Clara didn’t come to dinner.
That wasn’t unusual.
What was unusual was Daniel checking his phone twice.
“She said she was tired,” he said, more to himself than to me.
“Tired how?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Long week.”
I nodded.
People get tired.
I didn’t think about it again.
The next morning, I saw her in the kitchen.
She was standing by the sink, staring at nothing.
“Morning,” I said.
She blinked like she’d forgotten she wasn’t alone.
“Morning.”
“You didn’t eat yesterday.”
“I did.”
“When?”
She opened the fridge.
“Later.”
I didn’t argue.
She poured juice into a glass but didn’t drink it.
“You look pale,” I said.
“You’re pregnant,” she replied. “You don’t get to comment on pale.”
Fair.
I let it go.
Daniel left early.
Clara stayed home.
She usually had somewhere to b
