Carmella was in the kitchen preparing lunch. It was a rare to find her without the baby propped up on her hip or asleep. Bilal was in the living room with Raj, and she considered how far she had come. She remembered once telling Jody that she didn't want her baby near one of "those things."

Now her baby was partially one of "those things."

Every so often she would have a fit of uncertainty concerning the direction her life had taken, and it usually went away as soon as ...