I smile at them. “Extra chocolate chips.”
“Yes!”
I kiss both of them and by the time I get out there, my mother is seething. Neither woman is speaking to the other.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen my mom so angry.
“What is she doing here?” Mom nods toward Harper. “Why is she driving Sam and Sadie around and taking them for ice cream?”
“Mom—”
She starts crying, no doubt the emotions of the day catching up with her. I want to console her, but I don’t know if I can. Not when Harper is shrinking in on herself.
“The girls are okay,” Harper says.
“No thanks to you. What makes you think you have aright to spend any time with them when you left? You left!” Mom shouts. It draws a few eyes.
Looking behind me, I see the nurse is reading a book with the girls. Thank God they’re not looking out here.
“That’s not what happened, Jane.” Harper is shaking her head.
“I don’t want to hear anything else from either of you.” She turns her ire on me. “I don’t want her near my granddaughters!”
She goes back into the room without another word.
Harper bursts into tears. “I’m so sorry, Marcus. I’m so sorry.”
“Are you hurt?” I ask, pulling her into my arms. There’s no point in asking if she’s okay. No one is okay. Far from it, in fact.
“I’m fine.”
“Then why do you have a brace on your wrist?”
She shakes her head. “It’s a sprain. Could have been worse.”
“You were trying to protect them?”
Harper nods, stepping out of my arms. “Of course. I love them, Marcus. I would do anything to protect them.”
“Where are you going?”
Harper keeps walking backward. “You heard your mom. I don’t want to get in the middle of this.”
“No, Harper. I’ll explain everything to her.”
She’s shaking her head. “She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
“Marcus, c’mon.” Harper’s voice is watery. “She hates me, and you know it.”
“It was an accident, Harper. It could have happened to anyone.”
“But it happened to me. Look, we need to let things settle down.”
“What are you saying?”
Harper runs forward and gives me a quick kiss. “It means that you need to be with the girls. Take care of them. We’ll figure us out later.”
