I lost my father before I was old enough to remember him and may always have longed for a father figure. When I was an anxious new graduate starting my first job, the supervisor who later became my husband listened to my problems and supported me. We married, and I left work five years ago, but despite trying for a baby, nothing happened. When my concerned in-laws planned a visit, I remembered meeting my father-in-law for the first time—and the deep, paternal sense of security I felt beside him.