« You worry too much. »
I set the photo down and picked up a newer one, from last Christmas. Ed looked thinner in it. I hadn’t noticed at the time.
He had grown distant from our parents that final year. He skipped Easter and canceled a birthday dinner.
When I asked about a doctor’s appointment Lily had mentioned, he smiled.
« Just a checkup, Alice. You worry too much. »
I believed him.
« Ed collapsed. They’re taking him into surgery. »
My phone rang on the counter, sharp against the silence. It was Tuesday now, not Sunday, and I had drifted somewhere between the photos and the present without noticing.
I answered it.
« Alice. » Lily’s voice cracked on my name. « Ed collapsed. They’re taking him into surgery. Please, please come. »
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