“Everything from that night runs together, Mel. I don’t even know what time it was.”

“It doesn’t for Willie.”

His fingers tightened around the sponge.

“What does Willie have to do with Claire?”

“He saw you near the elevators.”

Robert froze.

“He saw the envelope.”

His expression shifted again.

“What was in it?”

“Nothing that matters.”

“It matters to me.”

“Melanie…”

“What was in the envelope?”

He exhaled.

“Money.”

“Why?”

“Rent. Groceries. Her separation has been rough.”

I stared at him.

“He saw Claire leave with a crying baby.”

Robert’s face collapsed.

“Oh, God.”

“Whose baby was it?”

He looked down.

“Claire’s.”

“Ivy?”

“Yes.”

“Was Ivy there that night?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You’d just come out of surgery. Claire needing money didn’t seem like something you needed to carry too.”

The answer came too quickly.

I stared at him.

“Willie thinks you gave your sister money and she walked away with Claudia.”

Robert dropped into a chair.

“No. No, Mel…”

“He saw you touch the baby.”

Robert covered his mouth.

His shoulders shook.

“Did you hold Ivy?”

He looked up sharply.

“Who told you that?”

“Did you?”

“Willie saw you.”

Robert shut his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Try.”

His mouth twisted.

“I needed to hold a baby.”

He swallowed.

“I needed a moment to put my grief on hold.”

I knew Robert had lost Claudia too.

But something still felt wrong.

“Why couldn’t Claire look at me the next day?”

“Maybe she was embarrassed about the money.”

“She gets to hold her daughter every night.”

My voice broke.

“I don’t.”

“Mel, not today.”

Something inside me hardened.

For two weeks, everyone had decided what I could handle.

He started to speak again.

I stopped him.

“You don’t get to do that anymore.”

His hands tightened around the table.

That told me enough.

I turned toward the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

“To get dressed.”

My body still hurt. I had to sit just to put on my shoes.

Then I grabbed my keys.

I was going to Claire’s.

Claire opened the door with Ivy against her shoulder.

The sight froze me.

Ivy made a tiny complaining sound and turned toward Claire’s neck.

Alive.

Warm.

Breathing.

Everything Claudia wasn’t.

Claire stepped back.

“I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I know she’s Ivy.”

Her expression shifted.

“What?”

“Willie saw you at the hospital.”

Claire’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“He saw Robert give you money.”

“Melanie…”

“He saw you leave with a crying baby.”

Her shoulders dropped.

“For two weeks, he’s been saving money because he thought he could buy Claudia back.”

“The money was for me,” Claire said.

“What else are you relieved I know?”

“I’m not relieved.”

“You are.”

Claire looked down at Ivy.

The baby shifted against her chest, and my gaze followed.

Claire noticed.

Her expression changed.

“Mel, I didn’t come to the hospital to take anything from you.”

“I know Ivy is yours.”

“I know you know that now.”

She adjusted the baby’s blanket.

“But you’re still looking at her like you’re trying to understand what Willie saw.”

I swallowed.

“Then help me understand it.”

Claire nodded slowly.

“Robert gave me the money for rent and groceries. I asked him not to tell anyone. I was ashamed.”

“And Ivy?”

“I had nobody to leave her with. Mom was with Willie, so I brought her.”

“And Robert held her.”

Tears filled Claire’s eyes.

“I’d never seen him like that.”

She paused.

“Then Ivy started crying, and he asked if he could hold her.”

My throat tightened.

“And you let him?”

“Of course.”

She looked down at her daughter.

“The second I put her in his arms, he just… broke.”

Claire briefly pressed her cheek to Ivy’s hair.

“He kept saying Claudia’s name. He kept saying Claudia and Ivy were supposed to grow up together.”

I stared at the baby.

Two cousins.

Two birthday cakes.

Two backpacks beside a door.

A future we had imagined before either girl could even hold up her head.

“And you let him?”

I looked away.

“He didn’t do anything wrong with Ivy, Mel.”

“I know.”

Willie had connected two separate events because he was frightened and only eight.

But Claire still wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What happened after Robert gave Ivy back?”

Claire hesitated.

“Mel…”

“No.”

My voice hardened.

“I’ve had enough people choosing which truth I’m allowed to hear.”

Her eyes filled.

“Robert needs to tell you.”

“Then give me the question I need to ask.”

Claire looked down at Ivy.

Finally, she whispered:

“Ask him if he said goodbye to Claudia.”

I drove home in silence.

Fifteen minutes later, I walked through the front door.

Robert stood as soon as he saw me.

“Did you hold Claudia?”

He froze.

“Yes.”

I grabbed the back of a chair.

“How long?”

He wiped his face.

“Maybe 20 minutes.”

“How long?”

“Twenty minutes.”

Twenty minutes.

More time than I had ever gotten.

“What did she look like?”

Robert began crying.

My throat tightened.

“What did our daughter look like?”

“Mel…”

“I don’t know her face, Robert.”

He lowered his head.

“She had your mouth.”

His voice broke.

“And the shape of your eyes.”

I pressed my fist against my lips.

He stepped toward me.

“Don’t.”

He stopped.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were still in surgery when they asked if I wanted to see her.”

He wiped his cheeks.

“It was too late, but they thought maybe…”

“And you said yes.”

“I couldn’t let her go without one of her parents holding her.”

The words hurt because I understood them.

“Then why did you tell me you hadn’t seen her?”

He stared at the floor.

“When you woke up, you were confused. You were in pain. I thought if I told you…”

“You thought what?”

“That you’d want every detail.”

“I did.”

His face crumpled.

“I was terrified it would destroy you.”

I stared at him.

“You asked if she was already gone.”

“I thought if I told you…”

“And what did you tell me?”

He fell silent.

“I said yes.”

My stomach dropped.

“Was she?”

Robert didn’t answer.

“Robert.”

He finally looked at me.

“Could I still have seen her?”

“Yes.”

I stepped away.