“I know.”
“She is not your unemployment.”
“I know.”
“She is not proof you failed.”
His mouth trembled.
“She is your daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then decide whether you are capable of being her father.”
Ethan looked at the baby.
For the first time since birth, he touched her hand.
Her fingers closed around one of his.
He broke down.
Vanessa did not comfort him.
Neither did I.
Some moments do not need rescue.
They need consequences.
The following days were not magically beautiful.
The specialists at Willowcrest Medical Center completed more testing.
The baby’s condition appeared manageable, but nobody promised us a perfect future.
There would be treatment.
Follow-up care.
Questions we could not answer yet.
Ethan remained.
That was step one.
Vanessa did not forgive him.
That was also important.
People sometimes believe staying means forgiveness.
