I locked my wife in the pantry under the stairs

the knowledge that lying would make me my mother’s son all over again.

The doctors finally come out near noon.

Emily is stable.

The baby is still there.

The doctor says the words carefully, but they are the only mercy I can hear.

Still there.

I cry then. Not loudly. Not beautifully. I bend forward in the plastic chair and sob into my hands.

Dad puts one continue reading …