They argued about laundry.
They hosted movie nights.
Their marriage looked ordinary in the most beautiful way.
Then Rosie called me one morning and spoke so softly I could barely hear her.
“I’m going to be a mom.”
I sat straight up.
“What?”
“We’re having twins.”
I dropped to the floor of my apartment, laughing and crying at once.
All Rosie’s life, people had spoken about her future as though it belonged to everyone except her.
They had said she might never live independently.
Never marry.
Never build a family.
Now she was going to become a mother.
The pregnancy was carefully monitored from the beginning.
Rosie attended every appointment.
She followed every instruction.
Ben read parenting books and assembled two cribs months before they were needed.
Yet complications developed.
Her blood pressure rose dangerously.
At thirty-four weeks, Ben called me from the hospital.
His voice shook.
“They’re taking her
