Melissa relaxed immediately.
But Ryan didn’t.
He stared at the screen with an expression I couldn’t read.
On the drive home, he hardly spoke.
I remember looking out the passenger window and thinking I should ask him again what was wrong.
I didn’t.
Later, I would replay that silence in my head again and again.
For illustrative purposes only
Part 3 — “I Can’t Take Her Home”
Labor was exhausting.
By the final push, I was gripping Nurse Bianca’s hand so tightly that I apologized between contractions.
“One more,” she encouraged me. “You’re almost there.”
I pushed.
And suddenly the room filled with crying.
The baby’s crying.
My niece’s crying.
Relief washed through me so powerfully that I began laughing and crying at the same time.
When the nurse placed her against my chest, I looked toward Ryan.
“Go meet your daughter,” I told him.
