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Bryn had given birth to a girl. I had a daughter.

She looked at me, a tired smile on her face. “Night, come and see her.”

For all my eagerness to get in here, now that it was over and it was time for me to meet my daughter face to face, my legs moved like they were weighed down with steel. When I made it to the bed, Bryn moved the blanket so I could see her face.

I’d seen brand-new babies before—when I was a teenager, I helped my mom midwife for pregnant mothers in the infirmary. Back then, I’d thought the newborns were so small as to be alien, but the moment I set eyes on my baby girl, all I could think about was how perfect, how lovely she was. Her skin was so delicate, and she seemed to be crafted from pink parchment. Her tufts of soft, black hair shone in the room, and her itty bitty mouth revealed an itty bitty tongue when she gave a tiny yawn. I fell in love with her immediately.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Bryn asked in a whisper.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice cracking.

“You want to ho