We didn’t start our anniversary with champagne or roses. We started it in the pediatrician’s office, running on no sleep, clutching our daughter close while she cried against my chest. The night before, she’d woken up in pain—and nothing we did could settle her. By morning, the doctor’s office was quiet in that uncomfortable way. The doctor was kind, but clinical. Nothing. No fever. No infection. No answers. Just a healthy baby. And two parents who felt like they’d lived a week in one night. But when you’ve held your child through hours of pain and couldn’t fix it, “nothing’s wrong” doesn’t feel like relief. It feels like standing in a storm, soaked through, being told the skies are clear. We were supposed to celebrate tonight—just the two of us, one perfect evening at one of the nicest restaurants in Seattle. Canlis. But a few hours after leaving the doctor’s office, we found out our childcare had fallen through. I thought it was over. But I called anyway, told them what happened. And somehow, they found us an earlier table. So we got dressed. Galileo in a pink dress that made her look like a storybook princess. We packed the diaper bag, and took a breath. Then came the traffic. The GPS slipped from five minutes late to ten, then fifteen, then twenty-five. My hands gripped the wheel. I pictured us showing up in our best clothes, only to be told the table was gone. I imagined the look on Bliss’s face. The disappointment. We were late—like, frantically buckle the baby while sweating through your nice shirt late. But the staff greeted us like we were right on time. Galileo lit up the building as soon as we walk through the door. I was afraid she’d cry. But she didn’t. She sat beside us, calm and curious, her sticky fingers reaching for fruit, her wide eyes taking in the soft lights and linen tablecloths. The last time we were at Canlis, she was just a hope. Growing quietly inside her mother’s belly as we whispered about who she might become. This time, she was with us. This was not the night we planned. But in this moment, watching her smile at strangers and press her tiny hand against me, I realized this was exactly the night we had dreamed of.