Sandra hands the baby to Carol, who beams down at him, and we follow the nurse out of the room.
Cassie comes with us as we walk to another door, much farther down the corridor.
Outside the door, a doctor approaches and speaks to Sandra. “We will turn off life support, and from then it will take only minutes for Liza to pass. She’s fully brain dead, which means without the life support she can’t breathe on her own.”
“Will she suffer?” Sandra asks.
“No, we’ve given her pain medication to ensure she isn’t suffering. We don’t think she’s aware, at least not in the sense we think of it.”
“Okay.”
Sandra breathes in and out deeply through her mouth, and then she gives a firm nod as if galvanizing herself.
“Do you want to be alone, or do you want us to come with you?” Cassie asks.
“I think I’d like to do this alone,” Sandra says. “But I’d appreciate it if you’d wait outside.”
I’m so thankful she doesn’t want me in there. I’m such a wuss. I’ve had men’s brains blown out right next to me, but what you can handle in the fog and adrenaline of war is very different to this. This is cold … sterile. Purposeful.
I sit on one of the hard, plastic chairs, Cassie next to me, and we wait. She doesn’t talk to me, and I’m grateful because I don’t have a lot to say right now. After what seems like hours but is probably fifteen minutes, Sandra comes out of the room. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her cheeks are blotchy.
“She’s gone,” she says simply.
“I’m so sorry.” Cassie goes to her, hugging her.
How can Cassie be so generous? This woman’s daughter would have had Cassie killed for nothing more than catching my eye.
This is what goodness looks like.
I don’t think I’ve ever truly seen it before.
When they are done hugging and talking, I approach. “Would you like us to take you somewhere, Sandra? Or do you have a friend you’d like us to call?”
“My sister is coming to pick me up in about an hour. She’s going to meet Archie, that’s what I want to call him, after Liza’s grandad.”
“Ah, that’s lovely,” Cassie says.
“Thank you both so much for being here. I will get the paternity test set up and call you when it is organized,” Sandra says.
“Call me before then if you need anything at all.”
“When do you get to take Archie home?” Cassie asks.
“They say in a few days. They need to monitor him, make sure he’s okay, then we can bring him home.”
“Good, he needs to be with his family. Take care of yourself, Sandra.” Cassie gives her another quick hug and then we leave her in the corridor and walk back to where Andrius and Bohdan are sitting. There are about ten female nurses at the small ward desk, and when we got here there were none. They’re all looking in Andrius and Bohdan’s direction and whispering.
Bohdan glances at us, beyond us to the desk, flashes the nurses a grin, and turns back to us. “Ready?”
God, he’s smug at times. I give a curt nod, and we all leave. The ride down in the elevator is silent, and once we hit the outside, I realize that Cassie will need to go with my men because I’ve got a meeting with Margaret this afternoon.
“I’ll see you back at the house after my meeting,” I say to the three of them. I turn on my heel and head to my car.
The meeting with Margaret runs smoothly, as always. I’ve basically put her in charge for the next few weeks and told her I’ve got a lot going on in other areas of business. She knows exactly what it means without asking or prying in a way which might compromise her.
I say hi to some of the staff as I make my way out of the building after the meeting.
“Mr. Silvanov? Mr. Silvanov.” A voice arrests me in my progress, and I pause to turn around. Claudette, the tea lady, is standing by the door of the kitchen and she grins at me. “I wanted to say thank you,” she says.