I looked at Diane.
“Why?” I said.
“After everything — why would you do that?”
Diane was quiet for a long moment.
“Because I didn’t think you were right for him,” she said.
“And I thought if you struggled long enough, you might leave.”
The words landed without drama.
No raised voice.
No trembling lip.
Just the truth, finally, standing in a courthouse hallway in broad daylight.
I took the letter from Claire’s hand.
I sat in a hard plastic chair outside courtroom four and read the letter twice.
It was exactly what Diane had said.
A specialist’s report.
Nathan’s name.
A set of results.
A recommendation for further testing and a note about options going forward.
Tessa called while I was reading it.
I let it ring.
Nathan sat down beside me.
We didn’t speak for a while.
“Did you know?” I said finally.
“About the letter?
No.
Not until Claire told me three weeks ago.”
“Did you know about the results?”
“I knew there might be something.
I had the test done, and when I never heard back I assumed everything was fine.” He paused.
“I should have followed up.
I didn’t.”
“So we spent two years trying, and then losing, and neither of us had the full picture.”
