Invisible String

16

At 3 a.m., I found myself rocking Lily in the dark hotel room, humming softly while Mira finally fell asleep in Travis’s arms.

I glanced over at Travis, exhausted but steady, and felt a wave of gratitude mixed with helplessness.

This wasn’t how I imagined those first weeks would go — but maybe that’s what parenting really was. Chaos and love tangled up in sleepless nights and endless patience.

I whispered, “We’re doing the best we can,” and hoped that was enough.

The next morning, everything felt heavier.

We were both running on fumes — Mira had finally settled around five, and Lily had taken up half the bed, limbs flung over me like a starfish. I don’t remember sleeping. Just blinking slowly in the dark until the alarm went off.

Court day.

Travis helped me get dressed while I nursed Mira, my hands shaking a little as I pinned back my hair. I’d worn something simple but strong. I needed to feel like I had control over something today.

Lily was confused and pouty as she watched us move around. “Where you goin’?” she asked, rubbing her eyes and clinging to my leg.

“I gotta go do grown-up stuff, baby,” I whispered, crouching to give her a kiss. “I’ll be back really soon.”

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “No like grown-up stuff.”

“Same,” Travis mumbled under his breath as he grabbed Mira’s car seat. I gave him a look, but we were both too exhausted to laugh.

Tree had flown out the night before and was already in our suite’s living room with Lily, who was clinging to her favorite blanket and giving us the cold shoulder.

Mira stayed with us — we weren’t about to leave her behind, not today. Not when the reason we were going to court was because someone was trying to decide if she belonged to us.

The courthouse was cold, sterile, and too quiet.

Our lawyer met us at the front doors and walked us through security, where we were flagged for having baby bottles in the diaper bag. Travis rolled his eyes and muttered something about how parenting shouldn’t be this complicated.

We sat in the hallway outside the courtroom, Mira snoozing against my chest in her wrap carrier, her tiny head nestled right under my chin. Travis rubbed my back slowly, grounding me.

Then Emma showed up.

She had a clean blouse on, hair curled, and a fake calm written all over her face. She didn’t even look our way.

Good.

Our lawyer gave us a quick rundown again — the court would hear both sides. Emma's petition, our legal guardianship documentation, her sudden reversal of consent, and our argument that this was in no way in Mira’s best interest.

I kissed the top of Mira’s head and whispered, “We’re fighting for you. No matter what.”

Travis nodded once, jaw clenched, his hand gripping mine tightly.

Then they called our names.

We stood up as a family. And walked in.

The courtroom was quiet in the way that makes your heart thump too loud in your ears.

Travis walked beside me, Mira curled against my chest like she knew something important was happening. Her little fingers clutched the fabric of my dress, and I adjusted the wrap carefully as we passed the rows of seats and took our place at the front beside our attorney.