I WENT TO PICK UP MY WIFE AND OUR NEWBORN TWIN GIRLS FROM THE HOSPITAL

My mother set the casserole down slowly.

“She’s overwhelmed,” she said. “Two babies at once? That’s a lot. Maybe she panicked.”

“No,” I said firmly. “Emily wouldn’t run. She’s not like that.”

And then it hit me.

Three weeks ago, I had walked into the kitchen and stopped short when I saw them talking in low voices. They went silent the second I stepped in. Mom brushed it off. Said they were just discussing baby names.