He lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.
“She can’t stand the idea that parts of me might go to people she doesn’t know.”
I sat beside him.
“She’s losing her son. I don’t think grief has rules.”
“I know.”
“Then maybe she just needs time.”
Mark looked down at his trembling hands.
“She needs someone to be angry at.”
Then he looked at me.
“And I don’t want that person to become you.”
I squeezed his hand.
“You’re asking me to stay out of it.”
“I’m asking you not to make my mother’s grief your responsibility.”
At the time, I thought he was only trying to protect me.
I didn’t realize how much he already understood.
Part 3: The Secret Meetings
As Mark became weaker, he started asking to speak privately with Dr. Rivers.
The first time, I teased him.
“What is this? Some secret husband-doctor conspiracy?”
Mark smiled.
The second time, I didn’t laugh.
I stood near the hospital room door while Dr. Rivers waited outside.
“What are you arranging?”
Mark rested against the pillows.
“Something I need to take care of.”
“Without me?”
“Yes.”
I crossed my arms.
“But it concerns me?”
His mouth curved faintly.
“It’s for you.”
“That makes it worse.”
“I know.”
“Mark.”
“Please trust me.”
“I do trust you.”
“Then let me do this one thing on my own.”
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to remind him that we had spent years deciding everything together, from mortgages to paint colors to whether the dog was technically allowed to sleep on the bed.
But there was something in his expression that stopped me.
So I nodded.
Dr. Rivers went inside.
I remained in the hallway long after the door closed.
I hated not knowing.
But I loved him enough to allow him one final piece of privacy.
Mark died on a rainy Tuesday.
I was holding his hand.
There was no great speech.
No dramatic final moment.
Just the sound of rain against the hospital window and his fingers growing still inside mine.
Afterward, people began asking questions.
The donation team explained what might be medically possible and what might not.
I signed documents.
I answered what I could.
And every time someone asked me whether organ and tissue donation truly reflected Mark’s wishes, I gave the same answer.
“Yes.”
