Strangely, I hadn't heard from her for weeks. This gap meant something, I knew, for she is as devoted and constant as independence allows. I suspected she knew she was pregnant and wasn't ready to tell yet, or wanted to be completely sure and somewhat used to it herself before sharing. So I called and hinted. She didn't say yes, but ten minutes later called back and said she couldn't keep it to herself any longer. She was in her third month, the baby due in June. They actually knew the day of conception, her own birthday. And because of such a long preparation time, they had even had time to consider names. A girl's name decided, but still a quandary for the boy's. If they were to call it Feather, or Stone, or Turquoise,whether boy or girl, it wouldn't matter.