075 James Is Home

(Serena)

I hear the front security alert ping once, low and soft.

James is home. A surge of happiness hits despite me having been angry with him earlier.

He doesn’t call out. Just walks in slowly, undoing his shirt.

I’m lying on the bed when he comes into view. His eyes go straight to mine. There’s caution there. Tiredness. But he smiles and says hi.

I sit up, on the edge of the bed, watching him move around the room like he’s still shaking off the night. His shoulders are tight. He’s quiet.

“So?” I ask. “What did she say?”

He doesn’t turn around right away. Instead, he pulls off his shirt and tosses it into the laundry chute before finally sitting on the bench at the end of the bed.

“She said she’s willing to see the baby.”

I’m surprised and wary. “See him? As in… actually go to the hospital?”

“No,” he says. “They wouldn’t allow that. Only here. She wants to see him when he gets back. With me beside her.”

I take that in. “She’s really going to try?”

“She says she will. Not hold him.