The surprise on his face gave way to relief he didn't even try to hide. Last night he'd been worried I'd make a scene at the hospital and wreck the whole procedure. Now everything was going exactly his way.
Leonard drove me and Naomi to the hospital.
Naomi went off to handle pre-op prep. Leonard stationed himself outside my room.
"I'm going to go change," I told him.
He didn't follow. Why would he? I was cooperating.
I walked with a nurse toward the changing room, and the moment the hallway was crowded enough, I turned and walked the other way.
I rode the elevator down with the crowd and walked out of the inpatient building.
"The airport, please."
The driver hit the gas, and the hospital shrank behind me.
Leonard sat in the room waiting. Minutes stretched. No one came back. Eventually the silence made him uneasy enough to get up and look.
"Where's Constance? She was just changing."
The nurse frowned. "She finished changing and left a while ago."
Cold sweat broke across his body. He searched the entire inpatient wing. I was nowhere.
Call after call after call. I rejected every one. Leonard lost it.
Then his phone rang.