“That way everyone takes extra special care of our little girl.”

I held June’s shoulder, feeling the intense heat coming through her cotton sleeper.

Sylvia stepped within two feet of the table, but her eyes stayed fixed entirely on Ethan’s face.

She hadn’t looked down at June’s flushed cheeks even once since entering the room.

Her hands stayed draped over her heavy handbag strap, never reaching out to touch June’s arm or forehead.

“Ethan needs at least four hours of uninterrupted rest before eight in the morning,” Sylvia said to me.