Therese nodded and they left the building to walk along the grounds. Little green tips sprouted through the mulch, still so tightly wound that it looked like they might change their minds and go back underground.

Leah squeezed her arm. “Over there.” She pointed to a bench beneath a tree off the path. Once they sat, her attention was drawn to the groups of students rushing past.

“How are you?” Leah asked.

“Tired.”

Just then, a young woman dropped her bag to the ground. She fell frantically to her knees to try to gather her belongings.

“Barbara told me. Everything.”

The young woman located the last of her books, stuffed them into her bag, and ran off to catch up with her friends.

“Tim’s father raped her.”

The sun moved behind a cloud and what had been bright was now dark, as though someone had twisted the contrast button on a television screen.

“Leah?”

“Yes.”

“What do you think about that?”

Leah shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was staring down at the ground where the books had fallen. Now there was nothing but dirt and brown grass that had shriveled over the winter. She stared at it intently, like she was searching for something. “Have you thought of a name? For the baby?”

Therese removed the book she had slipped into her bag earlier, a book of baby names. “We should pick something meaningful.”

Leah nodded.

“Do you like Dorothy? It’s kind of old-fashioned,” Therese said.

Leah dug into her bag and pulled out a yellow highlighter. She took the book and began flipping through it so fast, the pages sounded like they were ripping. She placed her finger at the top of each and then ran it down quickly.

“This one.” She handed Therese the book, still pointing to the name she had found.

“Mathilda,” Therese said the name aloud, eager to see how it felt on her lips.

Leah was quiet.

Therese folded down the corner of the page. “I would spell it differently though. No need for that extra H. It’s silent anyway and will just confuse people.”

“Whatever you think,” Leah said.

They sat quietly together until it was time to go back to work. When she got home, Therese took the book out of her bag. The page was dogeared and she found the name easily. Glaring at her, blinking in neon yellow highlighter, were the words that Leah had underlined.

MATHILDA

STRENGTH IN BATTLE

That night, Therese woke with the baby name book wedged under her chin. Saliva pooled under her cheek and left a wet stain on the pillow. Using her arms to support her weight, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and waited for the dizziness to end. She looked over at Tim’s side and saw he wasn’t there, but tonight there was only one thing on her mind.

Tuna fish.