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“I mean, he was with you?” Scarlet asked as she fed Adam his bottle on day three of Adam’s life. “He drove you to the hospital?”
Anna could do nothing but laugh. “Sure. We ran into each other that night. But it’s not like it meant anything.” This was the biggest lie she’d ever told.
“But he even came to a Copperfield family party to say hi to you,” Scarlet protested. “The guy didn’t speak to anyone for weeks. He flat-out refused to go to that party with me. And come on. We both have to acknowledge the way he looks at you!”
Anna arched her eyebrow, pretending not to understand. “Looks at me? Come on, Scarlet. I’m a new mother with a spare tire around my middle. I probably won’t get enough beauty sleep to be seen outside the house in the foreseeable future.”
Scarlet laughed. “I know you know what I’m talking about. You can’t lie to me. I know you too well.”
Anna’s cheeks burned, and she crossed her legs beneath her on the mattress, watching as her baby suckled on the bottle. Just that morning, she’d strained and struggled to get him to latch to her breast. When he’d finally managed it, only a little milk had come out. She’d even connected her breasts to a horrific machine, a pump, to generate more milk production. Nothing seemed to be working.
“Smith’s a weird guy,” Scarlet observed, her eyes on Adam, “but he’s also weirdly honest and true. I think it’s because he’s been through so much. When he shows up for you, it’s because he really wants to.”
“We don’t really know him,” Anna reminded Scarlet.
“True. But you know how you sometimes get feelings about people?” Scarlet asked.
Anna didn’t nod or shake her head. Still, hearing her sentiments about Smith echoed back from her cousin was strange. It anchored them.
But who was she kidding? This was no time to fall in love.
Of course, Violet stopped by the nursery frequently to see baby Adam. She brought several more baby items—equipment she’d recently read about that would “create a baby genius.” Because Anna was so fatigued and over the moon, she didn’t find it difficult to accept these gifts and call them “generous and kind.” Perhaps in a week or two, they would outrage her again.
On the fifth day of Adam’s life, Violet just happened to drop by the nursery when Anna’s lactation consultant was leaving. Violet’s eyes gleamed with happiness.
“I knew you’d listen to reason!” she cried as the lactation specialist disappeared down the hallway.
Violet seemed to take this as a sign to return to her previous-held status as “giver of parenting advice.” Anna grimaced as Violet reminded her what had worked when Violet had been a new mother. “Always sleep when the baby sleeps,” she said. “And they tell you not to let them cry it out, but many people say it only benefits them to let them calm themselves down. We all have to learn coping mechanisms at some point.”
Anna’s heartbeat quickened. “He’s only five days old,” she said, unable to resist.
“It’s never too early to instill good habits,” Violet said as she cradled Adam close.
It was often difficult to get Violet to leave Anna’s room. She scrambled for more time with Adam, more conversation about Dean, and more parenting advice, so much so that it did Anna’s head in. Once, she texted Scarlet to save her, and Scarlet paraded down the hall, pretending to sob.
“He dumped me!” Scarlet cried as she entered the bedroom. “Oh gosh. I don’t know what to do!” She then turned to blink knowingly at Violet, who raised her hands.
“Girls,” Violet said, “you cannot take stock in men’s opinions of you.”
Realizing her tactic wasn’t having the desired effect, Scarlet wailed louder and fell onto the bed. “Do you think I can talk to my cousin alone?” she whimpered.
When Violet finally got the hint, Scarlet’s face transformed. “I have plenty more ideas where that came from.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” Anna said.
Scarlet giggled and leaned against the wall beside the bed. “Look at him,” she said, nodding toward Adam, tucked safely in Anna’s arms. “I swear, he’s already growing like a bean.”
Anna allowed herself a moment of sorrow, realizing she’d already lost so much time with Adam.
Scarlet interrupted her reverie with a snap of her fingers. “You know who I saw downtown today?”
“Who?”
“Smith Watson,” she said. “He was palling around with his dog, enjoying the winter sun and eating hot dogs. Then I saw him go into a flower shop and leave with a bouquet!”
Anna laughed. “You’re a real spy. You know that, Scarlet?”
“It has to be for you,” Scarlet said conspiratorially. “Who else would he buy flowers for?”
