“Do you need anything?” I asked, feeling pretty guilty about not having asked them before. I’d been out of it but I felt that was really no excuse. They were guests in my house and I hadn’t even made sure they had everything they needed.

“No, we’re fine,” Shane replied, giving me a confused look. “I brought clothes over earlier, remember?”

“Oh,” I said, thinking. When I finally remembered, I felt even more idiotic than before, because Shane had told me that not fifteen minutes ago. I shook my head, smiled at them and headed back for the bedroom. I was sure they were talking about me after I left the room, but all I really cared about at that moment was sleep.

By the time I’d taken my shower and gotten ready for bed, Shane had come in with my pills and a glass of juice. She had left the room, but she came back just as I finishing. “You sure you’re all right?” she asked. I nodded, and watched as Jenny walked up behind Shane and hugged her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired,” I replied. “Thanks for staying, you guys.”

“It’s no problem,” Jenny told me. “Goodnight. Sleep well.” They both came over and hugged me, and then I was alone in the room that I’d always shared with Alice. It made me sad, but I was too tired to give into my sadness. I just climbed into bed, turned off the lamp and fell asleep.

**********

We’d only had Charlie home for a week before things started to go badly. He was a wonderful baby and was always pretty happy, much like Kallie had been. We didn’t have much trouble with him at all. He slept pretty well. Of course, he’d usually wake us up once in the middle of the night, but after he was fed he’d go back to sleep.

I adored him, and it was obvious that Alice did too. We both tried to shower Kallie with some extra affection too, but she never really seemed bothered by Charlie’s presence. Instead, we’d usually catch her talking to him through his bedroom door when he cried to be picked up. When he was awake, she talked to him constantly, and would follow us around when we carried him to continue whatever she’d been saying.