After 3 Boys, We Gave Up Our Dream of a Daughter—Then My Husband Called Me to the Hospital and Said, “There’s a Baby Here”

I stood in the kitchen with my hair unwashed and thought:

What have we done?

Then Maya stopped crying when she heard Marcus’s voice.

He picked her up.

She tucked her face beneath his chin.

My husband closed his eyes.

And I understood this was going to be harder than the dream.

Which meant it was real.

PART 5 — CLARA’S LAST THINGS

Three days after Maya came home, Marcus had to identify Clara’s belongings.