It was dark out when I lifted her from the bed and got her dressed to leave. I’m not sure why I chose this hour, but I was caught in an absurd place between not wanting to make this trip and wanting to get it over with. “Come on, baby, you gotta wake up for me.” She’s a grumpy little thing when woken up before her time.

I was hoping she’d had enough sleep even though I’d kept her up most of the night. I’m not ashamed to say that I’d spent the night buried deep inside ...