For the next few minutes, I concentrated on the ordinary things I knew how to do.

Checking his diaper.

Getting the bottle ready.

Holding him until he relaxed.

There was comfort in completing simple tasks.

They didn’t require me to explain my intentions.

Later, while moving the diaper box into the closet, I found a receipt caught beneath one of the cardboard flaps.

It listed the formula at thirty-four dollars.