Page 70 of What Goes Around

I scrolled. A wedding announcement followed a few months later.

WEDDING BELLS AUGUST 25, 2000

Brandon Richards and Ines Laurent, both alumni of UC Berkeley, were married Saturday afternoon in a private ceremony attended by close friends and family.

I stared at the date.

August 25, 2000.

My mind did the math before my heart was ready for it.

My birthday: May 25, 2001.

Ten months.

They had been married ten months before I was born.

Not a secret affair.

Not an accident.

My chest tightened and I kept scrolling.

Then I found myself.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT — MAY 25, 2001

A daughter, Ashley Richards, was born to Brandon and Ines Richards early Tuesday morning.

I touched my name on the screen like it might disappear.

And then I kept going.

TRAGEDY STRIKES LOCAL HOME — DECEMBER 13, 2001

Ines Richards, 24, was found deceased following a home invasion on Tuesday...

No suspect has been apprehended. Community members and friends have expressed condolences to grieving husband Brandon Richards…

My chest collapsed inward like something had punched through it.

Six months.

She lived six months after giving birth to me.

Six months she held me.

Six months I had a mother.

With shaking hands I scrolled again, because my hands would not let me stop.

OBITUARY – IN MEMORY OF INES RICHARDS

Beloved wife.

Devoted mother.

Daughter gone too soon.