“Michael,” David said sharply.
“You told me Friday!”
“Michael, shut up.”
Gloria opened her laptop bag. She took out a stapled stack of papers.
“Your mother revoked her old health care power of attorney yesterday evening,” she said. “At 6:10 p.m. She’s executed a new one naming someone else. She’s also executed a new financial power of attorney, a new health care directive, and a written instruction to this hospital not to release her records to any of you.”
She set the papers on my tray table, next to the roses.
“And,” Gloria said, “your mother had an independent capacity evaluation at eight-thirty this morning.”
She turned to the woman in the white coat.
“This is Dr. Elena Ruiz. Board-certified in geriatric medicine. Twenty-two years. She’s testified in more than a hundred guardianship cases in this county.”
Dr. Ruiz stepped into the room. She had a calm, no-nonsense face.
