A Different Kind of Pain

“Will it hurt?”

“Only as much as it hurts now, Mom. Does it -”

“No, no – the drugs are working fine,” a faint smile, but then serious, “but that’s not what I meant. When your grandmother came here I saw something in her eyes – a shadow – a dark one. It was only for a moment, but it was her last. I think about it more and more often. Will it get me too?

Her voice trembled at the end a little but I found myself wondering again how she could sound so … together when she looked like that! Her bod...