Chapter 13 - CLAIRE TELLS THE TRUTHClaire asked to meet me.
I said no twice.
Third time:
With Rebecca present.
No babies.
Claire entered without makeup.
Not because that made her trustworthy.
She sat.
“I wanted Eli.”
My throat tightened.
“You knew which one?”
“Baby B.”
“How?”
Linda had shown her one ultrasound report identifying fetal positions.
Baby B was expected male.
“Why him?”
She started crying.
“Because I thought if I imagined one specific baby, maybe…”
She stopped.
“That is not an answer.”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you plan to take him from the hospital?”
“No.”
“Did you want my father to?”
“No.”
“Did you expect me to sign something?”
“Yes.”
There.
“When?”
“After delivery.”
“When I was exhausted?”
Her face crumpled.
“Yes.”
“Why not before?”
“Because you would have said no.”
The room went silent.
That was the sentence.
Not infertility.
Not grief.
May you like
Consent.
She knew.
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