"You just met her," Eryx says, but he's smiling.
Irrelevant. She's mine now. Ours. No one touches her.
I laugh—exhausted, delirious, happier than I've ever been. Mama leaves the room to tell everyone the good news. They visit and ooh and ahhh, especially my dad.
And Eryx even more so. He’s a proud papa.
My heart’s so full it might burst.
A little while later, there's a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I say, still holding the baby. I can’t get enough of her. She’s perfect.
Dallas bursts in, wild-eyed and breathless. "Chelsea, I—" She stops. Sees the baby. "Oh my God."
"Hi, Dallas," I say tiredly.
She crosses the room in three steps, stares down at the baby, and her face crumples. "She's beautiful. You're both beautiful. I'm so happy for you." Then her expression shifts. "But we have a problem."
Eryx tenses. "What kind of problem?"
Dallas glances between us. "The bad kind. The kind involving—" She pauses. "Actually, it might be easier if Nana explains."
"Nana?" I repeat. "Nana's here?"
As if summoned, my dead grandmother materializes in the corner of the room. She's wearing a purple velvet gown, and her hair is piled impossibly high.
"Congratulations, darling!" she says brightly. "What a beautiful baby. Is it a girl? I think it's a girl."
"Nana," I say slowly, "what's the problem?"
Her expression turns serious. "It's Dallas. She's been cursed."
Dallas throws up her hands. "I'm not cursed!"
"You're absolutely cursed," Nana insists. "By a very irritating man who?—"
"I'm handling it!"
"You're not handling it. You're ignoring it."
Eryx looks at me. I look at him.
"We just had a baby," I point out.
"I know!" Dallas says. "I wasn't going to say anything, but Nana?—"
"Someone needs to," Nana huffs.
The baby makes another small sound. All eyes turn to her.
She yawns.
It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.
"We'll deal with it," I hear myself saying. "After I sleep. For three days."
Dallas exhales. "Thank you."
