He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Clara returned home after four days.
She was told to rest and avoid stress.
She also told Ethan he could not stay in her apartment.
The wedding remained scheduled, but no one knew whether it would happen.
A week before the ceremony, my mother invited Clara to dinner.
Clara arrived wearing a green maternity dress. Her support worker, Diane, brought her and waited nearby in case Clara became tired.
My mother hugged her.
My father shook her hand.
Clara looked at him.
“You are still angry?”
My father hesitated.
“No.”
“You look angry.”
“I’m nervous.”
“That looks the same on you.”
My mother laughed unexpectedly.
Dinner remained polite until Clara placed her fork down.
“I want to talk now,” she said.
Everyone became quiet.
She looked at Ethan.
“I know my dad saved you.”
“Yes.”
“I know you promised him something.”
Ethan nodded.
“You promised I would not be alone.”
“Yes.”
Clara took a slow breath.
“I have help.”
She counted on her fingers.
“Diane helps with appointments. The lawyer helps with papers. My aunt helps with the baby room. Natalie helps when she stops asking too many questions.”
I almost smiled.
Clara continued.
“I do not need a husband because my dad asked.”
“I know,” Ethan said.
“I do not want you to marry me because you feel bad.”
“I don’t.”
“I need you to say why.”
The room became completely still.
Ethan looked around the table and then back at Clara.
“At first, I came because of your father.”
Clara’s face fell slightly, but she kept listening.
“I came because I promised him you would have support.”
She nodded.
“But later, the legal problem ended. You had Diane. You had your aunt. You did not need me.”
“No,” Clara said.
“I still came.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to.”
Clara waited.
Ethan struggled for words.
“Because when something funny happened, I wanted to tell you.”
Her expression softened.
“Because my apartment felt empty after you left.”
He stepped closer.
“Because you ask me direct questions when everyone else lets me hide.”
Clara looked at him carefully.
“Because you are stubborn,” Ethan continued. “You are kind. You make terrible coffee. You leave clay everywhere.”
“I clean it.”
“Not all of it.”
“That is not important.”
“No. It isn’t.”
His voice shook.
“I love you.”
Clara did not speak.
“I love you,” he repeated. “Not because your father saved me. Not because you are pregnant. Not because I feel sorry for you.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I love you because you are Clara.”
