That evening I carried June up the front walkway to the house I’d watched them paint the nursery in two months earlier. Daniel opened the door looking like a man walking toward his own sentencing. Claire was sitting on the couch, and the second her eyes landed on the baby in my arms, her whole face changed. Then she looked at her husband, and it changed again.
I didn’t soften any of it for her.
“Tell her.”
Daniel sat down across from his wife. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“I lost my job four months ago.”
Claire didn’t move.
“The nursery. The savings you think we spent. I lied to you about all of it.”
Her expression didn’t change. It just went blank, like something behind her eyes had shut a door.
“I’ve been pretending to go to the office every single morning.”
She stared at him and said nothing.
