Hadn’t she also managed to live with Peg and Ray bringing them amazing luck? So why not Greg? They might end up enjoying the best marriage in the world, with her being the perfect wife who didn’t fight back or fly off the handle.

No children though. She’d make up something if the discussion arose. Over the years, she’d become good at lying or bending the truth as a matter of self-preservation.

Was she really thinking this now? The idea frightened and excited her and the more she thought about it, the more she began to believe she deserved it all and she could control it all. Love will do that to you. She only discovered later, love can also break your heart, but her life had been filled with harsh lessons. What was one more?

When she said her I do to Greg, it was a small ceremony on a beach on a tropical island destination that someone at her work had recommended. “It’s like Bali,” they’d said, “but quieter and with fewer tourists.” Peg and Ray were there. They insisted, even though Nem told them they were eloping.

Peg insisted. “Sweetheart, you brought us incredible joy and luck over the years. Everything changed when you entered our lives. So, flying off to an island destination for a few days to see your daughter married, does not require much thought. We’ll take off after the ceremony so we don’t invade your honeymoon.”

The day was perfect.

Their honeymoon was perfect.

The first three months of their marriage was perfect.

Until the day when it wasn’t. The day she’d hoped wouldn’t come but deep in her heart knew had always been on its way. You can wish away destiny, but, like the song says, hoping and dreaming just won’t get the job done.

When she looked back on that wretched day and the weeks that followed, she came to think this heartbreak was her punishment for everything she’d done. All the lives she’d taken accidentally and those taken not so accidentally.

She thought she had it all under control. Maybe when she first discovered her pregnancy she was too thrilled and that pushed all caution from her mind. Greg was beside himself with concern because of the stupid lie she’d told him. Not wanting to discuss her reasons for not having children, she’d told him her chances of becoming pregnant were hopeless to none. After researching an illness and deciding on Endometriosis, she told him the scarring of her uterus was so bad, doctors had told her conceiving was next to impossible.

She’d showed him an article explaining in detail that women who experienced scarring of their reproductive system had low prospects of pregnancy. Greg had scanned the page, kissed her on the forehead and said, “I don’t care. If I have you, that’s all I need. You’re my princess Leia and I’m your Hans Solo.”

“But I think they had children,” Nem said, proud she’d paid attention in the reboot film Greg made her watch.