“I had limited preparation.”
Ethan laughed.
Maggie turned around.
“Can she come again?”
Ethan looked at Claire.
Claire realized she was holding her breath.
“If Claire wants to.”
“I do.”
The answer came too fast.
Ethan noticed.
So did Claire.
Maggie did not care.
“Next Saturday?”
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“We agreed to one Saturday this month.”
Maggie’s face fell.
Claire intervened.
“Maybe we don’t have to decide tonight.”
Ethan nodded gratefully.
After Maggie went inside, Claire handed him the backpack.
“Everything went fine.”
“She asked anything difficult?”
Claire smiled weakly.
“She’s five. Everything she asks is difficult.”
Ethan leaned against the porch rail.
“She asked about her mom?”
Claire nodded.
“I didn’t say anything beyond what you told me.”
“Thank you.”
“I told her adults can have complicated lives.”
“That’s basically the whole explanation.”
Claire hesitated.
“She asked if she was allowed to love other people.”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“What did you say?”
“That she could.”
He looked through the open door toward the living room.
“She’s been scared of betraying her mom.”
Claire’s heart squeezed.
“She’s five.”
“I know.”
Ethan rubbed his face.
“I keep telling myself she’ll understand more when she’s older.”
“Maybe.”
Claire paused.
“Or maybe she’ll just have different questions.”
Ethan gave her a tired smile.
“You sound like you’ve been doing this longer than one day.”
“I wore a paper crown. It changed me.”
