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They reached Annie’s house and hugged again. “You just had a baby a week ago,” Annie said. “You’re vulnerable right now. If you can, pamper yourself.”
“I love you, Annie. We’ll talk later.”
She walked the few blocks to Creole Cottage and was just unbuckling the baby out of the stroller when his father pulled into the driveway.
“Talk about perfect timing,” he said, stopping there and not pulling into the garage. “Don’t bother taking everything inside. We’re going to Bayou Cottage.”
“Oh, thank God. That sounds like exactly what I need. I’ll need to pump, though, and feed him. He didn’t make a peep the whole time.”
“Was your visit okay?”
“No. Amber showed up and gave a long speech apologizing. And Annie didn’t know about it so then she needed all the details and it just blew up in my face.”
He held her, kissing the top of her head. “It’s my fault.”
“It is not, Dave. We can’t keep doing this, placing blame. Anyway, what are we doing at Bayou Cottage?”
“Justin has a new grill. This one can roast a pig.”
“Oh my God,” she said, laughing. “We should become vegetarians.”
“Yes, a pig on a spit. They are having an impromptu barbeque. Probably just us.”
“Ha! My favorite people.”
Inside, the magic of the cottage immediately calmed her down so she could care for baby David and freshen up.
“Why do I let Amber get under my skin like that? We live in the same town. I’m probably going to keep running into her so I’d better get used to it.”
“You don’t have to get used to that bitch,” he said, taking the baby from her. “I missed my little guy.”
In the bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror and washed her hands. She looked different lately, like childbirth had made her softer. But she saw a distinct sadness, too. And she didn’t want to be that person.
“His highness is rooting on my t-shirt,” Dave said, bringing the baby to her.
“I’m ready.”
She sat on the bed to nurse. Sitting next to her, Dave sensed there was something deeper going on that she wasn’t sharing.
“Did you want to tell me about the confrontation?”
“There’s not much to tell. She admitted that her anger at you for ending it without an explanation led to the encounter behind the post office.”
“Oh! That makes a lot of sense. She’s going to let a chip on her shoulder rule her life?”
“Annie reminded her of Phil, how much he cares for her, blah, blah, blah. And then she said Phil made a huge donation to the Down syndrome group in this parish. Frankly, it made me uncomfortable, like you can exhibit all the bad behavior you want if you’ve got the money to pay it off.”
“How’d you end it?”
“I didn’t,” Katrina answered. “She told us about the donation and there was nothing to say that could top that so she said goodbye—oh, first mentioning that the baby was adorable, and then left. I forgot; she carries his picture around in her wallet.”
“Ugh. That’s just wrong.”
She burped the baby and reached behind Dave for a diaper.
“I love our cottage but a change of scene will be good,” Dave said. “Will you mind if I help Justin around the place?”
“No, Dave, of course not. Admit it, the real reason we’re going is so you can race around on the tractor.”
