Page 95 of Her Ex-Husband's Brother
Maybe Lennon is outside filling out paperwork.
Maybe all I have to do is stay calm.
I can stay calm.
I tell myself that as Marcus walks me down the hall.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
Stay calm.
The phrase matches my footsteps until it doesn’t.
The consultation room door is open.
A woman sits inside with her back to me, one ankle crossed neatly over the other. Cream blouse. Dark slacks. A leather purse resting beside her chair.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong?—
My feet stop.
She turns.
For one impossible second, her face doesn’t assemble correctly.
Her eyes are too far apart. Her mouth stretches wider than it should. The overhead light smears across her cheeks, and the medication makes her features swim beneath her skin.
Then they lock into place.
My mother smiles.
“There my baby is.”
The room goes cold.
No.
She stands, pressing one hand to her chest as though the sight of me hurts her.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
“No.”
My voice barely comes out.
She takes a step toward me.
I take one back.
Marcus’s hand lifts, not touching me yet.
My mother’s expression changes. Not enough for anyone else to see. Just a tiny hardening around her mouth.
A warning.
Behave.
