Читать книгу Just Try to Stop Me - Gregg Olsen - Страница 20

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The hospital had a lovely view of the river. Elise, Brad, and new father Joe whispered among themselves while Brenda slumbered. A nurse came in and told them that the baby was fine. They’d be able to see her in the preemie care room down the hall in a few minutes.

“Has Mom woken up yet?” the nurse asked.

“Nope. Out like a light,” Joe said.

“All right. Let her rest. I’ll be back to check on her in a few. Why don’t you go down and see your precious newborn?”

Joe and Brad went. Elise stayed behind to keep Brenda company.

Right after the Nevins men disappeared down the corridor, Brenda’s eyes fluttered. She looked over at Elise, who was sitting next to her in a rocker.

“Good morning, Momma,” Elise said.

Brenda wriggled a little and pushed the button to adjust her bed.

“Childbirth is not,” she said. “Let me repeat, NOT anything that any woman should ever want to do. It’s absolutely horrific. Ugh. So gross. And painful too.”

“Kara is beautiful,” Elise said. “So tiny, but so beautiful.”

“I hope so,” Brenda said. “I don’t want an ugly baby. No one does. They say all they want is a healthy baby, but that’s just what people say when they end up with an ugly little creature.” She looked around. “Where’s Joe?”

“He and Brad are down seeing your daughter. Are you feeling up to seeing her too? I can get the nurse to help us.”

“No. But I would like to see the nurse,” she said, pressing the call button.

A beat later, the nurse returned.

“I’ll bet you want to see your baby, honey.”

“No, I actually don’t. I want someone to get my bag. I brought cocoa butter for my stomach. I don’t want stretch marks.”

When Elise and Brad drove home from the hospital, there was a kind of uneasiness in the air. The baby was beautiful and she was going to be fine—probably released in a couple of days.

“There’s something wrong with her,” Elise said.

“She’s little, honey. She’ll grow.”

Elise shook her head. “Not Kara. I’m talking about Brenda. There’s something really wrong with that girl. All she cared about was her stretch marks and making sure she’d have a perfect beach body when she got out of the hospital. She didn’t care one bit about her baby. I’m not exaggerating. You saw it too.”

“Yeah, Elise, I did,” Brad said.

“She didn’t even want to hold Kara. It was almost like I had to force the baby into her arms.”

“She might be scared about being a new mom. It’s a big change.”

“Don’t defend her. You and I both know something is up with her. She’s cold like. She doesn’t want to share the attention with her own baby. It’s like Kara is competition for her or something.”

“Not everyone is a great mom out of the box. Not everyone is like you, Elise.”

She smiled at her husband’s compliment. “Thanks for that, but I’m worried.”

“Don’t be worried. Brenda will adjust. All will be well.”

* * *

Brad Nevins rested his hands on the table. He stayed silent for a long time. Kendall could see that he was reliving something painful, something so dark that he needed to process. He was a kind, thoughtful man.

“You know what?” he asked.

“What’s that, Mr. Nevins?”

“Kara didn’t have a chance. Not from the day she was born. Her mother could stand before a mirror holding that baby and only see herself. It’s like Kara was never going to be anything other then a means to an end, and we didn’t see it. We really blew it.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Kendall said, knowing the futility of such words.

“Elise knew. She told me, and I didn’t listen. I should have. I really should have. I had seen Brenda pull all kinds of crap from nearly the first day I met her and somehow, like a cat having kittens, I thought that having a baby would refocus her. You know, get her off the Brenda Train and have her see that the world wasn’t all about her, all the time.”