"I haven't said anything yet."
"Daniel," She leaned forward. "You know how this looks, right? A 34-year-old orderly marries an 82-year-old woman with no family. People are going to say things. Ugly things. Management will ask questions."
"I know."
"Please tell me you said no."
"Do you? Because if this gets out, your career here, or anywhere in this field, is over."
"She's dying, Sarah. And she's alone. She asked me for one thing."
"She could've asked you for a hundred things that aren't this."
"But that is what she asked for," I insisted.
Sarah studied me for a long moment.
"You're going to say yes, aren't you?"
"She's dying, Sarah."
"I don't know if what I have to lose matters more than what she has to lose," I confessed.
My friend sighed. "That's the problem with you, Daniel. You never think you have anything worth protecting."
***
I went back to Gloria's room that afternoon. She was propped up, reading a paperback, and she smiled the second she saw me.
"You returned sooner than I expected."
"I have my answer."
She set the book down.
"That's the problem with you."
"I want to do it," I said.
Gloria's eyes filled, but she blinked hard and refused to let a single tear fall.
"Then yes?" she whispered.
"Yes."
