Did I tip us too far?
The bell rings and the children scatter.
Oscar barely looks back. Sophie waves dramatically like she’s embarking on a gap year.
Dan squeezes my shoulder before heading home to get to work while I take a detour to Rose’s Café. “Text me if you need anything.”
Anything.
I almost laugh.
What I need can’t be delivered between meetings.
On the walk towards the café, Ruby wakes properly, rooting and impatient. I adjust the sling, shifting her weight. My body feels unfamiliar. Softer. Heavier. Stretched in places I don’t recognise.
A car slows beside me.
Hannah’s window rolls down.
“You look like death,” she says cheerfully.
“Love you too.”
She grins. “Coffee?”
I hesitate. I hadn’t planned on sitting in.
There’s washing at home. Bottles to sterilise. A mental list so long it scrolls.
But Hannah is looking at me like she sees something the others don’t.
“Fine,” I say. “But if Ruby screams, you’re holding her.”
Hannah laughs. “Deal.”
In the café, I notice how other women look at Ruby. Some with longing. Some with relief that it’s not them. Some with polite distance.
Hannah studies me over her mug.
“You’re spiralling,” she says.
“I’m not spiralling.”
“You are. Your left eye twitches when you’re spiralling.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m just tired.”
“Is Dan stepping up?”
The question makes my chest tighten.
“He did the morning,” I say.
“And?”
“And… he did it.”
Hannah waits.
