The boys had scarcely finished their food when Jeremy said, “Boys. Go upstairs and build that Lego kit.”

“What Lego kit?” Sebastian asked.

“Any one. The Batman one.”

“We already built that one,” said Chase.

“We did,” Sebastian concurred. “We already built all the ones we brought.”

“Go rebuild one, then.”

“Well,” began Sebastian reasonably, “once you build one you really can’t rebuild it because of the way the—”

“Just go,” said Jeremy. “Just go.” They went. “I’ll make sure the grill is off,” said Jeremy.

“It’s off,” said Lu. “I always turn it off.”

“I’ll just make sure,” said Jeremy quietly. He stood and made what Lu thought was a great show of walking onto the deck and checking all of the burners. Upstairs, she could hear Sebastian doing his politically incorrect imitation of a cop about to arrest Chase.

When Jeremy returned he regained his seat and said, “You never said anything about needing a babysitter. Are things too much for you around here, Lu?” The words were almost kind but the sentiment behind them was not.

Lu said, “Sometimes.” It was true.

“In that case,” Jeremy said, “you can ask my mother for help.”

“I don’t want to ask your mother for help.” Lu was suddenly, violently enraged at the situation she’d put herself in. It looked to Jeremy like she couldn’t handle the children without help when really what she couldn’t handle was children plus a burgeoning career without help. (And who, realistically, could?) But she couldn’t balance the scales without telling him everything.

“My mother loves to help, Lu.”

“She doesn’t love to help! She just loves to see me need help.”

“That’s not fair.” Now Jeremy sounded peevish. “She wanted us here because she enjoys spending time with the boys, you know that.”

Grudgingly, Lu had to admit that might be true.

“Besides, once we have another baby we’ll be outnumbered. We’ll need her help then.”

Lu gritted her teeth. She couldn’t make this argument be about another baby. She had to keep dodging the baby question; if she dodged it long enough, maybe it would go away.

“I want you to fire her,” Jeremy said. “I don’t want a stranger here with the boys. Isn’t that why you left your job, so we wouldn’t have a stranger here with the boys?”

He’s tired, Lu reminded herself. He’s always tired when he comes back after a few long shifts in a row. The commute to and from the hospital was wearing on him. Jeremy didn’t get enough sleep, that was a big part of the problem. It was a scientifically proven fact that lack of sleep impeded your memory retention, your overall health, your sense of well-being and happiness. She’d heard a podcast about it. His circadian rhythms called to him, but he couldn’t answer.

Lu understood that she had to speak carefully. “She’s not a stranger,” she said. “The boys love her. She’s young, and she plays with them. She’s funny. She can cook! One time she—”