, but I had to intervene because she had just gone through labor and delivery.
I hoped that he would soon realize that we were in this together and that we would always support each other.
That night, I woke up in the chair next to her bed and saw her standing next to her bassinet.
She had her back to me.
One of her hands hovered over his blanket, as if she wanted to touch him but couldn't.
I closed my eyes before he realized I was awake.
The following morning, he again appeared distant .
"Could you raise him on your own?" she asked.
I thought he meant what would happen if something happened to one of us someday.
"He shouldn't have to," I said. "He has both of us."
She started to cry.
I tried to reach her, but she turned around.
Two days later, Goldi told me she wanted a divorce.
I laughed because the idea seemed impossible to me.
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We had been married for four years.
Three weeks earlier, she had been folding baby clothes and arguing with me about whether the baby's room needed another lamp.
Now he wouldn't even look me in the eyes.
He didn't even want to touch our baby.
“You’re not serious,” I said.
"Yeah."
“Why does Leo have Down syndrome?”
She
didn't say anything.
His silence became the answer I carried with me for the next 18 years.
Within a week, he signed an agreement granting me sole custody.
She refused the visits, packed her suitcase and left our apartment.
Before leaving, she stood by Leo's crib.
I watched from the doorway.
For a second, I thought I could pick it up.
