“You’re together? You couldn’t spare fifteen minutes?”
“Don’t start an argument.”
She hung up.
It’s just a bell.
They were together. And I was alone.
I thought ringing that bell alone would be the day’s cruelest memory. I had no idea what my family had kept from me.
Sarah, my nurse, found me staring at the elevator.
“Nobody’s coming?”
I shook my head.
You’re healthy.
“Then we’ll find you a better audience.”
Ten minutes later, six doctors and nurses gathered around the bell. Dr. Harris brought daisies.
I rang it three times as everyone applauded.
Dr. Harris smiled. “You earned every ring, Nora.”
Sarah hugged me.
What my family had kept from me?
“Going home?” she asked.
“To Mom’s. Maybe there’s a surprise waiting.”
“I hope so, Nora.”
I reached the hospital entrance.
“Nora! Wait!”
You earned every ring.
Dr. Harris hurried toward me with an envelope.
My stomach dropped. “Something’s wrong with my results?”
