picked up the paper.
There were only four lines.
Three babies will ruin my life. Marcus and I are leaving. Do whatever you want.
I read it once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
My brain refused to make the words fit the sister I knew.
The girl who once begged me not to leave her had left three daughters before they were even old enough to understand what leaving meant.
My knees gave out.
I sank onto the floor.
For a long time, I simply sat there.
Then one of the babies began crying.
A nurse lifted her and crouched beside me.
“Would you like to hold her?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know how.”
“You’ll learn.”
Before I could protest, she placed the tiny girl against my chest.
Her entire body felt lighter than the fear inside me.
One little hand slipped free from the blanket.
Her
