PART 2
Caleb looked at his mother’s hand around his wrist.
Not because it hurt.
Because he had never seen her look that scared.
Mara Bennett was the person who fixed everything.
When the washing machine broke, she found a way to repair it.
When Caleb needed new shoes and there wasn’t enough money, she worked extra shifts.
When Grace had a fever at midnight, Mara stayed awake for two nights straight without complaining.
She was the kind of mother who could carry groceries in one arm and a crying toddler in the other.
But right now…
She looked terrified of one person.
His father.
“Mom,” Caleb whispered. “What did Dad do?”
Mara released his wrist immediately.
“Nothing.”
The answer came too quickly.
Caleb knew that.
Children learned things adults thought they hid.
They learned from silence.
From footsteps.
From the way their mother stopped talking when someone entered the room.
From the way their father’s voice could make the entire house become quiet.
“Mom.”
“Caleb, we’re going home.”
“But—”
“Please.”
That word stopped him.
Not because it was loud.
Because it wasn’t.
Mara rarely asked for anything.
She usually commanded.
She handled.
She endured.
But “please” meant she had nothing left.
They walked back through the market without buying anything.
The paper bag of apples remained on the vendor’s table.
The Saturday crowd continued moving around them, completely unaware that a family was quietly falling apart in the middle of the street.
When they reached their old sedan, Mara sat behind the wheel but did not start the engine.
She placed both hands on the steering wheel.
Her fingers trembled.
Caleb watched her.
“Mom?”
She stared through the windshield.
“When I was pregnant with Grace, your father said something to me.”
Caleb stayed silent.
“He said our family was already too expensive.”
The words confused him.
“What does that mean?”
Mara swallowed.
“He said four children were enough.”
A cold feeling moved through Caleb’s chest.
“But Grace was already born.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re pregnant now?”
Mara closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she nodded.
Caleb looked down.
