Part 17 (2/2)
”I need Lizzie with me since I'm nursing. We have a cradle there.”
”Oh. Well, then, would Tuesday work?” Eaton would be playing tennis again. ”I take it Hugh will be back at work?”
”Yes.”
”Then that's perfect,” Dorothy crowed. She didn't care to see Hugh right now, any more than she wanted Eaton knowing what she was doing. This was between Dana, Lizzie, and her. ”I could come early, as soon as Hugh left for the office, and I could even bring breakfast.”
”I promised Tara I'd meet her for breakfast,” said Dana.
”Is it wise to take a baby so young out to a restaurant?”
”It's a local place, just a five-minute drive from here, and the pediatrician says it's fine.”
”Well, that's good,” Dorothy remarked brightly, though her spirits fell. It sounded like Dana didn't want her around, which wasn't entirely unjustified. The thing was, Dorothy really did want to see the baby.
”Tuesday late morning might work,” Dana said. ”We should be home by ten. I wouldn't be leaving for The St.i.tchery until after lunch.”
Dorothy perked up. ”I'll bring lunch. That will be so nice. I know you like Rosie's. I could stop there on the way. Tell me what you'd like.”
”Any kind of salad with grilled chicken-”
”No, no. Please be very specific.”
”A grilled-chicken Caesar, lightly dressed.”
”Then that's what you'll have.”
Chapter 14.
Dana didn't tell Hugh that his mother had called. Petty, she knew. And controlling. But she was feeling more vulnerable than she ever had. Lizzie's birth was forcing her to think about her own father and the issue of race. Time and again, she looked in the mirror, wondering how her life would have been different if her skin had been Lizzie's color. For one thing, she doubted she would be married to Hugh.
But she was. And that weekend was a difficult one. He was two different people-guarded with her, enthusiastic with friends. When Julian pulled out his camera and insisted on taking a family photo, Hugh was all smiles. He put his arms around Dana and held the baby and her close. Hypocritical though she thought it, his manner set the tone for their friends-which, ironically, made her point. Yes, there were questions, but once he explained that Dana had never known her father, that was the end of it. Tell people the truth and they move on, she had said. Show excitement and they show it in return.
No, the problem was when they were alone. The DNA test lay between them, tethering each to his own side of their king-size bed.
When Hugh went to the hospital Sunday morning to visit Jay Kostas, he brought a bag full of books, a remote-control toy car, and an oversize Patriots s.h.i.+rt. The boy was in a quad. Only two of the beds were taken, the other by a child whose parents kept the drapes drawn.
Jay wasn't a large boy. The body cast gave the impression of girth, until one looked at his arms and legs, which were extremely thin. When Hugh arrived, he was watching cartoons on an overhead TV set and Crystal was sleeping, sitting in the chair. The boy recognized him from his previous visit. His eyes lit when he saw the gifts.
”Wake up, Mommy,” he whispered.
Crystal lifted her head. She was a minute focusing, which said something about the rest she wasn't getting in her own bed at home. Still, she managed a sleepy ”Hi.”
”How's it going?” Hugh asked.
She stretched. ”Not bad.”
”Whaddaya got?” Jay asked, with his eyes on the gifts.
”These are for your mom.”
The boy's face fell.
Hugh laughed. ”Just kidding.” He put the bag of books on the tray table. ”These may or may not work. I had to rely on the recommendation of a clerk. It's been a while since I was four. But the car's something else.”
Jay had already reached for that, then reached for the s.h.i.+rt. ”Does it have a number on it?”
”Sure does.”
”What number?”
”Four,” Hugh said, and helped unfold the s.h.i.+rt.
He was about to tell him that four was Vinatieri's number, when Jay said excitedly, ”Can I put it on, Mommy?”
Hugh guessed that would take a little work. Crystal was already unb.u.t.toning the pajama top. Lifting Jay forward, she removed it. The cast was like a vest with a mandarin collar, starting just under his chin, ending at his hip. ”That's not so bad,” Hugh remarked. ”How's it feel?”
”It itches,” said the boy.
”I should've brought a back scratcher.”
The weight of the cast was another problem. Hugh could see how heavy it was from the way Crystal was struggling to hold the boy up and pull on the s.h.i.+rt at the same time. He gave her a hand.
When it was done, Jay said, ”Wow. This is my best s.h.i.+rt.” He reached for the control bar and began to work the car. His enthusiasm was a gift that wasn't lost on Hugh. Likewise, his smugness when he finished a particularly good run. It was J. Stan Hutchinson all the way.
He watched Crystal playing with her son, thinking that not only was she attractive but she was a good mother. Her smile told him she appreciated what he'd done.
It was nice to feel appreciated. He was thinking it would serve Dana right if he was drawn to another woman. Only he didn't want another woman.
”I'm working on remembering things,” Crystal said, moving to his side.
”Anything you want to share?”
”Not yet.” She looked past him. ”Here's the doctor.”
The man in white was watching Jay. ”Nothing wrong with his thumbs,” he remarked before extending a hand to Hugh. ”Steven Howe.”
”Hugh Clarke. I talked with an a.s.sociate of yours the other day. He hadn't seen the release Crystal signed and didn't feel free to talk.”
”I've seen it,” the doctor said. ”I have a few minutes now.” He led the way to a small office adjacent to the nurses' station. ”What do you want to know?”
”The exact nature of the injury and what needs to be done to heal it,” Hugh said.
”The accident caused a compression fracture of the L-4 vertebral body,” the doctor began, ”with bilateral pelvic numbness. Emergent imaging studies showed retropulsed bone bulging into the spinal ca.n.a.l, which in turn resulted in the effacing and deforming of the thecal sac at that level.”
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