Five years of marriage and countless attempts, and still she and Ed had yet to conceive. There had been occasions when she thought she might be pregnant, but each time proved to be dodgy hormones or a faulty pregnancy test.

Ed was great about it, always encouraging, but she knew he was as disappointed as she was.

His brothers already had five (now soon to be six) offspring between them, and had been married years after them. Her own sister, Noelle, also had family; she lived in Germany with her husband and twin girls.

Sometimes it felt like Colette and Ed were the only ones with all these rooms and nothing to fill them.

“Could you put that in the microwave for me?” Ed said now, referring to breakfast. “Just the eggs, actually. I’m going to take a shower before I eat.” He duly washed his bottle and set it out to drain, before coming over and kissing her on the cheek. It was his way of letting her know that he understood her disappointment, knowing she wouldn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

Colette was grateful for it, but she sometimes wished they would talk more about the void in their lives, instead of pretending it didn’t exist, the way Ed tended to sometimes.

“Of course,” she answered. She’d just taken a seat at the kitchen island, hoping for a cozy breakfast together, but it seemed it was going to be another morning of eating on her own.

“Thanks.” Ed kissed her forehead and jogged back out to the hallway. “It smells amazing.”

“No problem,” she said to his back, then turned to her own food and sighed.

He was so busy these days. Up early and to bed late so many nights. His clients could be demanding, and a call from someone meant he—or sometimes both of them, depending on the effort required—could be called away to the country for a weekend retreat, or invited to a party of rich elites.

It was something that both amazed Colette and made her uncomfortable. She’d adjusted, though: five years of marriage had done that, but in that other world the glaring differences between her and Ed’s peers was more than evident.

He never complained or made her feel unworthy in any way. In fact, it was just the opposite. He was supremely proud of her and loved to talk about her accomplishments.

The translator position, which had started her career, had moved Colette along the path to her present job as project manager in the Department of International Development. It was a fantastic opportunity, which sometimes even allowed her to work for the United Nations. She was so lucky to be living her dream, at least in part.

Colette had the wonderful home, fantastic husband and an amazing job making a difference in the world, just as she’d always wanted.

There was just one thing missing.