“Dr. Vale arranged another procedure,” Ethan continued. “Insurance would not cover all of it. Later, he paid the tuition I had postponed.”
“Why?”
“He said surviving was not enough. He wanted me to build a life.”
“And the promise?”
Ethan looked toward the blue glass wall.
“Adrian became my mentor. We met several times a year.”
“Did he ask you to marry Clara?”
“No.”
“Did he ask you to look after her?”
“The night before he died, he asked me to make sure she had people around her.”
“And you promised.”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“So Julian was right.”
“No.”
“You promised to protect her, and now you are marrying her.”
“The promise brought me back into her life. It did not make me fall in love with her.”
“Then tell me how that happened.”
Ethan was quiet for a long time.
“When Julian disappeared, Clara called me.”
“Why you?”
“Her father kept my number in an emergency folder.”
“That sounds like a responsibility.”
“At first, it was.”
The honesty hurt.
Ethan continued.
“I helped her contact the bank. I found a lawyer who had experience working with adults who needed supported decision-making.”
“And after the legal problem was handled?”
“I kept visiting.”
“Why?”
He looked at his hands.
“She made coffee that tasted terrible.”
Despite myself, I smiled.
“She told me my apartment looked like a hotel where nobody was happy. She moved my furniture without asking.”
“That sounds like Clara.”
“She remembered the date of every medical appointment I tried to forget.”
His voice softened.
“She knew when I was tired. She would say, ‘You are doing the quiet thing again.’”
“What quiet thing?”
“When I pretend nothing is wrong.”
I sat beside him.
“Did you propose?”
“No.”
“What?”
“Clara proposed to me.”
I stared at him.
“She did?”
“She asked if I wanted to raise the baby with her.”
“What did you say?”
“I said yes.”
“That is not a proposal.”
“She said, ‘Then we should get married because I do not want you sleeping at your apartment forever.’”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
Ethan almost smiled.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because everyone would say she did not understand what she was asking.”
“Did she?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“We discussed money, housing, the baby, medical care, and what support she would need. Her support worker and lawyer were involved.”
That mattered.
This was not a secret arrangement made without Clara’s understanding.
She had support.
She had asked questions.
She had chosen.
“Do you love her?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Why haven’t you said it clearly?”
He looked away.
