Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94513 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
My eyes were stinging. “You think?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
She squeezed my hand. “I know. It is a hormonal imbalance that can be treated. You were an innocent baby.”
I lifted my eyes to meet hers. “Thank you.”
Her sympathetic gaze looked as if she might cry too. “Someone should have told you that before now. You shouldn’t have carried that on your shoulders.”
I had already told this woman more baggage than I’d told anyone. I might as well get it all out there. “I didn’t know why he hated me until before he left last week. He was walking out the door, and I blurted it out. Asked him what I had done to him. Why he’d always hated me. Before that, I’d just stayed out of his way. When I was little, I’d tried to get his attention, but he’d made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me. I eventually stopped.”
Grissele closed her eyes briefly, then opened them. “Will you promise me something?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to promise anyone anything. But I also didn’t have it in me to tell her no. She’d given me more attention and interest than my father and stepmother ever had in less than an hour.
“Okay,” I agreed, hoping it wasn’t something I couldn’t do.
“When—not if—Bane becomes too much for you, don’t leave. Come here. I have plenty of room. You can even have your own floor. When the baby comes, I would love for you both to live here.”
Live here? In a mansion, where they had tea and scones? It was a lovely offer, but I couldn’t see myself fitting into this family.
“Please,” she said, looking so eager for me to agree that it made it impossible for me not to.
“That’s very generous of you,” I said.
She shook her head. “It’s not me being generous. It’s me being selfish. I want to keep you and Crosby’s baby close. Make sure you have everything you need. The very best. Crosby would have wanted that. He would have.”
She was about to cry again.
Crappity crap. Okay, fine. What was so bad about this?
Bane would want to get rid of me soon, even if I couldn’t find somewhere else to go. I might as well come where I was wanted.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Thank you.”
As I’d suspected, her eyes filled with tears again as she beamed at me, then patted my hand. “That’s settled then. Now, let’s talk about some happy things. Who is your OB-GYN? You have been to see one, right?”
I paused, then shook my head. “I don’t have insurance. I was going to get Medicaid, then find a doctor who accepts it.”
Her expression was clearly horrified. She’d been struck speechless, it seemed. Then, she stood up from her chair and walked over to the buffet table. I watched as she picked up a cell phone, then pressed a number as she made her way back to the table.
“Hello, Margo. It’s Grissele Cash.” She paused, then gave me a reassuring smile. “Yes. I need a prenatal appointment for a new patient with Connie, please. Immediately.” She lifted her eyes to me. “Fourteen weeks along?” she asked.
I nodded. “That’s what Dr. Hurl said.”
How was she calling a doctor’s office on a Sunday?
“Fourteen weeks. Tomorrow at ten is perfect. She’s family. Halo Talley. Thank you.” She ended the call and smiled at me. “Connie Stella is the best. She’s delivered so many babies in this family. She delivered Crosby. She had only been in practice two years. Her dad had delivered Bane. You’ll love her.”
She’d just heard me tell her that I didn’t have insurance. This doctor didn’t sound like someone who was going to take Medicaid. They were limited and not normally a place that this woman would think was good enough. But then what did I know? I was assuming.
“I don’t have Medicaid yet,” I said, not sure how else to say it without sounding ungrateful.
She gave me a pointed look. “Halo, this baby is my grandchild. We will handle all medical costs. I want you and the baby to have the best care available. Connie is that.”
I had never known families like this. Sure, I’d watched similar ones from afar, but not to this extent. Where money was never an issue. Where I’d gone to school, the wealthiest kids were middle class. Anyone higher than that went to private schools.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But I should be the one thanking you.”
A doctor’s appointment, lunch, and now five shopping bags later, I followed Grissele’s driver, who was carrying all my bags of things. I’d tried to tell her I didn’t need help to get up to the door of Bane’s house.
The images from the ultrasound were tucked away safely in my new purse, which I wished I’d never seen the price tag on. I was going to be scared to carry the thing around in public.