"I think he needs to know," she said. "But maybe not while everybody's looking."
Nora promised she would find a quiet moment. As she rose, she noticed an older woman in a white coat entering the dining room, a cream-colored patient folder tucked against her chest.
Dr. Evelyn Mercer had silver hair, a deliberate walk, and the look of someone who had already had a difficult day and expected it to become more difficult before it ended. Nora knew her by sight; she was one of the hospital's senior neurosurgeons and never lingered over cafeteria coffee.
The doctor stopped when she saw Andre.
Nora knew instantly whom she had come to find.
"Mr. Hayes?" Dr. Mercer said.
Andre rose so abruptly that his chair scraped the floor. Lila caught his sleeve, and he moved one hand to her shoulder as though he could keep them both standing by touching her.
"My wife?"
Dr. Mercer pulled out the opposite chair. "Would you sit with me for a moment?"
There was no terrible announcement in her tone, but there was no false reassurance either. Nora turned to leave, prepared to give the family privacy, until Lila grabbed her hand.
"Can she stay?" the girl asked.
The doctor looked to Andre, who nodded.
"Please," he said. "She's been helping us."
Dr. Mercer sat beside the table and placed the closed folder in front of her. She explained that the surgeons had secured the ruptured aneurysm and controlled the immediate bleeding, but Simone remained critically ill and was being monitored closely in intensive care.
The next several days would matter. Swelling, changes in blood flow, and other complications were possible, and the team could not yet predict what Simone's recovery would look like.
Andre gripped the edge of the table.
"So she's alive?"
"Yes," Dr. Mercer said. "She's alive."
He closed his eyes, and relief crossed his face before uncertainty rushed in to replace it.
"Will she know us?"
"I can't answer that tonight. We'll watch for responses as her condition allows, and we'll keep talking with you about what we see."
Lila glanced from the doctor to her father. "Can Mom hear me?"
"Sometimes people can hear familiar voices even when they can't respond," Dr. Mercer said, taking care with every word. "We don't know what your mother can hear right now. But when it's appropriate for you to visit, we'll help you talk to her."
Andre began asking practical questions in a rush: where his wife would be moved, who would call him overnight, whether he should take Lila home, and what he was supposed to do if he missed a phone call.
Dr. Mercer answered each one. She wrote down the ICU's contact number and explained that a nurse and social worker could help the family plan the next day.
Only when Andre stopped talking did she notice the untouched second plate of food beside him.
"Mr. Hayes," she asked, "when did you last eat?"
He tried to smile. "We're taking care of it."
Lila looked at Nora.
Nora looked back, silently asking permission.
The girl nodded once.