Everything they had almost stopped believing would happen. The years before her had been quiet and heavy with disappointment. Doctor visits that blurred together. Test results delivered in careful tones. Friends announcing pregnancies with apologies in their eyes. Carrie handled it with grace most days. Mike less so. He counted months. Counted money.
When Carrie finally told him—hands shaking, voice barely steady—that she was pregnant, he sat down on the kitchen floor and cried. Not loudly. Just enough to scare himself. Maxine arrived after a long, complicated pregnancy and an even longer labor. She arrived perfect anyway.