“Then our marriage happened, and I thought it would be unfair to ask you for more when I couldn’t even ask you whether you loved me.”

The honesty stung, but I did not turn away.

We talked for hours about what raising a child might mean, whether we wanted to pursue parenthood, and whether we were prepared for the uncertainty it could bring.

There was no sudden announcement or miraculous solution.

We agreed to revisit the subject after we’d spent more time learning how to function as partners.

A few weeks later, Meredith volunteered at a community reading program funded by the factory training scholarship.