“Do you wanna come up?” Cally studied Ruth. Her worried forehead and tense chin. She’d gained weight. Her arms and attitude were strong as she carried the car seat. And there was the sleeping baby, but Cally wondered what else had changed: was this the Ruth she’d known and the child she’d carried? Ruth nodded, and Cally began the climb, in a numb state of disbelief.

Leading the way, Cally tromped up the stairs as loud as she liked, as if the stomping motion were helping her think, steeling her for whatever misfortune this visit might bring. Behind her, Ruth walked softly up the stairs, matching her right and left feet to Cally’s as a soldier would. Ruth touched her back and Cally stopped. She turned around.

“What?” said Cally.

“Please walk quietly. I don’t want to wake her up,” said Ruth.

“Oh. Sorry,” said Cally, standing mid-stair, her hand firmly on the railing as if she might lose her balance. “Why are you here?”

“Keep going,” said Ruth, gesturing for Cally to move it, continue up two more floors. “I’ll tell you.”

Cally turned back to climb the remaining steps more quietly, just another example of Ruth instructing her on what to do. This would not be like the Tuesday-morning visits from her friend Sarah and baby Lucas. This would not be like a visit from Stan and Vera, who’d come twice already, each time bringing a pan of brownies with chocolate chips. This would be serious. This would be painful.

On the third floor, the women filed into Cally’s apartment, and Ruth set down the baby carrier. The place was mostly the same. Maybe the sofa had been relocated. Maybe there was a new armchair. Textbooks covered the dinette table. A pizza box on the floor.

A man with a coffee mug emerged from the kitchen, then stopped short. “Oh,” he said.

“Ruth, you remember Sam,” said Cally. “From . . . the hospital.”

“I don’t think we were formally introduced.” Ruth reached out her hand and Sam shook it. She said, “I’m sorry and very embarrassed about my behavior at the hospital. Truly.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Sam. He turned to Cally and said, “Hey, I was just about to go on a run.” Sam must have noticed the tension in the room and clearly was looking for a way to get out of it.

As he moved past her, Ruth caught a glimpse of the kitchen cabinets and what looked like a note card taped to one of them. Was it a leftover from three months ago, or was there a new one? Perhaps it was about the baby. “Nice to see you, Sam,” said Ruth, but there was nothing nice about this.

“Look at her.” Cally was fixated on the baby. “She’s so much bigger. And so sweet.”