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He could almost see her catch herself, and then she turned away from him.
Walking away as fast as she could, she got to her beat-up car and climbed in, hoping to drive away before Dave came out to the street.
When she got to the corner, across the street from the marina, she began to cry. Angry at Grace for telling her conspiratorially that the baby had Down syndrome, it was almost like she did it on purpose to rile up Amber.
***
Sunday at the wild horse preservation meeting had always been one of Amber’s favorite activities since she was a teenager, even after Maggie Angel started to attend. But that Sunday, she was miserable when she woke up, missing Phil, and it crossed her mind not to go for a moment.
“You’re only punishing yourself if you don’t go.”
She crawled out of bed, dressed in jeans, had a full breakfast compliments of the chef, and got into her junker that thankfully started. Since Phil was out of town, she didn’t want to take one of his expensive cars when she was out and about on a Sunday even though he said she was welcome to drive any one of them except the Bugatti that he didn’t even like to drive.
The twenty-minute drive to the lodge filled her with excitement for the day the closer she got. It wasn’t the same without Justin there. Though they rarely spoke, just seeing him, even when he brought Maggie along, did her heart good. But they were home with their new baby.
And Phil never missed a meeting unless he was out of town and today, he was out of town. She’d make do with Gloria and Bubba and Grace and some of the other old-timers. They were going on a trail ride that day, her most favorite thing to do. Grace rode alongside her and they caught up with their week, friends in spite of a thirty-year difference in age.
“I’ve got news,” she said. “It’s sad news, but nowadays, you have to pretend that everything is welcomed and hopeful, even if it isn’t.”
“What are you talking about, Grace? Speak English.”
“Rose Angel was in town on Friday and stopped by the dockmaster’s shack to talk to Gus.”
She didn’t continue, so Amber had to twist her hand in a circle. “And? Get on with it, Grace; you’re making me crazy.”
“Ha! Well, it’s Katrina and Dave’s baby.”
“Don’t say the names in the same sentence, please.”
“They’re living together, Amber; you have to accept that.”
“I do accept it, and I’ve acknowledged it, but I thought I could be real with you. I don’t need to hear about their baby. I practically single-handedly outfitted his nursery.”
“Dave designed the nursery, by the way. Did you see it?”
“I did, and it’s very nice. I didn’t realize Dave did it. Katrina didn’t mention it. I like the bright colors. Not pale blue with clouds painted on the walls like everyone has.”
“Yes, well, anyway, the baby came Friday.”
Amber looked down at her horse’s head. “She finally had it. She hung in there a long time.”
“She did. He was full term. They are already home.”
“No way!”
“Oh yes, they don’t keep them in long anymore. Anyway, the baby has something wrong with it.”
“How awful! What’s wrong?”
“They found out about it months ago, but just didn’t say, which I can understand. He was born with Down syndrome.”
“Like a mongoloid baby?”
“Amber, they don’t use that term anymore. It’s insulting and politically incorrect. He has Down syndrome.”
“Poor Dave! I wonder what he’s going to do?”
“What can he do? The baby is here, and he’s alive. But it’s sad. Again, you aren’t supposed to express those negative feelings.”
