I knew what I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her what I’d been telling the rest of the world. I wanted to lie. I wanted to say I was fine and that everything was okay, but for some odd reason, my lips parted, my voice cracked, and I said, “No.” No. That felt good to say. No, I wasn’t okay. No, I wasn’t going to be okay. No, nothing was getting better. No.
