Do I even exist?

We had a wonderful time in a sleepy Continental village last week, savouring the sunshine and peace and quiet. As babymoons go, it was pretty good. However, in the staunchly Catholic environment I found myself vanishing. Everyone wanted to talk to R about the baby and when she was due to give birth. She has quite a spectacular bump now. Every time they spoke to her though, they looked at me, and then looked away, not sure of my role. One man even asked R if she was married, and even though she explained she was married to me, he seemed confused as to where the husband was.

I'm slowly growing used to the uneasy looks of people who aren't quite sure if I'm a friend or some kind of hanger-on. I guess it has meant I haven't needed to answer any of the inevitable parent-to-be questions about sleep deprivation and whether I'm excited. But even so, I felt pushed out of the picture. What's more concerning perhaps is that I didn't push myself back into the picture, I just let them get on with it. After all, I don't know them. But all of a sudden I think that perhaps I have a responsibility to educate them. But then, is that my job? It's all so tiring!