The following morning, we awoke early to take Marcia and Marco to the airport. I hugged Marcia fiercely and then exchanged kisses with them both.

“This is for the cowboy,” Marco declared, handing me a folded piece of paper. “Tell him I said goodbye,” he added sadly.

“I certainly will,” I promised with a smile and waved goodbye as they made their way to the airport’s entrance.

The morning sickness took hold of me on my way back towards the ...