Mrs. Saxon opened her mouth. It would be the first thing she’d said to Cordy since the funeral.
Cordy waited. Mrs. Saxon looked at Cordy’s belly.
“Oh.” Cordy patted her bump. “The baby is doing well. Perfectly healthy. The size of a pineapple.”
Mrs. Saxon nodded. “That’s… that’s big.”
Cordy had forgotten how soft Mrs. Saxon’s voice was. Her sentences always died out instead of ending, makingconversations with her odd because Cordy was never sure when Mrs. Saxon was done talking.
Apparently, she was now. “Yes,” Cordy said into the growing quiet. “It is. Very big.”
Hailey nodded. If she said the baby was big, too, then they’d all be in agreement. Total, meaningless, silly agreement.
The way Hailey nodded caught at Cordy—for a moment, Hailey looked very much like Reed.
Cordy’s heart stuttered, and the baby kicked. It was like the baby knew.
“How’s your new place?” Hailey asked. “Ruby mentioned you were moving.”
“Oh yeah, it was so nice of her to help me.” Cordy leaped on that like it would escape if she didn’t. “It made moving so much easier. And…” Her face warmed. “Chance was so nice to give me a place to stay. I’ll move once the baby is born, of course I will—this is only temporary. But I don’t have to worry about looking for an apartment right now. Because he’s such a goodfriend.”
The moment she said It, Cordy knew she’d made it too weird. The strangled wayfriendcame out made Chance sound like he was very much more than her friend.
She was stuck with these people for the rest of her life, and she could barely make conversation with them. God, what was she supposed to do?
If she were in Estonia, none of this would be happening. No one would know her.
No one would care.
Instead of comforting her, it made her sad.
“Well,” Hailey said awkwardly.
Mrs. Saxon’s nostrils flared.
Mr. Saxon cleared his throat. “Good. We’re glad to hear it. And…” His mouth worked silently. “And thank you for the updates.”
“I’m happy to do it,” Cordy said, grateful for the change in subject. “I want you guys to know what’s going on.”Even if you act like you don’t want to know.
“Mom was going through some of our old clothes”—Hailey held out her hands like she was prompting Mrs. Saxon to say something—“and she found… You found…”
“Baby clothes.” Mrs. Saxon took a shaky breath. “Some toys.” A hard swallow you could have heard halfway across the square. “I have Reed’s…” She gasped, choking on the words.
Then she collapsed into loud, body-shaking sobs.
Everything inside Cordy felt like it was crumbling into dust. She hated this.Hatedit. She knew Mrs. Saxon was grieving, but this felt like an attack. An accusation.
Mrs. Saxon’s tears were a finger pointed straight at Cordy, accusing her of surviving when Reed hadn’t.
The older woman buried her face in her hands. “Oh, Reed,” she moaned through her fingers.
Mr. Saxon’s expression sagged. He stared at Cordy like he expected her to do something.
It made everything about the situation a thousand times worse.
“Mom.” Hailey’s voice was somehow sharp and comforting all at once. “Mom, not here. Please.”
Hailey’s gaze met Cordy’s on the wordplease,like she was begging Cordy to understand.
