“Polly can draw circles around me,” he said. “You don’t know where she took off to so fast today, do you?”

I shrugged. “I think she was probably just trying to get some space from me so she could breathe.”

“Everything okay?” When Ethan tilted his head, he lost the sunbeam and his hair turned ordinary again.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You know, living and working together is a lot. Not to mention major construction at the house, so it’s been like playing musical bedrooms. Many animals, even more family. No privacy. And let’s not forget global warming and Mercury in retrograde.”

Ethan didn’t say anything.

“Why?” I said. “Do you think something’s wrong with Polly? Is there anything I should know?”

He turned to a fresh page in his notebook and started drawing what looked like a checkerboard. He scribbled in some of the boxes like he was looking for a way to win the game, or maybe it was a puzzle he was trying to solve.

He looked up. “I’d feel better if Polly moved in with me.”

A curtain of silence fell between us. It was dark and velvety and almost palpable, like we could reach out and touch it if we dared.

“And how would your girlfriend feel?” I finally said.

He began to cover his drawing with big overlapping Xs.

“So, what,” I said. “You’d keep Polly hidden up in the attic? Let her come down when the coast is clear?”

“Life,” Ethan said, “is just too damn complicated.”

“Agreed.” I blew out a puff of air. “And I, for one, really suck at it.”

We both nodded, lost in our thoughts.

“I think the best thing we can do for Polly,” I said, “is not to bring any drama into her life right now. You know, just keep things simple and quiet and uneventful, at least until she has the baby and gets her feet under her again. I’m not saying things aren’t crazy at my house, but Polly’s safe there. And she’s got a big bedroom with plenty of space for the baby once it’s born.”

Ethan turned to a fresh page, started filling it with a honeycomb pattern, like drawing a sturdy beehive might be the first step toward building a durable life.

“I can see that, I guess.” He looked up. “You’ll let me know if I can do anything?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I will. Listen, I know it’s not my business, and I’m the last person who’s qualified to give relationship advice of any kind, believe me, but maybe you should use this time to figure things out with your former wife, current girlfriend, or whatever she is.”