Daniel picked up an apple and turned it in his hand. “She says it would make helping easier.”
“Helping with what?”
He set the apple down.
“The house. The babies. You.”
That answer was too broad for a key.
I slid the silver key away from my plate. “She can help without having access to the house.”
Daniel looked toward the kitchen doorway. “I thought you would say that.”
“Did
you tell her?”
“I told her I would ask.”
He rubbed his wedding ring with his thumb. “I should have.”
At seven ten, the kitchen was still quiet enough that I could hear the paper tear when I opened an envelope.
Daniel lifted his lunch bag. “She thinks we are making this harder than it needs to be.”
“She thinks a key is a family courtesy.”
“Maybe.”
I put the electric bill on top of the stack. “A key is not a courtesy.”
Daniel stood there with his hand on the chair.
“Elena, she is going to be around after the delivery.”
“I know.”
“She wants to bring food. Pick up groceries. Check on you.”
“She can knock.”
He did not answer.
I had let Vivian believe I was unemployed because I wanted one part of our relationship untouched by my title. She could judge my cooking, my housekeeping, myclothes, or my choices. I wanted to know whether she could simply respect me.
The silver key went into my purse.
“Then I will tell her myself,” I said.
At eleven forty, Vivian was standing on our front porch with a bakery box in one hand and her purse tucked under her arm.
She looked past me through the open door toward the nursery.
“Those shelves are already full,” she said.
“They are.”
She stepped closer without waiting to be invited inside.
I moved a stack of folded onesies from the entry bench. “The babies have enough clothes for now.”
Vivian smiled at the nursery.
“Leo will need more than you think.”
“Luna too.”
She turned back to me. “Of course. I only mean Leo has the Sterling family name to carry.”
I folded a tiny white shirt and set it on the stack.
“Both children have the Sterling name.”Vivian adjusted the bakery box in her hand.
“You know, Elena, I could come by whenever Daniel is working.”
“I know.”
“It would be easier if I did not have to wait for someone to answer.”
I looked at her purse.
“Are you asking for a key?”
“I am asking whether you really want me standing outside when you need me.”
“I can let you help without giving you a key.”
Her smile stayed in place.
“Why would you make a simple thing difficult?”
“Because it is my house.”
Vivian glanced toward the nursery again.
“Daniel’s house too.”
“Yes.”
“And the babies are Sterling children.”
“Yes.”
She lowered the bakery box.
“Then why should I need permission to come in?”
I did not answer immediately.
The question had arrived dressed as concern, but it was still a request for access.
“I will call you when we need you.”
