Shane made a small noise in the back of his throat. “He’s confused, Hallie. You know that. There’s no understanding the why or how. He just did. He wanted to go out alone on the river. He’s been trying for weeks now. How many times have we intervened?”

“We should have taken the boat out of the water. We should have hidden the key. We should have locked his bedroom door . . .” Hallie listed all the should-haves, and of course there were more.

“I should have checked on the noise in the middle of the night.” Colleen raised her hands in the air. “Me. I should have gone and made sure that it was Hallie looking at the stars. Me. I’m the big should-have in the scenario.”

Dr. Matthews cleared her throat. “This is a tragic situation and when we’re dealing with Alzheimer’s these terrible things happen. There is only so much a family can do to keep their loved one safe. Blaming each other or yourself is not helpful.”

“Yes.” Shane took his dad’s free hand from beneath the blanket, held it in his own. “Now what?”

“We have a few more tests, but . . .”

“You don’t hold great hope.”

“Your dad is surrounded by love and the best medical care possible. There is always hope.”

“Until there isn’t,” Hallie said, dropping her face into her hands.

“Stop it!” Colleen said.

“You’re the one who’s always telling me to look at the truth, Lena. ‘Look at reality, Hallie. Look straight at it,’ you told me. That’s what I’m doing.”

Dr. Matthews took two steps toward the door. “I’ll be back. Meanwhile, I’m sending a social worker to come talk to you. A chaplain if you’d like one.”

“A chaplain?” Shane asked.

“Yes, if you’d like. We have an interdenominational chaplain on-site. He’s quite comforting and . . .”

“No, thank you.” Shane walked with the doctor to the door, where he then said something Colleen couldn’t hear before the door swished shut behind her. The three of them stood alone with their dad.

“We will not leave him alone.” Hallie rolled her shoulders back and exhaled before speaking with more force than usual. “Someone will always be here talking to him until he comes back. Until he wakes up. I can’t bear the thought of him being alone on that water, running out of gas, floating on the waves.”

Colleen sank to a seat. “I won’t leave him.”

“Lena.” Shane came to her side, placed his hand on her shoulder. “You need your wrist X-rayed, and you must get some food. I know you hid it from the doctor, but your suffering won’t wake him up.”

“I will not leave him.”

“Okay . . .” Shane said. “I won’t either.”