“What? Ma, no.” My mother’s face contracted, her expression suggesting she’d like to put my grandmother’s head in the garbage disposal. “That’s not—”

“If she’s worried about bringing it up, I’ll bring it up. I have the time. You turned out fine,” Mormor said. “Unless you think I was a bad mother.”

“Ma,” my mother groaned. “Don’t. This isn’t about you. If Sara wants to give her baby to a family, that’s her right.”

“But it’s a Larssen baby,” Mormor insisted. “I’d bring it up. If she’s going to give it to a family, her own is just fine unless you know something I don’t know about my parenting. So it’s as much about me as it is about this baby. I’ll raise it.”

Devi looked at me across the table. She had that deer-in-headlights expression that suggested she had no idea what to do in the face of multiple generations of me arguing among themselves. I shrugged because I didn’t know what to do, either. Arguing with Mormor was like wrestling a wolverine. I wasn’t willing to go there, but I didn’t have to, either, because my mom had my back.

“Sorry about this,” I whispered to Devi.

Devi bit into her standard-issue tomato slice drizzled in balsamic. “It’s fine. I just—”

“What do you want to do, Sara?” my grandmother interrupted. “Are you alright with the idea of me bringing it up if you don’t want to?”

It. My kid is an it. I’ve been saying “it,” too. Was that wrong?

Weird.

Weirder: “my kid.”

“You don’t have to answer that,” my mother shot back. “You’re not required to make any decisions yet, Sara.”

“Okay, cool. Yeah. I’d like to think about it more, I think.” Mormor cast me a look like I’d betrayed her, so I immediately followed up with, “You’re awesome, Mormor. If I decide to go adoption, I’d definitely consider it? I...mmm. I don’t know. I don’t want some weird V.C. Andrews situation is all.”

“Isn’t that the one about the kids locked in the attic and the crazy poisoner mom?” Devi helpfully chimed in.

“I’m not locking my kid in the attic, Devi. Or poisoning them.” I frowned at her. She winked at me. How could you stay upset in the face of that? Devi was the best. I was in love with her a little then, and probably still am, which she knew but was kind enough not to make weird.