MAXINE

"Okay," I said. "Let's do it. Let's run away together."

Zel's eyes shone with excitement. "We'll make it work. We'll find a place where we can both be happy doing whatever we want. We could go anywhere."

The night was filled with so many possibilities. I could be anyone I wanted. Nothing was holding me back. I was going to take this opportunity to create the life I wanted.

No one told me to be a midwife. No one to tell me who I should be. No one to lean on, who would give up on ...