The recording ended.
No one moved.
Nora opened her eyes.
They were gray, like Claire’s.
Henry turned his face away, but not before Mason saw the tears.
Mason did not offer an empty reassurance. He simply stepped closer and rested one hand on Nora’s blanket.
“She’ll know,” he said.
Henry looked at him.
“We’ll tell her.”
The word we remained between them.
Mason seemed to realize he had said it, but he did not correct himself.
They spent the next several hours in a small hotel near the river.
Henry arranged a separate room for Mason, though the boy refused new clothes and declined three times when Henry offered to replace his worn sneakers.
He did accept a phone charger.
“This isn’t a gift,” Mason said. “Mine stopped working.”
“Understood.”
“And I’m paying you back.”
“It cost twelve francs.”
“I’ll pay you back twelve francs.”
Henry made a note on his phone.
Mason looked alarmed. “What are you doing?”
“Recording the debt.”
“You’re serious?”
“No.”
Mason stared at him for a second, then laughed.
Later, he accompanied Henry to Nora’s appointment with the pediatric specialist.
The clinic overlooked the lake, where sunlight had begun breaking through the clouds. Henry sat stiffly while the doctor examined Nora, listening to her heart and checking her reflexes.
“She is developing well,” the doctor said. “Her early breathing difficulty appears to have resolved.”
Henry did not relax.
“What about the sound she makes while sleeping?”
