Chương 6
"I said enough."
The call ended.
I immediately wrote down what Noah had said.
The habit felt strange, almost ugly.
Family wasn't supposed to require documentation.
Then again, neither was extortion.
Deputy Cole called again twenty minutes later.
He had reached Penny.
He could not tell me much, but he confirmed Lily was physically with her and apparently safe.
I let out a breath I had not noticed I was holding.
"Are they in Miami?"
"I can't discuss location details beyond what affects the welfare check."
That meant yes to me.
I did not say it.
"Did you see Lily?"
"By video."
"Did she look okay?"
"She appeared physically okay."
The phrase physically okay left too much room.
"Can I speak to her?"
"That's between you and her mother unless there's a court order."
There wasn't.
Of course there wasn't.
Penny was Lily's mother.
Being irresponsible did not erase that.
I thanked him and hung up.
For the first time all morning, there was nothing urgent I could do.
That was almost unbearable.
Rosa helped me dress.
My body felt borrowed.
Every movement required negotiation.
The jeans I had packed were a joke, so I wore the loose black pants Daniel had insisted I bring after reading an online checklist.
My abdomen still looked pregnant.
I stared at it longer than I meant to.
Rosa caught me.
"Don't."
"I'm not doing anything."
"You are doing a face."
"What face?"
"The mean face women do at themselves."
I pulled my sweatshirt down.
"I look six months pregnant."
"You were nine months pregnant yesterday."
"Helpful."
"Biology is rude."
That made me smile.
We left the hospital shortly after two.
Outside, the air was colder than I expected.
The world had continued without my permission.
Cars moved through the parking lot.
A man argued into a headset near the entrance.
Someone pushed an elderly woman in a wheelchair toward a waiting sedan.
I had become a mother overnight, and nobody outside the automatic doors cared.
It was strangely comforting.
Rosa drove slowly enough to irritate everyone behind us.
At every turn, she glanced at the rearview mirror to check Hazel.
"You can watch the road."
"I am watching both."
"That's not how eyes work."
"They work differently after sixty."
My phone kept vibrating inside my coat pocket.
I ignored it until we reached the installation gate.
The security officer checked Rosa's identification and my military ID, then bent slightly to look through the rear window.
"New passenger?"
"Yesterday."
He smiled.
"Congratulations, ma'am."
"Thank you."
The simple kindness almost undid me.
I looked away before my face could betray me.
At home, Rosa carried the bags while I carried Hazel.
The house smelled faintly like the lavender cleaner Daniel hated.
He had once said it made our living room smell like an elderly bookstore.
I had cleaned everything the day before labor started because apparently some ancient part of my brain believed newborns inspected baseboards.
A casserole sat in the refrigerator.
Two packages waited on the dining table.
Daniel's boots were still lined beneath the entry bench because I had not moved them after he deployed.
I stood there looking at those boots and suddenly wanted him so badly it hurt more than anything the hospital had stitched.
Rosa touched my shoulder.
"Bedroom."
"I'm fine."
"You say that too much."
She shepherded me toward the couch instead.
Hazel woke and began crying.
Within ten minutes, the living room filled with the ordinary chaos I had expected after childbirth.
A nursing pillow fell on the floor.
I spilled water on my sweatshirt.
Rosa discovered that one package contained three dozen diapers in the wrong size.
Hazel produced a diaper so offensive that Rosa accused her of violating international law.
For nearly an hour, my family crisis became background noise.
Then someone knocked.
I froze.
Rosa did too.
It was only a soft knock.
Three taps.
Still, every muscle in my body tightened.
"Stay here," Rosa said.
"This is my house."
"And I am closer."
She went to the door but did not open it.
"Who is it?"
A man's voice answered.
"Staff Sergeant Reed?"
I recognized the voice after a moment.
"Ben?"
Rosa looked back.
I nodded.
She opened the door.
Sergeant Ben Torres stood outside holding a paper grocery bag and wearing civilian clothes.
He worked in Daniel's section and had been one of the few people still stateside.
"I come bearing soup," he said.
Then he saw my face.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Rosa snorted loudly.
Ben looked between us.
"I see."
He set the bag on the counter.
"Daniel asked me to check on you."
"When?"
"This morning."
My chest tightened.
"Did you talk to him?"
"Briefly."
"Is he okay?"
"Yes."
That one word loosened something inside me.
Ben shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.
"He didn't have time to call you."
"I know."
"He sounded mad about that."
"That also sounds right."
Ben looked toward Hazel.
"Can I?"
I tilted her slightly so he could see.
His entire expression changed.
"Oh, wow."
"Try not to insult her appearance."
"I wasn't going to."
"Noah already compared her to a witch."
"Kids are brutal."
He stood there awkwardly for another second before his military instincts returned.
"So, what happened to the door?"
I followed his gaze.
There was nothing visibly wrong with it.
Yet.
"Nothing."
He frowned.
"Why did you look scared when I knocked?"
Rosa answered before I could.
"Her mother may come here."
"Rosa."
"What?"
Ben's eyes shifted back to me.
"Is that a problem?"
I almost said no.
The word reached the back of my throat.
Then I looked at the FAMILY folder on my phone.
"Maybe."
Ben did not ask for gossip.
He asked one practical question.
"Does she have access to the installation?"
"She can be sponsored as a visitor."
"Not automatically."
He pulled out his phone.
May you like
"If you're concerned about harassment, call security forces and ask what options you have before she shows up."
My first instinct was embarrassment.
