It was a place people came when other arrangements had failed them, and that night it kept me out of the cold.

I lay down in my clothes and listened to the building settle.

The baby moved.

I placed a hand over her and thought of the room Chloe had measured.

For a moment, I wanted to return and insist that the crib belong where I had planned it.

Then I thought of Patrick telling me I was accustomed to transition.

I would not return simply to make his version of my desperation come true.

In the morning, I ate oatmeal at a long table and reviewed the chronology Marcus had helped me prepare.