Part 3: The Visitor

Julian arrived at ten carrying a paper bag and looking as though he had not slept. He wore the blue shirt I had ironed for his trip. The sight of it made me angry in a way the photograph had not. I remembered standing in our bedroom with an aching back while he searched for a cuff link and promised to bring me a ridiculous souvenir.

June opened the door but did not move aside until I nodded. Priya sat at the end of the sofa with a notebook. She had told me beforehand that she would not speak for me unless I asked her to.

Julian looked first at the bassinets. “Can I see them?”

“Yes. Wash your hands first.”

He went to the sink without arguing. When he returned, I lifted Ben and showed him how to support his head. Julian held our son carefully, his mouth trembling. He looked at Nora next, and then at me.

“They're perfect.”

“They are,” I said. “They also wake up every three hours, and they need the medicine schedule the hospital gave us followed exactly.”

“I can learn.”

“I hope you do.”

He put the paper bag on the table. Inside were two tiny knitted hats, one yellow and one green. “I bought them at the airport. I didn't know their sizes.”

“They'll grow into them.”

He waited, perhaps for me to smile. I didn't. Finally he said, “I should have come home.”

“Yes.”

“I was afraid that if I missed the meeting, we'd lose the Harbor House contract. We've been working on it for a year.”

June's expression changed, but she said nothing.

“You told me the conference started on Thursday,” I said. “You left Tuesday.”

He looked down at his hands. “I met Celia before the conference. We had dinner.”

“Was it a business dinner?”

“No.”

There it was. I had imagined shouting, a thrown glass, something dramatic enough to match the stories people tell about betrayal. Instead I felt an odd stillness. Nora made a small sound, and I checked that her blanket was clear of her face.

“How long?” I asked.

“Three months. I told her our marriage was ending. I told myself that was true because we'd been fighting, but we hadn't agreed to end it.”

“And the hospital?”

“My assistant reached me at the restaurant. I said I was coming. Then I talked myself into waiting until the morning flight.”

“The flight you had booked for Thursday?”

He nodded. “I could have changed it.”

For the first time that morning, he stopped explaining and simply sat with what he had done.

“I don't want to keep you from the twins,” I said. “But I won't accept gifts in place of answers. Priya will send a schedule. If you want to be their father, begin by following it.”

He agreed. He stayed another half hour, asked how to change Ben, and left when Nora needed to feed. At the door he paused.

“I also need to tell you about Harbor House,” he said. “The contract isn't the only thing at risk.”