She’d grasped that she wanted to see her husband strong, healthy, and energetic at all costs; she wanted to see his victorious smile and not despair. She could not stand him crying on her shoulder, thinking of himself as a loser. Because he wasn’t. He was a strong, passionate, loving man, but Anne had to realize that even this man had his weak moments. The tragedy could not have been avoided. Even this man, the love of her life, could not be strong and dauntless enough to triumph over the elements and protect their child at that terrible moment.
Anne wiped her face and brushed away her tears. She went back to the hospital room. She sat down next to Tesumi, gazed at the girl’s face, and thought about all the things she had understood in the past few minutes.
“I’ll be off now. Get some res
