I had simply spoken to him as the other parent of two children.

That wasn’t the relationship I’d married into, but perhaps it was one we could sustain.

PART 21

One Saturday I took Piper and Quinn to a community health fair, where a volunteer was teaching infant first aid.

I’d learned basic skills before their birth, but I signed up for a refresher.

A mother near me admitted she was terrified of doing anything wrong.

Another said she’d cried the first time her baby had a fever because she had no idea whom to call.