Chương 5
She bent over the stroller.
“Oh, my girls.”
Maisie stared up at her. Rosie chewed the cream bear’s ear.
Helen touched each baby’s cheek with one finger, then looked at Elise.
“You must be Miss Navarro.”
“Elise is fine.”
“Helen Mercer.”
They shook hands.
Helen’s gaze moved over the diaper bag, the bottles, and the stroller straps. “You came prepared.”
Elise smiled politely. “I’ve met babies before.”
Daniel sat in the nearest chair.
Helen looked at him. “You look tired.”
“I have twins.”
“You’ve had twins for four months.”
“And I’ve been tired for four months.”
Her mouth tightened. “Rebecca was tired too.”
Elise crouched beside the stroller and pretended to adjust Maisie’s sock.
Daniel checked the time.
“We’re not doing this here.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“You said her name as an accusation.”
“I said my daughter’s name.”
The receptionist glanced toward them, then quickly back at her screen.
Elise stood. “I’m going to warm the bottles.”
“They have a warmer here,” Helen said.
“I know.”
She wheeled the stroller toward a small alcove.
Daniel watched her escape.
Helen sat beside him, leaving one empty chair between them.
“I called you three times yesterday,” she said.
“I was working.”
“You always are.”
“I employ three thousand people.”
“You have two daughters.”
He lowered his voice. “What did you ask Elise?”
Helen’s hands remained folded over her handbag. “I asked reasonable questions.”
“You asked whether I was drunk around the babies.”
“I asked whether she had seen you intoxicated.”
“That distinction would impress a lawyer.”
“I spoke to one.”
Daniel turned toward her.
Helen met his eyes.
“The girls should stay with me for a while,” she said.
“No.”
“You didn’t ask how long.”
“No.”
“You are not sleeping. You are missing appointments. You’re leaving most of the care to employees.”
“That is what childcare is.”
“No, Daniel. Childcare is help. This is disappearance with payroll.”
The words struck with such precision that he could not answer immediately.
Helen looked toward the stroller alcove. “Rebecca was afraid this would happen.”
His chair scraped the floor as he stood.
The clinic door opened, and a nurse called, “Carter twins?”
Elise reappeared with both bottles.
Daniel took the stroller handles from her.
“We’re done talking,” he told Helen.
Helen rose. “We haven’t started.”
Dr. Priya Shah had cared for the twins since birth. She was small, quick, and unimpressed by wealth. She examined Maisie first while asking questions in a tone that made evasion feel childish.
“How many ounces per feed?”
“Usually five,” Elise answered. “Four if Rosie’s reflux is acting up.”
“Night waking?”
“Three times,” Elise said. “Sometimes four.”
Dr. Shah looked at Daniel. “And who handles those?”
He glanced at Elise.
“Miss Navarro,” he said.
“Every time?”
“Most.”
Dr. Shah placed the stethoscope against Maisie’s chest. “How often are you present for bedtime?”
Daniel disliked that the room had become so quiet.
“I’m working on changing my schedule.”
“That was not the question.”
Helen looked at the floor.
“Not often enough,” Daniel said.
Dr. Shah moved the stethoscope to Maisie’s back. “How often is not often enough?”
“Once or twice a week.”
Elise spoke gently. “He was there last night.”
Dr. Shah glanced at her.
Daniel did not.
The examination continued. Both babies were gaining weight. Rosie’s reflux was improving. Maisie’s skin irritation had nearly disappeared. Their social responses were appropriate. Their sleep was poor but not alarming.
“They’ve had significant disruption,” Dr. Shah said as she entered notes into the tablet. “Caregiver loss affects babies even when they cannot understand death. They know scent, rhythm, voice, routine. They know when a person is gone.”
Daniel looked at the paper sheet beneath Rosie. She had kicked a small tear into it.
“What do they need?” Helen asked.
“Stability. Consistent responses. Familiar caregivers. More calm contact with their father.”
Dr. Shah turned to Daniel. “Not entertaining them. Not managing them. Being physically present.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
He looked at her.
She waited.
“I’m beginning to,” he said.
Rosie reached toward his cuff. He gave her one finger. Her hand closed around it.
Dr. Shah’s expression softened slightly. “Grief doesn’t make someone an unfit parent. Refusing help can.”
Helen shifted in her chair.
Daniel felt the movement.
After the appointment, Helen followed him into the corridor. Elise remained inside to dress the twins.
“I have a proposal,” Helen said.
“No.”
“You have not read it.”
“I don’t need to.”
“It is temporary guardianship, not custody.”
Daniel stopped walking.
A father carrying a toddler stepped around them. The toddler stared at Daniel until his father whispered something and pulled him along.
Helen took a folded envelope from her handbag.
“Six months,” she said. “The girls would live with me during the week. You could spend every weekend at the house. We would review it after the holidays.”
“You consulted a lawyer before asking me.”
“I asked you three weeks ago.”
“You said they should visit.”
“I said they should come home with me.”
“This is their home.”
Helen’s eyes glistened, but her voice remained steady. “A home is not an address with a night nurse.”
“Elise is not a night nurse.”
“Fine. A nanny.”
“You questioned her about my drinking.”
“I questioned her because you stopped answering me.”
“That does not give you the right to investigate me through my employees.”
“Then stop making your employees the only people who see your children.”
The exam-room door opened.
Elise appeared with the stroller. She looked from Helen to the envelope in Daniel’s hand.
Helen stepped aside.
“I am not trying to take them from you,” she said quietly. “I am trying to keep them from being raised by whoever survives working for you.”
Daniel folded the envelope once, sharply, and put it in his pocket.
He took the stroller from Elise and pushed it toward the elevator.
No one spoke until the doors closed.
Maisie began fussing.
Elise handed Daniel a bottle.
He stared at it.
May you like
“You’re closer,” she said.
He adjusted the stroller brake and bent awkwardly. The elevator descended forty floors while he held the bottle at an angle Elise corrected twice.
