The baby’s face was red and teary from several minutes of hard crying, and it made Esme’s arms ache to hold her own girl. Jade had never gotten so sick, thankfully, but Esme had. She remembered when the fever and pain had been at their worst, she’d told Jade to keep her distance so she didn’t get sick, too, and Jade had broken down into tears. “Don’t cry,” Esme had said. “I’m not crying because I’m scared I’ll get sick,” her girl had replied. “I’m crying because I love you.” Esme’s longing for her girl grew unbearable, and she would have offered to bounce this stranger’s baby if her ankle
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