She finally turned toward him.
—All three.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then he asked the question that had been burning holes through him since the sidewalk.
—Why didn’t you tell me?
A strange expression crossed her face.
Not anger exactly.
Something older.
Wearier.
—I tried.
He looked up sharply.
Clara folded her arms against herself, not defensively but like someone holding in old weather.
—I found out I was pregnant three weeks after you left.
I called the number I had for you.
It was already disconnected.
I emailed you.
The address bounced back after a while.
I wrote to your old apartment, but you were gone.
Then I went to your parents’ house.
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
His mother.
Clara’s voice stayed level, and that made it worse.
—Your mother answered the door.
She knew who I was before I said my name.
He closed his eyes.
—Clara…
—She told me you were building a life that didn’t include me.
She said you had no time for complications and no interest in being trapped by an unplanned pregnancy.
She said if I truly cared about you, I would let you become the man you were meant to be.
Ethan stared at her.
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