AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And I know Anna appreciates that,” Julia said delicately. “But she’s also going through a very strange and traumatic time.”
“I can’t imagine hanging around that angry young man will help her,” Violet said, referring to Smith.
Julia sighed and rolled her shoulders back. “Can we just agree to be patient with Anna right now? And not pester her too much about things like breastfeeding?”
Violet set her jaw and just barely twitched her head forward into a nod.
“Great,” Julia said, although she wasn’t sure she could trust Violet. “That reminds me. Is your room big enough to host you and your husband when he comes out? My mother said we can always move you to another room.”
This was a white lie. Greta hadn’t suggested anything.
“Oh. Um.” Violet bit her lower lip. “I’m sure it’ll be big enough. Larry and I don’t need much.”
In the next room, little Adam squawked. This was followed by Bernard’s booming voice. “He’s already singing! He’s a Copperfield!” he cried.
Violet’s cheeks were pale. All at once, it was as though her mood crashed in on itself, and her shoulders drooped. Big bags hung beneath her eyes.
It occurred to Julia that Violet’s moods were erratic. That she could never count on them sustaining for longer than a few minutes. She’d seen this before in other artists at The Copperfield House—most notably in Aurora, who’d stayed over the summer, writing music and painting. But Violet wasn’t a typical “artist” type. She was Midwestern; she was a mother.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t need help.
“You’ll let me know if you need anything,” Julia said quietly as Greta’s footsteps grew closer.
Violet spread her hands out on the table and stared at her fingers. “I just need a healthy grandson,” she said quietly. “I’ll do anything for him.”
Greta bustled back into the kitchen, telling Julia what needed to be refilled, where to find new bottles of wine, and asking whether Julia thought they should put out ice cream just in case people wanted it. All the while, as Greta scuttled to and fro, Violet looked listless, hovering just left of a sunbeam that came in through the kitchen window. It was impossible to read her expression.
Just before Julia disappeared with a big vat of vanilla ice cream, she touched Violet’s shoulder delicately and reminded her, “We want the same things. We want Adam to be healthy.” But Violet couldn’t look her in the eye.
As the party died down, Julia helped Anna to her bedroom. Scarlet was hot on her heels with a fresh bottle of formula, which they’d prepared “just in case” Anna wasn’t able to breastfeed tonight. Anna took one look at the formula and wrinkled her nose.
“Fed is best,” Julia assured her.
Exhausted after her milk production continued to fail her, Anna set herself up on the bed, cradling Adam as she fed him his bottle. Her eyes were tender as she gazed down at him. Scarlet and Julia were wordless until Adam fell back asleep again, and Anna lay back on her bed pillows with Adam splayed across her chest. He looked impossibly small.
“Anna?” Julia asked, her tone low. “Did Dean ever mention anything about his mother?”
Anna’s eyes flickered. “He sometimes said she was ‘emotionally all over the place.’ But he said it lovingly.”
Julia palmed the back of her neck. How could she illustrate her worries without making Anna fully panic?
“I worry that Dean’s death has had a huge impact on her,” Julia offered. “That maybe we don’t have the capabilities to help.”
Anna bit her lip. “Me too.”
“She better back off about this ‘breast is best’ business,” Scarlet said, pacing the floor at the foot of the bed. “It’s like she’s forgotten what it means to be a brand-new mother.”
“She’ll get used to it,” Julia tried.
“She’s gone through so much,” Anna said. Sleepiness transformed her face, and she settled deeper onto the pillow. “I can’t thank you enough for trying to make her feel at home here. I just want her to know I still love Dean. And that she can be in the baby’s life as much as she wants.”
Ultimately, Anna’s worries extended far beyond Violet now. She was a brand-new mother with a fresh set of problems—a future stretched out before her, riddled with fears and life lessons. Julia couldn’t push it; she couldn’t say anything that would keep Anna awake all night, heavy with discontent. She just had to hope Violet would calm down and settle into life with Adam. She had to hope her “warning” had been enough.
Chapter Ten
The private joys, frustrations, fears, and glories of those first few days of Adam’s life would remain in Anna’s heart forever. She found herself gazing endlessly at Adam’s face, touching his tiny toes, stroking his thick hair, and wondering what was next for him. It seemed impossible that this tiny baby would one day grow up to be a man. Yet, as a new mother, that was all she could hope and pray for. That one day, he would fall in love, chase his dreams, and perhaps even move away—all in pursuit of building a life. “Your father wasn’t allowed to do everything he dreamed of,” Anna whispered. “It’s up to you now.”
Anna welcomed frequent visitors in her bedroom and the nursery—the Copperfields who couldn’t get enough baby snuggles. The first day after the party, Scarlet hung around for hours, doting on baby Adam, changing his diaper, and giving him his bottle. Predictably, she also wanted to gossip about Smith. But Anna wasn’t yet sure how to talk about him.
