She sighs. “Fine. It’s not so simple for me anymore. Imagine how nerve-wracking it would be to start with someone new, only to tell him I come with a disclaimer? Then, if I like him, hoping that he’ll be okay with it. Then, feeling bad about it, even if he is. Every chance after is tipped against me, tainted, over this one thing, over unfair expectations. For families. For pregnant bellies and labor stories, and oh, he’s got your dimple, or oh, she’s got your hair color mutation. Ugh. Putting myself out there again would make me feel like a day-old cupcake, sitting on the clearance rack, hoping someone would pity me and take me home. Do I put sans uterus on my dating profile underneath cat lover and board game enthusiast? Do I talk about it on the first date? Wait until the third? Spring my childlessness on him after we have sex or before? How do I bring it up? Would broaching the subject be a red flag for a guy? Would not bringing it up be deceptive? What would it even sound like… Oh, by the way, before you get any long-term ideas, not that you would—no pressure—you should know that this girl doesn’t come with a uterus. Would you want to have that conversation with someone you’re dating? That would turn Grouchy Grady off in a second, wouldn’t it?”

“No, it wouldn’t. Honesty and openness should never be a turn-off. You tell him when you’re ready. Not before. However you choose to say it, when you choose to say it, it’ll be exactly right. Don’t swear off dating out of fear—you have a rule against that. Remember?”

She smiles lightly. “Yes, but it’s not only fear, Grady.” She takes a breath, eyes shifting away from me in a gentle roll. “Funny thing is, I was never sure I wanted kids. When Ashe or Cora talked about it, I thought if it happened, great. If it didn’t, great. I would’ve done it for them, but not for me. I never had much of a childhood and wasn’t keen on reliving it by caring for someone else. I should’ve been upfront about it with Ashe from the start. Even so, my self-worth never centered around future motherhood; it’s a shame that my worth to them did.”

She holds a wagging finger up between us. “For the record, this isn’t me falling apart. This is me having a moment.”

“Understood. Have all the moments you want. I get how the Sullivans made you feel, but fuck them. A man worth your time wouldn’t care.”