“, repeatedly visiting the online baby calendar to see what stage of growth the baby would have been in.”

“And another baby could die.”

“The babies seem so very far away.”

“But the cry of a baby the minute she yanked open the front door tightened her chest so hard she could scarcely catch her breath. Her baby was dead. Theirs weren’t.”

“Melinda settled back against the bricks. Just go in. Let me escape. Jake would interrogate her, no doubt. Maybe she should just never go home. Get a job again and be independent. Avoid the thought of having babies. Or failing at it.”

“I lost our babies for us,” she croaked. “My body wouldn’t hold them.”

“You're a survivor. Each one of you. And survivors don't have the luxury of acting like regular people. We do what we have to do to get by.”