Page 153 of Branded
For one, I hadn’t even thought about it.
For another, I knew that I needed to scratch down researching pumping, how it worked, all the equipment I might need, and how long I should be doing it for the babies.
So, in addition to being subject to talking about boobs and vaginas and things coming out of them, that random woman had now added more things to my To Do list.
Which wasn’t cool.
“Your belly?”
I nodded.
“Did she tack on the horror of her birth story?”
Another nod. “All three of them.”
Janet made a noise of disgust. “Why do people do that?”
“No clue,” I whispered.
Janet shook her head, tucked her pad away. “Me neither, but I do know that Nutella pancakes fix a multitude of ailments.”
“They sure do,” I agreed with a smile.
“Decaf?”
I nodded for a third time. “And hot chocolate with extra whipped cream”—Janet’s mouth tipped up—“and water because the doctor says I need to drink more.”
“On it, sweetie,” Janet said, rapping the table lightly with her knuckles. “You just settle in with your book and let me take care of you.”
You just settle in with your book and let me take care of you.
That wasn’t the first time Janet had said that to me, but it struck me just as hard as though it was the first time.
Because my mom used to say that.
Before…
My vision went watery, but I managed to keep my voice even as I glanced down at my hands, let that blurry vision make my skin go wavy. “Thanks, Janet,” I whispered.
Another rap of her knuckles.
Then she’d left, buzzing around the dining room.
I pretended to focus on getting settled with my e-reader, fussing with getting it positioned just right, but truthfully, I was just buying time to get it together.
You just settle in with your book and let me take care of you.
The chains rattled.
Those doors bowed.
But I forced myself to focus on the page and read, drinking the water that Janet brought then alternating between the coffee and hot cocoa.
A lot of liquid, especially when Janet refilled my water, and I drank it down like the good little patient I was.
Then, of course, because it was a lot of liquid, I spent the next ten minutes wiggling on my cushion but feeling too lazy to get up and pee, and just when it got bad enough for me to consider scooting my ass out of that booth and heading to the bathroom—which was, thankfully, not too far away—Janet returned with my pancakes and hash browns, and I couldn’t leave my food unattended.
Or alone.
