Invisible String

1

My chest ached, but it wasn’t bitter. Just… tender.

“She’s perfect,” I murmured.

“She peed on me three times yesterday,” Kylie deadpanned, and I let out the first real laugh I’d felt in days.

“Still perfect,” I replied.

Kylie smiled, but it was the kind of smile that held weight. Understanding. “I remember after Bennett was born, I had this moment where I looked at her and just sobbed. Not because I wasn’t grateful, but because I knew how lucky we were. And I also knew how many women I loved were still hoping, still trying. It’s not fair.”

“It’s not,” I said softly, eyes still on Finnley’s sleepy face. “I always thought… I mean, I never expected it to be easy, but I didn’t think I’d get told this. That it might not happen at all.”

“You and Travis are going to be parents,” she said firmly. “I don’t know how or when or what it’ll look like… but I believe that. With my whole heart.”

I felt the tears building again, but this time, I didn’t fight them. I just nodded, letting the softness of her words settle inside me like a promise.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

She squeezed my arm gently, balancing baby and bravery like she was born to do it. “When you’re ready, tell him. And until then… we’ve got you.”

I looked down at Finnley again, her tiny fingers still wrapped around mine, and for the first time since the doctor’s office, I felt the faintest flicker of hope.

Maybe this journey wasn’t going to look the way I imagined.
But maybe, just maybe, it would still be beautiful.

---

Kylie and I stepped back into the dining room, and it was like stepping into another universe — the kind ruled entirely by little girls with big imaginations and zero volume control.

“AUNTIE TAY!”
Wyatt, Elliott, and Bennett barreled toward me like a glittery stampede, arms flailing, faces lit up.

I laughed, catching one on each side as Bennett tugged at my sweater from below. “Whoa! Who let you all drink espresso this morning?”

“Mommy said we could have chocolate chips in our pancakes,” Elliott said, eyes wide with pure sugar-fueled pride.

“We wanna play baby doctor!” Wyatt added.

“Yeah! You be the mommy,” Bennett insisted, already pulling me toward the living room rug. “Your baby is sooooo sick and you have to bring her in to our hospital!”

I felt Kylie’s eyes on me instantly — soft, cautious. I glanced up and met her gaze. She gave me a look that said You don’t have to do this.

But I just smiled, gently shook my head, and let the girls lead me to their makeshift medical center made out of pillows and princess blankets.

“I’m in,” I said, settling onto the floor cross-legged. “But only if I get the *good* doctor, not the one who tried to give my last baby a shot in her eyeball.”

“That was Elliott,” Wyatt whispered loudly.

“WASN’T!” Elliott shouted, already digging through the plastic medical kit.

Travis wandered in from the kitchen just as I was wrapping a blanket around a baby doll and pretending she had a high fever and a terrible cough. The girls were all business — checking pulses, listening for heartbeats with a toy stethoscope that squeaked instead of clicked.