My Mother-in-Law Left a Blue Notebook in Our Hallway Closet—After My Son Was Born, I Finally Learned What She Had Been Recording Inside It

Then she said:

“One must be sure of the dates first.”

I stared at her.

“What dates?”

“The baby.”

My left wrist began aching the way it always did when I became anxious.

“The doctor says September tenth.”

“Doctors estimate.”

“He has been consistent for months.”

Eleanor smiled.

“A mother usually knows the exact week.”

There it was.

Again.

The question she had been circling without asking directly.