Metal.
Uneven along one edge.
I closed my fingers around it before I could see what it was.
Gertrude’s grip loosened.
The monitor changed.
One tone stretched into another until the room filled with a single unbroken sound.
A nurse rushed in.
Then another.
Someone guided me away from the bed while calm voices gave instructions I could not follow.
I stood against the wall with both hands clenched at my stomach.
One fist held my phone.
The other held the final thing Gertrude had chosen to give me.
When
