“Why are you doing this to me? Why are you asking me this?” Therese pulled her hand away and lifted the mug of tea that was sitting on the table beside her. The warmth that was so comforting moments ago now made her feel hot, suffocated. She tried to shake the memory of the first time she saw Tim—tried to erase the fact that she was so overcome that she neglected to spark him. She couldn’t admit to Leah that when she looked into his eyes now, she wasn’t really sure what it was that she saw, but that her instinct told her he was hiding something. And her instincts were never wrong.

“Because I need to know that both you and the baby will be safe with him.”

Therese began to unbutton her sweater. Her fingers felt clumsy and fat, but she finally managed to slip the last button through its hole. “What are you talking about?”

Leah turned away. As she stared off into the distance, her body seemed to collapse into the frame of the couch. She looked small, like she might suddenly disappear. Her lovely golden curls were suddenly flat and limp and stuck to the side of her head. She closed her eyes and winced as if what she was seeing was simply too horrible to bear. When she finally spoke, her breathing was labored and her voice sounded like she’d just swallowed fire. “Just make sure you know who he really is. Because Therese. You are going to have a girl.”

Then she laid her head on Therese’s belly and wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around her waist.

Franny

Dear Matilda,

I’ve been trying to write every night. Sometimes I just write the date at the top of the page and draw pictures. Other times I write “Dear Matilda” and pretend that I will send you my letter.

I named one of the fairies in my room after you. Leah told me the story of the night they came. She kept hearing a scratching noise in the room but every time she walked in and turned on the light, the noise would disappear. She looked around but all she could find was a small little hole that not even a mouse could fit through. So she turned off the light and fell asleep. When she woke up it was dark and she forgot where she was and she got up to turn on the light but then she got a feeling that maybe she shouldn’t. So she sat back down and she waited. And then she saw them.