Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments
Page 9

“Violet’s hiring a new girl to help her—Anna. Violet says she has a mysterious past.”
It was an exaggeration, but she loved hearing gossip, so I’d hoped to get some reaction out of her. Instead, she remained stoic. “That’s nice.”
Neely Kate had known exactly how to comfort me after my breakup with Joe. She’d come over with the first season of Grey’s Anatomy on DVD and two containers of Ben and Jerry’s. But breaking up with a boyfriend, no matter how earth-shattering it felt, couldn’t begin to compare with a miscarriage. I felt helpless and hopeless. I was failing my friend.
I moved onto the couch next to her and leaned my head on her shoulder, taking her hand in mine. “I love you, Neely Kate. I’ll do anything I can to help you. What do you need me to do?”
Her shoulders began to shake and soon she was crying. I turned and wrapped my arms around her back, tears burning in my own eyes. She rested her cheek against my hair, sobs wracking her body. I hadn’t seen her cry, really cry since coming out of surgery two weeks ago. And even though it killed me to see her like this, I just held her close and let her cry it out. I wanted to tell her it would be okay, but I wasn’t sure it was true. The only thing I knew to do was hug her and let her know I was here. Through thick and thin.
But a part of me was filled with guilt. Could I have spared my best friend some of her pain? Neely Kate’s grandmother’s tea leaves had told her that she was having twins, but the ultrasound had only revealed one baby. The tech had missed her ectopic pregnancy. And that wasn’t the only premonition her grandmother had made—she’d also foreseen Neely Kate losing her babies. Though she was notoriously wrong in her premonitions, my friend had begged me to have a vision to see if it was true. I’d dug in my feet, afraid to tell her if I really saw it happen. But what if I had foreseen it? Maybe I could have saved one of Neely Kate’s babies. What if Neely Kate blamed me for her miscarriage?
She cried until I was sure she had to be dehydrated. After a time, her sobs softened and she sucked in deep breaths as I stroked her hair. Finally she sat up and looked at me with bloodshot eyes. “I killed my babies.”
My mouth flopped open as if it were on a hinge. “What on earth would make you say that?”
“I got in that fight with Tabitha last month. And when we were in New Orleans I forgot to bring my prenatal vitamins.”
“Neely Kate.” I gently cupped her wet cheeks. “The doctor said there wasn’t a doggone thing you could have done to change things. Nothin’ you did could have caused an ectopic pregnancy.”
She started to cry again. “But if I’d gone to the doctor sooner, I might have saved my other baby.”
“The only pain you felt was that backache. And you were having terrible morning sickness, so of course you wouldn’t have taken notice of any nausea.” I fought back my own tears. “Oh, honey. You did everything right. You know that deep in your heart. It’s downright awful not to have something to blame, but you didn’t do one thing wrong.”
“I have to blame something.”
I offered her a weak smile. “Then we’ll find you something to blame, just so long as it’s not you.”
The corners of her mouth lifted a twinge, but I’d take it as the first smile I’d seen since the morning of the nursery’s open house. The day she’d lost her babies.
I wiped her tears off her cheeks. “I know you said you’re not hungry, but the cupcakes aren’t the only surprise I have for you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s not here. I have to take you to it.”
“What is it?” she repeated.
The touch of curiosity in her voice gave me hope. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, now would it? It’s gonna be fun. But you’re gonna see people, so if you want to change, you have some time to do that before we need to go.”
She sighed. “I don’t know if I feel like goin’ out.”
“I’m not takin’ no for answer on this one. At least not until I take you there and you find out what it is.”
A tiny bit of fire filled her eyes. “You’re not gonna let this go until I give in, are you?”
“No.”
“Fine,” she heaved out as she slowly stood. “But I’m not changin’.”
“That’s fine. You wear whatever you want.” I stood next to her, wanting to offer assistance but not wanting to upset her. “Do you still have pain from your incision?”
“Only if I move too fast.”
“Then we’ll go slow. Where’s your purse?”
She shook her head. “I can leave it.”
She was leaving her purse? Things were really bad. Neely Kate always had her purse with her, even when she went to check the mail. I worried walking around without it might throw off her balance, especially since it usually weighed a good ten pounds. “Then let’s head into town.”
I grabbed her keychain off the entry table and locked her front door while she climbed into Mason’s car. I knew she wasn’t herself when she didn’t ask why we weren’t taking my truck. As I drove us into town, I glanced over at her. “I brought the cupcakes in case you change your mind.” I patted the bakery bag on the console between us. “They’re Dena’s. I got your favorites.”
She grinned. “Are you tryin’ to get me fat?”