So I went to the kitchen, grabbed a gallon of milk, all the Girl Scout cookies, and my two new roommates, and said, “We have to talk about something. And it’s really, really big.”

“Oh my God! You did sleep with Parker,” Sheree quipped, nearly sober now.

I smirked. “I did not sleep with Parker.” I paused. “But I think I should have his baby.”

Sheree swallowed her Peanut Butter Patty, put her hands over mine, and said, “Um, sweetheart. Unless something has changed drastically, you are sort of egg-release-challenged.”

I took a deep breath. “You guys, Parker and Greer froze embryos before she died. And I accidentally found out they had been deemed abandoned. I set this whole crazy thing into motion by telling him, and now he wants to have his babies.”

I had never seen those two speechless before. But they were most definitely speechless now. “I know. It’s really big.”

“And he asked you to carry them?” Sheree asked. “I mean, isn’t that kind of a big thing to put on a person?”

I shook my head and plopped the file onto the breakfast room table, opening a new package of Thin Mints. “No, of course he didn’t ask me. But these surrogates are not suitable.”

Philip laughed. “They’re not raising the kids. They aren’t even donating an egg. They’re ovens, Amelia. I wouldn’t let it keep you up at night.”

I handed them Greer’s journal entry, and, three minutes later, Sheree was sobbing and Philip was clearing his throat repeatedly.

“That is literally the most heartbreaking thing I have ever read,” Sheree said, handing the paper back to me.

Philip nodded. “I agree. And don’t you kind of owe him your life?”

I thought back to that day on the beach. I did.

“So, are we on board? I mean, you’re the other two-thirds of my throuple. You’re going to be dealing with my mood swings and food cravings and crazy hours and morning sickness.”

“Nothing new there,” Philip said under his breath. Then he squeezed my wrist. “I’m kidding. I’m kidding.” But he was only half-kidding: it didn’t happen often, but when a doctor switched up my hormones or I couldn’t refill one of them on time or my general dosage needs had just changed and took a while to get back on track, I was more than a little off. My friends knew that better than anyone.

Sheree shot him a look. “What Philip means to say is that we are here to support you in whatever you choose, no matter how absolutely insane it seems. But, Amelia, I urge you to take a few months to think about this. You just had the biggest two bombs of your life dropped on you. I don’t think now is the time to make a huge decision.”

I knew logically she was right. This wasn’t the time to commit to something so monumental. But at the same time, I felt that tug that I had felt a lot lately, the one that meant I was ready for a new challenge. I wanted to do something more with my life. Something important. Greer McCann had left behind this whole huge legacy when she died at thirty-two. What had I done? How had I made the world a better place? And no, giving birth wasn’t the most creative or brand-new way to change the world. But it was the best thing I’d thought of in some time.