I honestly thought she was in shock.
I pulled my chair closer to her bed.
“We don’t have to know how to do everything today,” I said. “We’ll figure it out together. One day at a time.”
She shook her head.
“No, Arthur. I can’t.”
“You’re frightened. So am I.”
She turned toward the window.
“You’re not listening to me. I can’t do this.”
For the rest of that afternoon, she refused to hold Leo.
I did Leo’s bottle feeding and changing while she barely acknowledged us.
I told myself she was having a hard time coming to terms with the diagnosis.
I was, too, but I had to step up as she had just been through labor and childbirth.
I hoped she would soon realize we were in this together and we would always support each other.
That night, I woke in the chair beside her bed and saw her standing over his bassinet.