I went to surprise my husband at work.But the moment his colleague saw me, his face went pale.Then his eyes filled with tears."He hasn't told you anything, has he?" Ben and I had been married for eleven years.And for every one of those years, I had shared him with that hospital.He was a gifted surgeon.

I went to surprise my husband at work.But the moment his colleague saw me, his face went pale.Then his eyes filled with tears."He hasn't told you anything, has he?" Ben and I had been married for eleven years.And for every one of those years, I had shared him with that hospital.He was a gifted surgeon.
I was proud of him.
Proud that my husband spent his days helping people.
Proud that he saved lives.
But during the past year, something had changed.
I had started wrapping up his dinner before I even sat down to eat mine.
He missed Thanksgiving.
Our anniversary.
Our daughter's eighth birthday.
Sometimes, he didn't come home at all.
"We're short-staffed, honey. Please don't wait up."
That was always the explanation.
Whenever Ben finally crawled into bed beside me, he looked so exhausted that I swallowed every complaint before it reached my mouth.
Once, I woke during the night and found him sitting on the edge of the mattress.
His shoulders were shaking.
"Ben?"
He quickly wiped his face before turning around.