After Hours at Dooryard Books

When Eleanor turns six months old, Susan buys a bottle of champagne and they drink it in front of the television while Eleanor chomps on a teething biscuit.

“This is where my expertise runs dry,” Nathaniel says, trying and failing to pitch his voice to something casual. “It’s all uncharted territory from here on out.”

The temperature seems to drop ten degrees, and the way Patrick and Susan go perfectly still confirms Nathaniel’s suspicion that they both figured it out already.

Sure enough, when Susan says, “Nathaniel,” she doesn’t sound surprised, only terribly gentle.