“Yes, I just retired from the school district last month, and I have been feeling fine overall,” I replied, forcing a small smile that did not reach my eyes.
She hesitated, then turned her chair to face me directly, and I could see something complicated behind her calm expression.
“I need to ask you something personal, and I want you to answer honestly,” she said gently while removing her glasses and folding them in her hands.
“Have you and your husband maintained a normal intimate relationship over the years?”
Heat rushed to my face immediately, and the question pierced straight through the carefully buried truth I had avoided for nearly two decades.
“No,” I admitted quietly, staring down at my hands. “It has been eighteen years since we were intimate.”
Dr. Bennett nodded slowly, then turned the screen toward me with a serious look in her eyes.
“This is not about that,” she said softly. “I am seeing something that concerns me more.”
I leaned forward, squinting at the black and gray shapes on the ultrasound image that meant nothing to me.