Everything at my best friend’s baby shower felt perfect— until my husband leaned close and whispered, “We need to leave. Now.” He didn’t say another word until we got to the car. Then he looked at me and said, “You really didn’t notice, did you?” What he revealed next made my heart stop.

The lavender balloons bobbed against a perfect blue sky as I walked toward my best friend’s baby shower. Twenty years of friendship with Colette had taught me her tells: the slight curve of her lips when hiding something, the practiced tilt of her head when she wanted attention. But today, something felt different. Wrong.