My New York apartment is much colder than I expected. I turn the heat on, hoping it'll warm up the rooms quickly, and I wrap a blanket around my shoulders. How did summer pass so quickly? I can still see Moira waving from her front porch until she disappeared in the rearview mirror. Winter came late this year, making October and November feel like summer too. But now, the December air is freezing. The storefronts are decorated with Christmas trees and fake snow. It's hard to feel the festive cheer when the happiest days of my life are behind me.

But I haven't left anything behind, not really. Moira's phone number, written on a scrap of paper, rests on my bedside table. Cafe Elpida still stands, waiting for me if I ever return. And Poseidon will be with me always. He lights up my fondest memories and he is in my every thought when I think back to the summer. And he is with me in the baby that will soon be ours, mine to hold and to love and keep forever.

I fold my hands across my stomach. There is no bump yet but knowing the baby is there makes me feel less alone. "This is home," I whisper, knowing they can't hear me but finding comfort in it all the same. "I'll find you a crib and you'll have brand new clothes to wear when you're born. And I'll read you the stories my uncle read me and bake you chocolate cake like Moira's when you get your teeth. I will love you so, so much.

I already do. This baby will be my life now. I need to find a new job and go see the doctor. It won't be easy but I'm starting to realise that the best things in life never are.