Page 504 of End Game

Dex's.

She writes them down.

“And relationship?”

I hesitate only because there is no efficient word.

“Partners.”

She nods and writes that without reaction. “Okay. Griffin is her legal husband?”

“Yes.”

“If she's unable to make her own decisions, he would be the default person we'd go to unless she has other legal documents specifying something different.”

“I understand.”

I do.

That is the problem.

Not a problem with Griffin.

Not a problem with the nurse.

Not even really a problem with the policy.

A fact.

Griffin does not have to explain himself.

He does not have to be added to the chart as someone Cami permits staff to speak with.

No one asks whether he is important enough to receive information.

The marriage certificate answers those questions before anyone thinks to ask them.

I have been very clear that I do not want the type of primary partnership Griffin and Cami have or Micah and Dex have. I do not want legal enmeshment for the sake of proving love. I do not want a hierarchy imposed simply because conventional relationships come with one.

I still believe all of that.

Feeling the distinction is different from understanding it.

Tonight I rode in the ambulance with her.

I held her hand while a paramedic started an IV.

I answered questions because she could not answer them herself.

And if she had arrived unable to tell the hospital who I was, I would have become a man in a waiting room while Griffin became family with one word.

Husband.

There is no resentment attached to the thought.

Only weight.

The nurse closes the chart and her voice turns to a tone I can tell is meant to be very reassuring. “She's been very clear that she wants all of you included. We'll do what we can within unit policy.”