I signed the papers at Daniel’s kitchen table while Lily slept against my chest in a carrier. Eli had come by to fix a loose cabinet hinge because he claimed it was “offending the wall,” and Daniel was making pasta with enough garlic to repel both vampires and Ryan’s attorneys.
Priya slid the final page toward me.
“You’re sure?”
I looked down at my daughter.
Her little hand was curled against my shirt.
“Yes.”
My signature looked strange.
Claire Langley Mercer.
A bridge between who I had been and who I was becoming.
“Can I change my name back now?” I asked.
Priya smiled.
“Yes.”
So I did.
Claire Langley.
Lily Grace Langley.
Ryan fought the name at first.
Of course he did.
He argued that Lily should carry his surname because paternity had been established and tradition supported paternal naming. Priya responded that tradition did not require a postpartum mother to reward the man who accused her of infidelity before touching his child.
