“Good,” she said.

“What about when she needs rest?” I didn’t have an answer.

She recommended a local family-support group and wrote down a number for a visiting nurse program that could help us establish a routine.

Later that week I called a lawyer named Elena Brooks.

I brought the note, the marriage certificate, birth records, and the messages from Brenda.

Elena did not promise a quick victory or tell me that abandonment was automatically enough to settle every future question.