“Why is my pregnant wife the only one in the kitchen?” — I Asked My Mother and Sisters After Finding Camila Washing a Mountain of Dishes at 10 P.M.

Camila began to move more slowly.

Her steps became cautious.

By the seventh month she often rested one hand against her lower back when she stood too long.

Still, every time my family visited, she insisted on doing everything she had always done.

Cooking.

Serving.

Cleaning.

If I suggested she sit down, she would smile and say, “It’s only a few minutes.”

I believed her.

Or perhaps I wanted to believe her.