Mark stood against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the monitor the way Dr. Reid had asked him to.
The lights in the exam room were already dimmed. The screen mounted high on the opposite wall showed a grainy, clinical image that meant nothing to me. Dr. Reid had invited him in with the same calm tone he used for everything else.
“Just want you to see the positioning,” he’d said. “Makes the follow-up clearer for both of you.”
Mark had nodded, still half-focused on his phone, then set it face-down on the counter when the lights dropped. He looked attentive. Concerned. Exactly like a husband who thought he was being included in something routine.
I was already in the stirrups. The paper gown was open down the front. Dr. Reid had told me to leave it that way “for access.” Now he s
