The phrase entered me and stayed there.
Because that was exactly what had happened.
And not only him.
Me too.
Rachel must have seen it on my face.
“Mariela,” she said gently, “the person responsible is the person who gave a child medication not prescribed to her. Do not take ownership of someone else’s crime.”
I nodded.
But guilt does not obey logic.
It sat beside me in the hospital chair all night.
It watched Emma sleep under monitors.
It whispered:
You let Diane make breakfast.
You let Diane give vitamins.
You ignored the naps.
You hated the word calm but did nothing.
At 2:13 in the morning, the toxicology results came back.
Doctor Harris had followed us to the hospital.
He entered with another doctor, a pediatric toxicologist.
Both looked serious.
Not panicked.
Serious.
The medication Diane had given Emma was not a simple vitamin mix-up.
It was a sedative prescribed to Diane.
An adult dose, cut into smaller pieces.
