“I thought we did.”

I wrote thought rather than turning it into a shared agreement.

Caleb described sleepless nights, two crying babies, bottles left in the wrong place, and money that never seemed to last long enough.

Some of it sounded familiar in the ordinary way people describe a difficult household.

He did not begin by calling Mara dangerous.

He said she was overwhelmed.

“I offered to take more responsibility,” he said.