He had learned the specialist’s name and the clinic’s phone number.
He kept a copy of the appointment notes in his own folder.
When I told him the baby had been active all morning, he smiled, but did not ask to touch my stomach.
“You can ask,” I said, surprised by my own words.
“May I?”
I nodded.
He rested his hand against my belly, and the baby turned beneath it.
His smile was gentler now, less astonished than the first time, but no less tender.
“Hello, little one,” he whispered.
I watched him, aware of the affection in his face and the distance between us.
I could let him be tender without inviting him back into the marriage.
I could recognize the father he might become without pretending he had been the husband I needed.
When he withdrew his hand, he thanked me and stepped back.
The next morning, the company’s audit committee scheduled a formal hearing.
