“What has gotten into you?” She opened a cabinet door, stretching her arm high to reach a cup on the top shelf. Therese spun her around so that they were facing each other. “He is bad, Leah. I get a feeling about these things. Please, listen to me.”

Leah shimmied herself out from Therese’s grip. “I never thought you would do this to me. I never thought you would stand in my way. Don’t you think I can make my own decisions?”

Therese took in a breath, her eyes glazed over, and then the words came except that they were flat and disconnected. Like she was reading from a script. “Leah, he is going to hurt you.”

Leah shook her head. “Are you jealous of him?” The words made a ripping sound as they flew from Leah’s lips and almost knocked Therese to the ground. “You make this about him when it is only about you. When it’s always about you.”

Whatever emotion Therese had expelled suddenly latched itself onto Leah. She walked over to the teacups, her hand shaking, and with one swoop, knocked them all off the counter and to the floor. The crashing sound made Therese suck in her breath, but Leah did not move. She stood with her back to Therese, her arms drawn around herself.

“I am going to have a baby and I am not going to let you ruin it.”

Baby.

She was going to have a baby.

Therese reached out her hand, but because Leah’s back was turned, she did not see. Therese felt despair sink down inside, becoming a part of her, and she knew there was nothing left to do. She turned and walked out of the room, out of the house. She sat in the dark as thunder rumbled above, and then, even though everything inside of her screamed that she was right, she pushed it so far down that it became nothing more than a whisper, easily drowned out by the long-wished-for raindrops that now slapped angrily at her windshield.

It was worse at night, when darkness took away the reason of light. She closed her eyes and remembered the promises they had made. The risk of losing Leah was too much to bear, so she hired a babysitter for Matilda, put on her best dress, and she and Tim invited Leah and Lionel out for dinner. Tim chose the restaurant, which was surrounded by windows that overlooked a parking lot. When she closed her eyes, the sound of traffic reminded her of waves. When she opened them, Lionel was helping Leah into her seat, his hand cupping the small of her back.