“You go ahead. I think there might be some sedatives in the medicine cabinet, you might need one or two,” she said. “Really, calm the fuck down. They’ll never let us have her if they think you’re high on speed.”

“Al! This is important!” I insisted. “She’ll be here in an hour!”

Alice shook her head at me. “Which is plenty of time. The house is spotless, and I don’t think it’ll take us long to shower. Come on, if it means that much to you I’ll come with.” She took my hand and led us to the bathroom, throwing her dusting rag into the hamper on the way.

For some reason, as soon as we stepped into the shower I really wanted to hold her. She let me. We stood there until the water started to cool down, with her head resting on my shoulder and my arms around her. When we felt the heat starting to fade, we got clean really fast and dressed even faster. By the time the front doorbell rang, we were sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching a rerun of SportsCenter.

Rebecca was nice. She seemed to really like the house and kept complimenting us on our furniture and decorating. She knew who we both were, and seemed pretty excited about the prospect of Kallie coming to live with us.

“Usually with a newborn, we try to find as stable an environment as we possibly can for the baby, both financially and emotionally. I do have to warn you, though, that when her mother is released on parole she’ll have the opportunity to petition for custody if she chooses. I can’t guarantee that she will, but I also can’t guarantee that she won’t. I don’t see any reason you can’t foster, though, if you’re prepared for that possibility somewhere down the line.”

“When is she eligible to be released?” Alice asked quietly.

“Not for several years at least, possibly between five and ten if she’s given the maximum sentence. And nothing says she’ll actually petition after that time, but I wanted you to be aware of the possibility,” Rebecca replied. That was all I needed to hear, and it seemed to be all she needed to tell us, because she stood to leave. “Do you think you’ll be able to at least get a bassinet set up sometime in the next week? Usually the agency likes to see a finished nursery, but seeing as the baby will be in the hospital for the next few weeks I don’t see any reason to make you rush too much.”