Therese shook her head partly to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming but also because of the sparks that were randomly dancing up her neck. “Everyone is scared to take care of a baby. It’s normal.”

“Nothing about this is normal.” Leah thrust the basket toward Therese. “You promised you would do anything I asked.”

“She is your child. It’s what you have always wanted.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have known that I couldn’t. I should have known it. I can’t take care of another person. I cannot protect her.”

Leah was speaking too fast, and then she began to move her head back and forth, like she wanted to shake out the image that was stuck inside. When that didn’t work, she began to twirl her hair, and Therese wondered if that was what she looked like when she was a little girl, when she was innocent and beautiful . . . before she was broken.

As though she had read Therese’s mind, Leah stopped twirling and instead started pulling so intensely that tufts of curl came out, twisting around her fingers like the twigs that make a bird’s nest. She made a sound, maybe it was a word, Therese wasn’t sure. She fumbled for something on the table, then slipped a cigarette into her mouth, and Therese watched the lighter shake in her hand. She blew out thick streams of smoke, and soon everything in the room felt like it was covered in gray.

“Please don’t break your promise.” She dropped the lit cigarette into an ashtray and began to rock back and forth. Therese set the basket on the floor gently and sat down beside Leah. She reached out to her friend, who was so wrapped up in her blanket, she reminded her of a mummy. She tried touching her, but there was no response, so she searched for the words to explain that what she was asking for was ludicrous.

Suddenly, Leah’s hand made it out from inside the wrapping, and she pulled Therese in close. Her words were crackly, like they were burning her from inside. “I need some time, Therese. I’ll call you when I’m ready. Please. You are the only person I trust.”

Therese didn’t respond because she was too busy wiping away the tears falling down her cheeks, making it hard for her to see. She wanted to shake her, to somehow make her understand what it was she was asking, but instead she said nothing. Then Leah stood and walked to the kitchen, the blankets trailing behind like the train of a dirty, shredded wedding dress.