Invisible String

19

That left me and Gracie with Mira, who was not feeling cooperative.

She was overtired, fussy, and giving me the stiff body scream — the kind where she arches and flails like she’s trying to launch herself into space. I had her in my arms, bouncing slightly while pacing Gracie’s living room, but the cries weren’t letting up.

“Do you think she’s hungry again?” Gracie asked gently.

“Maybe,” I said, gently checking her diaper. “Dry. I think she just… needs comfort.”

She nodded, watching closely as I sat down and adjusted her in my arms. Mira’s tiny fists were balled up under her chin and her face was beet red. I sighed, then glanced at Gracie. “You cool if I try something?”

“Of course,” she said quickly.

I reached up and started unbuttoning the top of my shirt. “Skin to skin sometimes helps her reset. Especially when she’s overtired.”

Gracie sat down across from me, her expression soft and curious. “I’ve heard of that, but I’ve never actually seen it.”

I adjusted Mira gently against my chest, holding her bare skin to mine as I wrapped a muslin blanket loosely around us for warmth. For a second, she kept fussing. And then, like flipping a switch, the cries started to slow. Her breathing evened out. Her fists relaxed.

Gracie’s jaw dropped a little. “Wait… she just stopped?”

“She does this every time,” I whispered, stroking the back of her head. “It’s wild. Like she just needs to know I’m right here. That I’m still hers.”

“That is the most magical thing I’ve ever seen,” she said, leaning back and blinking hard. “I don’t even have a baby and that made me emotional.”

I laughed softly, adjusting the blanket. “It’s one of the weirdest, most instinctual parts of being a mom. Like, I’m not even doing anything. Just existing. And that’s all she needs.”

Gracie rested her chin on her hand and smiled. “You’re really good at this.”

“Some days,” I said. “Other days, I cry while reheating the same cup of coffee five times.”

Just then, we heard a huge splash from the bathroom and Lily yell, “WEINEY JUMPED IN THE BATHTUB!” followed by Travis groaning, “Oh my God, Lily!”

I looked at Gracie and burst out laughing.

She grinned. “Want another glass of wine while they handle that?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, I really do.”

---

By the time Lily was in dry pajamas — Travis’s, actually, because her overnight bag was soaked thanks to Weiney’s impromptu cannonball — the rest of us were on the couch, lights low, some old animated movie playing softly on the TV. Mira was curled up against me in a fleece onesie, her little legs pulled in like a frog, totally milk-drunk and passed out.

Gracie handed me a second glass of wine, and I took it gratefully.

“I needed this,” I said with a small laugh, sipping slowly.

“You earned it,” she replied, curled up beside Paul with her legs tucked under her. “You look like you live three lives at once.”

“I do,” I said. “Popstar, wife, and full-time snack dispenser.”

Travis was sitting on the other end of the couch with Lily snuggled into his side, hair still damp, one hand on his chest and the other clutching a half-eaten cookie. She was watching the movie with that glazed-over toddler stare — halfway between awake and dreaming.