`` i did n't mean it to be bad , '' he said . you are talking to the wrong woman . she turned , skirt rustling in the wood shavings that littered the shop , ankle-deep . i got the feeling he might have been there for some time . instead of having to give up her child forever , both mother and child were allowed to become a part of a new , larger family , all of them becoming more together than they might ever have been apart . 