Others involved spilled milk, missed calls, and exhaustion that made me sit down on the kitchen floor.

But there were also evenings when Noah fell asleep against me and the apartment felt full rather than lonely.

Whitney and I remained careful with each other.

She came over for coffee once a month and learned to ask about my life without turning the conversation toward our parents.

We sometimes disagreed.

We could now stop, apologize, and continue without trying to win.

I did not know whether we would ever become the sisters we might have been.