"Is it really that hard to say?"
The old woman grew even more irritated.
A doubt rose in her mind.
"Could it be that my earlier guess was right? That child really is yours—"
"No!"
The old man shouted.
He looked at the old woman, speechless.
"It's just that the child isn't here..."
"If he heard you say that, he'd definitely sue you for slander."
The old man couldn't understand why his wife was so fixated on this far-fetched—no, ridiculous—guess.
The old woman gave an awkward smile.
"Well, you were stammering and acting like it was hard to bring up."
The more she spoke, the more justified she felt.
The old man smiled bitterly.
Fine.
It was still his fault.
The old man took a deep breath.
All right.
He made up his mind.
If he was going to tell the truth, then he'd tell it plainly.
"..."
The old man opened his mouth.
Just as the old woman thought he was about to speak, she waited and waited, but nothing followed.
The old man had choked up.
Not a sound came out.
The old woman: ...
She took a deep breath.
She didn't consider herself an impatient person, but after the old man had repeatedly started to speak and then stopped, she felt her temper rising.
"What is it, exactly?"
The old woman asked, sounding somewhat exasperated.
"What makes it so hard for you to say?"
"...It's just that, at first..."
"You'll think it sounds ridiculous."
The old man gave the old woman a warning in advance.
The old woman put aside her relaxed attitude.
The old man's grave demeanor had made her nervous.
"Ridiculous?"
Just how ridiculous could it be?
The old woman could hardly imagine.
"It's all right."
The old