Three Baby Cribs and a Missing Set of Car Keys
I twirled my gold wedding ring round and round my finger, feeling the cool metal scrape against my knuckle over and over. The receptionist, a young woman with a silver hoop in her nose, did not look up from her computer screen, her fingers clicking rapidly against the keys.
Every few minutes, the air conditioner in the wall unit would kick on with a loud shudder, rattling the plastic slats of the window blinds. I watched a small brown spider crawl slowly across the baseboard near the umbrella stand.
My legs felt heavy, and the skin under my eyes was hot from lack of sleep. I had spent the night checking the baby monitor every twenty minutes, listening to the synchronized breathing of three tiny chests in the dark room.
The inner office door opened with a soft click, and a woman with sharp, graying hair and a tailored navy blazer stepped into the reception area. She held a thick yellow legal pad under her left arm.
“Chloe?” she asked.
I stood up, nearly dropping the blue folder onto the carpet before catching it against my ribs. “Yes. Thank you for seeing me so quickly, Ms. Vance.”
