“I love you so much, but sometimes it gets a little lonely with just the two of us.”

“I know, baby,” I said as I pulled her close into a tight hug.

“I wish things were different for us, too.”

“Do you think I’ll ever get to have a big family someday?” she asked hopefully.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer her question with a clear answer.

I simply kissed her soft hair and stared at the velvet pouch sitting on the table.

Could I really keep her from seeing her dying grandfather when he only had weeks left on this earth?