Was she meeting someone? Selling the information about his house? His old mistrust came rushing back.
One Thursday, he could not hold back his curiosity any longer. When Sarah left early, he slipped into his car and followed her at a safe distance.
She drove an old car that rattled and coughed smoke. She parked outside City General Hospital and hurried inside.
James parked far away, then followed on foot. He stayed behind pillars and waited in the shadows.
He found her in the pediatric oncology ward. Through the glass window, he saw Sarah sitting beside a small bed.
A 7-year-old boy lay there with tubes in his arms and a thin blanket over his legs.
His head was bald from medicine. The boy smiled weakly when Sarah kissed his forehead.
She held his hand and talked to him softly about school and dinosaurs and how soon he would be strong enough to run again.
James stood frozen. He watched as Sarah pulled out a small toy car from her bag and gave it to the boy.
The boy laughed a tiny laugh. A nurse came by and spoke quietly to Sarah.
James could not hear the words, but he saw Sarah nod and wipe her eyes quickly so the boy would not see.
Later, James spoke to a kind nurse in the hallway. She told him the boy’s name was Ethan.
He had leukemia. His father had died years ago in a terrible accident at a building site.
Sarah worked long hours to pay what insurance did not cover, but the bills kept growing.
She never complained. She never asked for help. She just kept coming every Tuesday and Thursday after her cleaning job to sit with her son.
James walked back to his car feeling something he had not felt in a very long time.
His chest hurt, not from anger, from something softer and heavier. For three years, this woman had passed every test he threw at her.
