My mother wrote the instructions on a yellow pad, one column for Katie and one for Chloe.

Our first trip out took nearly an hour to prepare.

I strapped the infants into their car seats, checked each buckle twice, and realized I had forgotten the diaper bag on the second floor.

By the time we reached the clinic, sweat had soaked through my shirt.

My mother pretended not to notice.

A father in the waiting room asked whether the babies were twins.