Melissa pushed herself up on her elbows to get one more glimpse. Was this the last time she would see him? “Wait, where are you taking him?”

“It’s okay,” the doctor said. “Lie back down.”

Melissa looked at the woman. All she could see was her eyes, but that was enough because there was something in them, a kindness that came through.

“You’re doing a good thing, Melissa.”

Melissa lay back and tried to relax. Was the doctor telling her the truth or just trying to calm her?

“Once we’re finished here,” the doctor said, “you’ll be taken to your room, where you can rest and recover. You can call anyone you’d like and tell them you’ve had a healthy baby boy.”

“I need to call . . . his father.”

The doctor nodded. “We notified the adoption agency while you were in labor. Someone should be here soon.”

Melissa looked at the door. “Can I hold him again?”

The doctor stood and pushed the stool into the corner. She took off her gloves and tossed them in the trash and came around the bed and took off her mask. She placed a hand on Melissa’s arm. “You did so well, Melissa.”

“Even when I yelled at you?”

The doctor smiled. “Believe me, I’ve heard a lot worse. At this point, I usually tell my patients that the hard part is over. But that’s not true for you. You know that, right?”

Tears came to Melissa’s eyes and she nodded.

“A lot is swirling inside you now. Your motherly instinct is kicking in. You want to protect and provide for your son.”

Melissa closed her eyes.

“You’re doing that. The decision you made, however long ago you made it, was a good one. So when the person comes from the adoption agency, they’ll ask you to sign the papers.”

“I don’t think I can. I don’t want to. I just want to hold him.”

A nurse rushed into the room. “Doctor, the patient in 212. She’s close.”

The woman smiled at Melissa and patted her arm, then hurried out the door. The nurse wheeled Melissa’s bed down the hall, past the nursery, and Melissa lifted her head trying to catch a glimpse of her son.

Passing the open doors, she saw mothers breastfeeding and families gathering to see the newborn children. Maybe she could wait to sign the papers. Maybe just a day with her son would be enough to help ease some of the doubt.