Mark agreed.
And life continued.
Grace learned to roll over first.
Lily discovered that making raspberry noises caused adults to laugh.
Faith developed an extraordinary fascination with ceiling fans.
They slept badly.
Then better.
Then badly again.
Mark returned to work on a reduced schedule.
Emily remained with Claire until the girls were almost four months old.
One Sunday afternoon, Mark arrived for his usual visit and found several boxes near the front door.
His heart jumped.
He looked at Claire.
“Is Emily moving?”
“Yes.”
He tried not to show too much hope.
“Home?”
Claire gave him an unreadable look.
“You should ask her.”
Emily came downstairs carrying Faith.
Mark took the baby automatically.
“Claire says you’re moving.”
“I am.”
He waited.
Emily adjusted Faith’s sock.
“I found a rental.”
His hope fell so visibly that Emily almost smiled.
“Okay.”
“It’s ten minutes from the house.”
“Okay.”
