I unscrew the lid to the urn, take out the bag inside, and hand it to Izzie. Ty refuses to touch any part of it. I think the only reason he’s even here with us is because Dom told him he’d regret it one day if he wasn’t.

Izzie takes it from me, and we wait. Just a little while.

It’s strange, really, that an entire person, a lifetime of memories and regret, disappointment and failed dreams, can be broken down into a pile of ash.

It swirls in the air in front of us.

And then it’s over.

She’s in the wind and gone.

None of us cry.

The Kid’s face is pressed against my shoulder and Izzie’s arms are wrapped around my waist, but none of us cry.

They leave first, heading back down the hill.

“You can’t touch us anymore,” I whisper to the wind. “Never again.”

And then I turn and follow my family.

Otter says, “All right?” when I reach him.

“Yeah,” I say. Because it is. I am.

This is just one ending.

And in three months, something else will begin.

9. Where Bear Goes to Lamaze Class

“WHAT DO you mean you don’t want a baby shower?” Creed says a couple of weeks later. It’s a Saturday, and Anna had to go into the office for the morning, leaving Creed to come and bug me. “They’re the best part. You get so much free shit, you wouldn’t even believe.”

“I know,” I say dryly. “I was there at the two for Anna. I was giving you free shit.”

He waves a hand at me dismissively, picking a Cheerio off AJ’s head as he screeches gleefully from the old high chair they’d brought over to keep at our house for when they visited. “So take my word for it. You need to have one. You get registered at, like, Target or some shit and then invite a bunch of people to the party. That way, they’re required to buy you stuff. It really is the best. It’s like a birthday party where none of the stuff is for you and it’s really disappointing, but you need it anyway.”

“Isn’t it more for the mother?”

He shrugs. “Probably. But since the mom in this case is your baby factory, you don’t need to worry about buying anything for her. I mean, she’s getting paid for this, right? And she and her boyfriend have that pregnancy kink, so.”

I grimace. “God, I really wish you would stop saying that.”

“I know it’s hard to think about Megan and her dude boning while carrying your super-sperm babies, but it’s the cold, hard reality.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “Hard. Get it? Get it.”

“Yes, Creed. I get it.”