“Tell me you love me,” he whispered. Panicked words fluttered and darted inside her . . . I love you I need you Oh God please stay with me . . . but she had the terrifying premonition that saying it would allow him to let go. As if she would be giving him permission to pass away peacefully instead of fighting for his life. “Later,” she said gently. “When you wake up after the surgery, I’ll tell you.”
