Chapter 7 - THE MISSING HUSBAND
The hospital social-work notes were worse.
Day one:
Patient unable to provide reliable history.
Mother present.
States patient separated from husband.
Day two:
Mother requests no spouse contact due alleged emotional abuse.
No supporting order supplied.
Day three:
Attempted verification of spouse contact recommended after patient stabilization.
Day four:
Marlene provided a phone number for me.
Wrong number.
One digit changed.
Exactly enough to fail.
Social worker documented:
Number disconnected.
Marlene states husband changes numbers frequently.
I had kept the same number for twelve years.
Then:
Patient intermittently asks for Ethan and Lily.
Mother reports these references increase agitation and requests staff redirect.
I stopped reading.
Helen took the page.
“You need a minute.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
I stood anyway.
Walked to the window.
Anna had asked for me.
I had been twelve miles away.
Sleeping badly.
Holding five-year-old Lily while she cried for her mother.
And a social worker had called a number that did not belong to me.
“Why didn’t they verify another way?”
“They should have tried more,” Helen said. “But remember the context. Critically ill adult. Mother physically present. Allegation of abuse. Wrong contact information. Systems make decisions from what is available.”
“Could I sue?”
“Maybe.”
“Would that find Anna?”
“No.”
Right.
May you like
Goal first.
Where was my wife now?
