She was given the chance to hand two people the thing they wanted most in the world, and to become, forever, the aunt of a child she helped bring into being.

That is not a loss.

There is no version of it that is a loss.

It was, from the first day to the last and every day since, purely and only a gift.

Chapter 3 — Together

From the moment I said yes, the three of us went through all of it together, and those months were, for a long stretch, some of the happiest I have ever been part of.

Lauren came to every single appointment carrying an enormous notebook, and in it she recorded practically every word that left a doctor’s mouth.