Carol had always wanted a baby in a way that felt stitched into her.
She was the little girl carrying dolls under one arm and a diaper bag under the other. She was the teenager every neighbor trusted to babysit.
She was the woman who celebrated every pregnancy announcement.
So when the doctors told her she could not safely carry a child, it did something terrible to her.
She stopped answering calls and coming to Sunday dinners. She muted the family chat and ignored every message.
For months, it felt like I was watching her disappear.