00:00The onyx lounge buzzed like a disturbed beehive,
00:03the air thick with expensive perfume and the high-pitched squeals of children in little suits and poofy dresses.
00:11At the center of it all was Zenobia Street.
00:14Claire, holding court at her grandson Cairo's fifth birthday.
00:18For Keziah, Xavier's wife of five years, the event was a slow torture.
00:24Every smiling family, every gurgling baby was a reminder of the emptiness she couldn't fill.
00:30The sideways glances and well-meaning questions from relatives were pebbles tossed at an open wound.
00:37She searched the room for Xavier, finding him laughing by the bar with his cousin, Langston.
00:43He looked relaxed, oblivious.
00:46He didn't see the weight of the morning's doctor's visit, another round of keep trying,
00:50or the pressure that coiled tighter each year, especially from Zenobia.
00:54Then, in a lull after the cake was cut, Zenobia's voice, cold and clear as crystal, sliced through the noise.
01:05Look at this joy, she proclaimed, gesturing to her daughter's family.
01:11Everyone here has children.
01:13Everyone contributing to the legacy.
01:15Her gaze, heavy and final, landed on Keziah.
01:19Keziah, she is the only one of us who is useless.
01:22The word dropped into the silence like a stone.
01:26Keziah's world narrowed to her husband's face.
01:29Defend me, she screamed inside.
01:32But Xavier stared at his plate, picking at his salad.
01:36His silence was the verdict.
01:37He agreed.
01:38The drive home passed in a deafening silence, broken only by the drumming of rain.
01:44Inside their apartment, Xavier didn't remove his coat.
01:48Mother is right, he said, his voice flat.
01:52I need a real family.
01:54Pack your things.
