“I’m not naming the baby now,” Amelia said. “Just getting ideas.”

Natalie pulled out a box of saltine crackers.

“This baby,” Amelia said, “will change everything in our lives.”

Over the last few weeks, I’d continued to research surrogacy laws in New York and had confirmed what I already understood to be true. If a surrogate changes her mind and wants to keep the baby, the genetic parents don’t have a lot of recourse. Even if the Straubs and I’d had a written contract, it would be worthless. That meant I would have the power to make my position in the Straub family permanent. My leaving would not be an option. I planned to bring the subject up in the right way at the right time. I would make sure Amelia understood that I wasn’t trying to take anything away from her. Amelia, Fritz, and I would be partners on an exciting journey. We would raise the child together.

Natalie took a bite of a saltine cracker.

“I feel like it’s a second chance for our family and my marriage,” Amelia said.

“Because your first chance failed?” Natalie licked crumbs from her lips.

Amelia was choosing not to notice her daughter’s jealousy. “A baby brings positive energy into a home.”

“You’re so full of it,” Natalie said.

“Shut your mouth.”

Natalie closed her fist around a saltine cracker, causing it to crumble in her hand. “Fuck you.” She dropped the box of crackers onto the counter and ran out of the room and up the stairs.

I wanted to follow Natalie, but I had a feeling that Amelia wouldn’t appreciate it if I did.

Amelia looked up at the ceiling and breathed deeply. “Privilege. It’s a double-edged sword. Natalie’s surrounded by children who have no clue about the world. I had to work like a dog to get where I am. Natalie thinks my life and Fritz’s should revolve around her. News flash. Getting all the attention doesn’t make you a stronger person.”

Amelia needed to believe what she needed to believe.

Half an hour later I found Natalie reading in her room and suggested she come down to my apartment for a photography lesson. When she arrived, we bundled up and walked around the block with our cameras.

“What do you want for your birthday?” I asked.

“It’s two months away.”

“Let’s go to a museum together.”

Her eyes brightened. “OK.”

“There’s a photography exhibition at MoMA that opens in November. I think you’ll like it.”

It was mid-October. The weather had turned cold, and the sun was approaching the horizon. Natalie took out her camera.

“It can be harder late in the day,” I said.

She took a picture of a blue jay flying from one tree to another.

“That one will turn out blurry,” I said.