How to Bake a Perfect Life - Barbara O'Neal [137]
“Jesus,” he said, and it was the first time I’ve heard anything real out of him since he woke up. “I fucked up.”
“Yeah.” I was sitting there, rubbing my lower back with a fist, trying to get the knots out, and the baby was making a slow, hard turn that felt like a giant drum moving inside me.
“Sofia,” he said, “I can’t see you when you’re sitting down.”
“Yeah, well, my back hurts. You have to talk without seeing me.”
“Baby.” He held up one arm. “Please.”
So I stood up, because that’s me, Ms. Nice Guy, and Oscar, my big strong husband, had tears in his eyes. I put my hand in his and he said, finally, “I’m sorry.” He brought my hand to his mouth. “I’m so, so sorry.”
I kissed his fingers back. “We’ll get through all of it, Oscar. Together. Okay?”
He nodded, and then I had to sit back down because my back was killing me. And now I’ve got to go find somebody, because it’s hurting in a way I don’t think I can handle for very much longer. Maybe there’s some drug they can give me.
Ow!
Katie
There’s some paperwork to get through, but Katie doesn’t care. She’s really sick to her stomach and knows this was the stupidest idea she’s ever had, but her mom is right on the other side of that door and she has to see her now, doesn’t she?
So she leans against her backpack, watching some Spanish soap opera. The door buzzes and then the room fills up with her mom. “Katie! Baby!” she yells, running forward.
Her voice is as loud as ever, but when Katie sees how much better her mom looks, her heart flips over and over, and she jumps up. “Mom!”
They hug, hard, hard, hard, right in the middle of the waiting room. Lacey smells like cigarettes and shampoo and a sweet, airy soapy smell that must be from the care package they sent her. Her arms are strong, and she’s gained enough weight that she has a little bit of chest back. Katie is, however, a lot taller.
“Jeez, kid!” Lacey says, pulling back to look at her. “You’ve grown a half a foot since I saw you last!”
“Three and a half inches,” Katie says, and laughs. “Can you believe it?”
“You look so beautiful! Look at your hair and your figure.” She steps back to look Katie up and down, holding on to her hand.
“So do you, Mom.” And it’s true. All the wounds and scabs are gone, and her hair is cut neatly at her shoulders. Katie can’t remember the last time she saw it this short.
“You ready to go? We only have an hour. But we can go to the park up the way.”
“Can we go get something to eat? I’m really hungry. I saw a Denny’s up the street a few blocks.”
“Oh, sweets, I’m sorry, but I can’t be gone that long. Do you want to skip it, come back tomorrow?”
“No, it’s all right. I can eat later.”
“Good. Come on. There’s a picnic table right by the river and it’s real nice. You’ll like it.”
They walk across the street. Her mom has an ankle bracelet on, which is why they let her go, Katie guesses. The street is busy, but they cross at the light and walk six blocks up to a skanky-looking park with hardly any grass and a picnic table covered with gang graffiti. “This is it?” Katie asks.
“Oh, have you gone soft on me?” Lacey says. She takes a cigarette out and lights it, blowing smoke away from Katie but looking at her hard. “It looks worse than it is. I like to be by the river.”
“Okay.”
When they sit there, it isn’t so bad. There’s shade and the water sounds nice slushing by, though Katie suddenly remembers there are probably snakes in that water, not like in Colorado. Her mom asks, “How is your dad doing?”
Katie’s heart goes hard. “I don’t know. I’m not talking to him again.”
“It’ll be all right, kiddo.” She smokes restlessly, her eyes moving all around them as if she’s looking for someone. Katie feels a little uneasy and looks over her shoulder. No one is there.
“How much longer do you think you’ll be in?”
“Damn, girl, forever. They want to keep me on this damned bracelet for two years, you believe that?” She puts out one cigarette after lighting another from the end of it. When she sees Katie watching, she says, “I know, I am working on it. There’s just not much