Claire laughed and shook her head. "You two are spoiling me."
But a few weeks later, Ethan started going alone.
One afternoon, he kissed my forehead, grabbed his keys, and called back over his shoulder, "Sweetheart, Claire mentioned she might be running low on vitamins. I'll bring her some."
At first, we visited Claire together.
"Now?" I asked.
"It'll only take an hour."
The visits started happening more often. During the workday, late in the evenings, and on weekends.
One Saturday, I was standing at the stove stirring something when he rushed through the kitchen, already pulling on his jacket.
"Love, I'm going to check on Claire and the baby."
The visits started happening more often.
"You just saw her two days ago," I said.
He laughed, the way you laugh when someone says something a little absurd. And then he was out the door before I could even think about stepping away from the stove to go with him.
That kept happening.