“Yes,” Henry said. “I know exactly what you mean.”

They sat together in silence while the clock in the room audibly ticked off seconds that stretched into many minutes, until Amala asked, “Are you going to be all right, Henry?” He looked up at her, feeling confused, or perhaps the full meaning of the question was too much to take in. “If the question is too personal or you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. But I still have to ask.”

Henry thought about the question for another minute or more. “Do I have a choice? I have to be all right. The only other choice is . . . what . . . to spend my life in misery . . . become a drunk or a burden to my family?”

“That would never happen; it’s not in you to become that kind of person.”

“I appreciate your faith in me, but I’m not sure I share your confidence. However, thanks to the blessing of marrying Kat, I have a wonderful family. And I have a son who needs me. I have plenty to live for and many reasons to strive to be the kind of man Kat would want me to be. Therefore, I must be all right.”

“And I believe you will be, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.”

Henry looked at Kat’s face. “No, it won’t be easy.” He sighed with all the breath that was in him. “Although I’m well aware that it’s not necessarily more difficult for me than it is for you or your parents. Perhaps Paulina will not be as personally affected, but it’s still very difficult for her.”

“I know we all share a different kind of bond with Kat,” Amala said, “but the relationship between a husband and wife is surely something that makes this more difficult to bear.”

“Maybe,” was all Henry could say. Who was he to judge the level of difficulty from one person’s grief to another? Perhaps he was closer to Kat in many ways, but he’d not known her nearly as long as Amala. And her parents were just that—her parents. Now that he was a father himself, he couldn’t even imagine how this must be for them.

Kat began to stir, and both Henry and Amala leaned closer to her, eager for any interaction they might have during these increasingly rare moments when she was awake. He was glad that Amala understood his desire to stay, and he expressed to her that she should also be there. In spite of their previous schedules of each spending time alone with Kat, her condition had changed dramatically, and it would be absurd to think that Kat might conveniently be conscious at times that might adhere to their schedule.

“Hello, my darling,” Henry said, using his free hand to brush her hair off her forehead so he could kiss her there. “How are you feeling?”