Then he taped the manual to the bottom of the crib, where no one would ever find it—except, perhaps, another exhausted parent ten years from now, converting the crib back to a bed, wondering who the hell built this thing and why they left a love letter in the margins.

“It’s a death trap if that bracket fails,” he said.

“But it won’t. Because you fixed it.”

He did. A recorded voice said: “Thank you for calling Bonavita Family. Our current wait time is… forty-seven minutes.”

But Step 14 didn’t exist. There was a printing error. Step 14 was actually Step 16, and Step 16 referenced a bracket that wasn’t in the box.

“Call the helpline,” she said.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

He wrote a note on the instruction manual: “Missing bracket replaced with shelf bracket from garage. Check torque every 3 months. Also, Step 14 is missing. You’re welcome.”