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“What’s the matter?” she repeated, looking again at Jude, who was still sitting like a statue. “What’s thematter? What about… the tumor?”

The doctor’s frown deepened. “I don’t understand. You’re here this morning, so you received the messages and the letter we sent you?” He addressed the question to Jude.

Eve waited a few seconds for Jude to respond, but he still didn’t. He was frozen in some kind of stunned trance. “We saw the letter where you confirmed the diagnosis and recommended treatment because he wasn’t following up with appointments. Were there other messages? Another letter?”

“Yes. Yes, there were. We’ve tried repeatedly to contact him ever since we recognized the mistake.” The man’s face had paled, and his mustache was vibrating very slightly. He was obviously confused and upset by their shock.

“There was a mistake?” she rasped, leaning forward and trying to focus on what was happening here. It felt like the room—the whole world—was spinning around her. Then she whirled around to stare at Jude as one piece of the puzzle snapped into place. “There were messages and a letter?” Her voice rose as indignation swelled inside her. She gave Jude’s arm a little swat.

“I didn’t listen to them!” he burst out, her outrage finally breaking him out of the daze. “I tore up the letter. I assumed it was the same old thing.”

“My God,” the doctor breathed, his eyes wide. “So you really don’t know?”

“Don’t knowwhat?” Eve leaned forward, gripping the back edge of the desk in front of her. “We don’t know what? Please.” She sucked in another ragged breath and added in a very small voice. “Please?”

“I’m so sorry to put you both through this, but we believed we cleared up the mistake last month.” He turned toward Jude. “The MRI imaging of your brain was mistakenly merged with your mother’s record. It was an egregious employee error, and the person responsible has since been let go. But because of that mistake, your mother’s information was used to diagnose you. Ican’t imagine how you’re feeling right now, but Mr. Gregory, you never had a brain tumor.”

The words seemed to echo in the small office.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, staring blindly at the empty air in front of her face. “It’s just likeThe Blue Castle.”

Yes. That was her immediate reaction. To compare the dramatic, life-changing news to an old book.

The doctor blinked at her but then shrugged off her random comment. “We understand how unacceptable this mistake is. Our legal team is prepared to meet with you immediately following our appointment today—or later if you’d prefer to contact a lawyer. We understand how much stress and hardship the confusion must have caused you, and we’d like to make it right.”

“Wait a minute,” Eve said, reaching over to grip Jude’s hand. His was motionless. Far too cold. “Wait a minute first. Please go over it very clearly so I know I’m understanding this correctly. You’re saying that Jude never had a brain tumor?”

“No. He never did. We managed to find his original scan, and it was clear. The one he had yesterday is equally clear. There’s no tumor and no sign of any damage or injury.”

She was shaking. She couldn’t stop. “Then what about the terrible headaches? He’s had them regularly, and one was so bad it took him five days to get over.”

“I believe they’re migraines. They can often be debilitating and have no clear cause. Once we’ve dealt with the other issues, we can put together a plan to treat them.”

Eve looked at Jude, but he still hadn’t reacted. He wasn’t even moving. “So he’s… he’s not going to die?”

“Not anytime soon from a brain tumor. Migraines are a challenging diagnosis because it’s often difficult to find an effective treatment plan, but they aren’t life-threatening. There’snothing else in his scans or his lab work that would indicate anything more serious.”

Eve burst into tears. There was no way she could hold it back.

She recovered quickly, sniffing and wiping away tears. Then she leaned over toward Jude, turning his face toward her. “Did you get all that, Jude?” she asked softly.

He blinked at her, his first reaction since the doctor told them about the mistake.

Then it was like a dam burst. He started to shudder. He gripped the armrests of his chair. Then he suddenly buckled, leaning over toward his lap, his shoulders shaking helplessly.

Eve whimpered and rubbed his back, momentarily forgetting that the doctor was even present.

Finally he straightened up again and turned toward her. “I’m not going to die?” he rasped.

It was a miracle. It was nothing short of a miracle. There could be absolutely no other explanation for this soul-shaking transformation of circumstances.

She gave Jude a wobbly smile. “No. You’re not going to die.”

16

Both Judeand Eve were quiet on the drive back home.

Jude’s mind couldn’t catch up to such a dramatic reversal, so there was no possibility of his voice functioning properly. Eve appeared in a similar state. She’d offered to drive, which he’d been thankful for, but she kept darting little looks over at him from behind the steering wheel. She didn’t say anything.

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