“We’ve had no problems with that,” Alice told him. Her voice didn’t sound upset but there was a tension there.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Max tried to apologize, but Alice waved it away. 

“No, it’s all right. It’s just something we haven’t had to deal with yet and it scares me a lot.”

“I’m really sorry,” he insisted. I turned and gave him a small smile, trying to silently ask him to shut up as I put my hand on Alice’s shoulder.

“So do you have names picked out yet?” Jenny asked. It worked; the subject was immediately changed to that. When Alice and I admitted that we had no idea what direction to go with that, everyone chimed in with their own suggestions, some of which were utterly ridiculous. It was a little stupid but it made us all laugh, so I supposed it wasn’t a bad thing.

By the time we left that night, Alice was feeling a little better. Still, she seemed a bit distant the next couple of days, and I was worried that the emotional detachment she’d felt for Kallie was going to come back full force.

Luckily for us all, it didn’t. If anything, Alice got even more affectionate toward Kallie, telling her all about how she was going to have a little brother or sister soon. “Should we really get her hopes up?” I asked. “Not that I’m expecting problems, but if there are any…”

“Let her be happy, Dana,” she told me, but it sounded more like she was begging, and for herself rather than Kallie. That shut me up.

We knew it probably wouldn’t happen right away, but I was still hoping. The first appointment with Dr. Wilson went well. She said that Alice looked fine and there was no reason conception couldn’t happen. Still, it didn’t happen that time or the next three times we tried, but then we got lucky.

I hadn’t been expecting much since all the other times hadn’t worked. But one morning as I was doing my basic workout in the gym, I heard a loud thud. Scared, I ran out into the hallway, where I found Alice in a heap on the floor. I thought she was crying at first glance, but she was laughing.