At our weekly family meal

It was a typical family meal to start with. The table loaded up with enough home cooked goodies to feed a small army.

Mom was asking Brad about Gina, his pregnant wife. She was obviously excited about the prospect of becoming a grandmother and shooting me and Rosa reproving looks for our failure to prove our fertility as yet.

Dad and Danny were speculating about the fortunes of the local football team.

The twins had their heads together giggling over something on their phones and next to me Rosa picked at her food, uncharacteristically quiet for once. I was about to ask her what was up when I felt the shift.

There was no fanfare, no clap of thunder or voice of god announcing my fate. I just knew that my sisters and I were no longer full people in the eyes of our dad and brothers. The conversation ebbed as the rest of the family experienced the same revelation. My heart hammered in my chest as I waited to see how they would react…