She was ours.

And I lay there in the morning light, holding the child we had waited four years and wept a thousand quiet tears to hold, and I felt that our whole long wait had been redeemed in a single warm weight against my heart.

I could not wait for Luca to see her.

I did not know that when he did, everything would change.

I lingered in that morning, before everything changed, longer than I needed to, and I am glad now that I did, because it was the last hour of the life we had before, and it was perfect.