Baby kicked me awake. “I know, I know—it won’t be long now,” I said. It suddenly occurred to me that these were the first words I’d said aloud to the little one. I couldn’t help beaming inside and chuckling, and I was rewarded by another couple of kicks. “Okay, okay, I’m up,” I said. Talking to baby was fun. “Go ahead, kick me again. I can take it,” I said. “Okay, be that way.” I was feeling so good. I took a long long shower, dressed in yesterday’s clothes, and went down to the coffee shop. It was closed, so I took a walk around the block, and then another, and then it was open and I had a poppyseed muffin and a glass of juice.