Husband Used Daughter as Practice

Synopsis

The fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room cast harsh shadows across my face as I clutched Emma's favorite stuffed rabbit to my chest. Its worn fur was soft against my fingertips—the same fingers that had buttoned her little blue dress this morning, that had brushed her hair from her forehead when she'd complained of stomach pain at breakfast. "It's probably just something she ate," Maverick had said when I called him, his voice distracted by whatever patient had captured his attention that morning. "Give her some Pepto and keep an eye on her." But then the school had called. Emma had collapsed during recess. Now she was somewhere behind those double doors, undergoing emergency surgery at the hospital where her father worked, where he was supposed to be saving lives. I checked my watch for the hundredth time. Three hours. How could it take three hours for appendicitis surgery? The nurse had promised updates, but each time I approached the reception desk, they offered only vague reassurances.