“Come get your worthless daughter and take her back,” my mother-in-law shouted my father as I lay broken at the bottom of the stairs after my husband shoved me down. “Your family will answer for it if she has even a scratch,” was the sole warning Dad offered her. They had no notion who my father really was, so they made fun of him.

No one spoke of court papers or police reports for the next ten minutes.

The sweet, familiar smell of her baby shampoo filled my nostrils as I hugged her close, and allowed the warm comfort of her presence to wash away my pain.

Nurse Marisol came in and said softly, “Visiting hours are over.” Maya kissed my cheek lightly.

“Remember, Mommy, blue is safe,” she whispered in my ear.

I told her, “I will remember every single day.”

Dad carried Maya into the waiting room with Mrs.