“Here’s Baby A, Tasha and Mark, congratulations,” the nurse smiled, handing Baby A to Tasha. Baby A had a cleft lip, where there was a space in the middle of his top lip and he had a cleft palate.

  “Will the gap in his lip hurt him, or make him sick?” Tasha asked the nurse.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Well,” the nurse said, “If he’s able to eat or speak, he will have trouble with both. And some children with a cleft palate have trouble with their teeth.”

  Tasha nodded, “Thank you nurse. I’ll sit here for a while with him, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course, dear,” she smiled, “I’ll let you and your husband have some quality time with him.