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“Yes, and told her that’s why I knew the baby was coming. I told her it might be a boy, too.”

“Was she surprised?”

“No. She said boys are harder. What’s that mean?”

“Harder to bring up, I imagine.”

“Because they get dirty and get into fights?”

“Among other things, yes,” I said. “Let’s get you dressed. Today we’re supposed to clean the pantry, remember?”

“No.”

“Well, we are. You go there and start taking everything out the way we did a few months ago.”

“Is there going to be a mouse again?” she asked, sitting up and making a scrunched-up face.

“I hope not.”

“Maybe there’ll be one dead in the trap. Don’t worry. I’m not afraid of it.”

“I know you’re not, Sylvia, but remember not to touch it. They can carry diseases, and you can’t get sick now.”

“I can’t?”

“I mean you shouldn’t. Not when you’re pregnant.”

“Then you can’t get sick, either?”

“Right. Let’s go.”

When we went downstairs, she went off to the pantry, and I returned to Arden’s office. Mrs. Matthews was already gone, and he was on the phone. He put his hand up, finished his call, and turned to me.

“It’s all set,” he said.

“What’s all set?”

“What I described we would do, Audrina. She’s fully aboard. She understood completely and will play along with your being pregnant, and Sylvia, as far as the world outside is to know, is not.” He sat back, smiling. “She’s even going to come up with a sort of girdle apparatus that you can wear to show the months as time goes by.”

“I wish I knew why you were so confident in her, Arden.”

“You’ll have to trust me.” He stood. “Now, I have to go back to the office.”

“She wants me to move Sylvia into one of the rear bedrooms downstairs.”

He nodded. “Yes. She mentioned that.”

“They’ll need portable heaters and more light, and we’ll have to bring her art supplies down. She won’t like it.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll clean up both of those rooms and make them comfortable.”

“Both? Why both?”

“What Sylvia has to do you’ll have to do, right? She’ll put up with it if you are doing it, too. We’ll have to prepare one of the rooms for Mrs. Matthews. She’ll move in after a while, Audrina. It will be like having a private-duty nurse around the clock. Don’t worry about it,” he said. He kissed me quickly on the cheek and started to leave.

“But why would we have a private-duty maternity nurse, Arden?” I asked, chasing after him.

He paused. “Because you will be said to have problems with the pregnancy, and that’s why you can’t leave the house. See? It’s a perfect plan.” He smiled and continued out.