I don’t say anything because, frankly, I’m not sure whether this is a good thing or not. It’s kind of ironic, how I trust this man more than most people, yet I don’t know whether I like that he might think the same thing of me. Can you trust someone you don’t care about?

We return to our silent waiting, the faraway beeping of machines and the faint sound of a news broadcast filling the room. Martina’s eyes are closed while her lips are moving softly, as if she’s praying.

“Mrs. Perez?” a Black lady in a white coat says as she walks into the waiting room.

Martina and I both get up. I don’t let go of her hand.

“I’m Dr. N’Diaye,” the lady says, a warm smile on her lips. “You can sit.” She grabs a chair and drags it in front of the seats we were using. We reluctantly sit. Is it bad? If she wants us to sit, is it because we need to brace for bad news?

I straighten my back. I’m here for Martina. She needs someone who will be her rock if she feels like crumbling.

Martina’s mouth opens, but no sound comes out. As if she’s afraid of asking something she doesn’t want the answer to.

“Is he okay?” I ask. A simple question that will hold all the meaning we truly need.

“Yes, he’s okay.”

All the tension leaves my body—and Martina’s—with these two words. I’m not the praying type, but right now the only thing I can think of is, thank God.

“Did he have another stroke?” I ask. Aaron’s mother is still holding onto my hand, but her shaking has already started to subside.

“We don’t think so. Mr. Scott actually had a really high fever when he got here, and according to his labs, he seemed dehydrated, which is likely the cause of his seizure. We’ll still do a CT scan to make sure, but with rehydration and fever medicine, he should be much better.”

“A fever?” Martina asks, eyes in a daze. “But he didn’t even let me know.”

Dr. N’Diaye gives her a sad smile. “We’re still trying to find the cause of his fever. Was anyone sick at home recently?”

Martina takes a moment to think. I haven’t been with them since I got my car back, so I can’t answer for her.

“My daughter had a cold a few days ago. Didn’t think much of it,” she says.

“So this is possibly just a virus,” Dr. N’Diaye says. “We’ll keep him here to run more tests, but this is very reassuring. If you want to see him, I can take you to his room.”

Martina blinks fast.