Three weeks early.
Not dangerous. Lillian was very clear about this from the first moment, her voice carrying the particular steadiness she reserved for information that needed to land without causing additional alarm. Twin pregnancies often arrived early, she explained, the timing falling well within the range of expected outcomes. The packhouse medical room had been prepared for weeks already, every instrument and supply arranged with the careful attention she brought to everything in her professional life. The midwife she had arranged was already in the building. Everything was ready. Had been ready for some time, simply waiting with the patient certainty of preparation for a day that had now, apparently, decided to arrive ahead of schedule.
I knew all of this. I understood it clearly
