Tom had left one of his notebooks open on the bedside table—he’d been doodling while she was in the shower.
He’d drawn Cherry standing naked by the bed, wearing one stocking with little cross-hatched fishnet. Knee dimples. Belly lines. Round nipples. He always took time on her hair, the way it parted over her eyes and fell around her shoulders...
There were a hundred drawings like this. In notebooks all over the house.
Cherry could probably sell them on eBay.
Baby Revealed.
Baby Undone.
Chapter 63
“Are you feeling okay?” Cherry’s mom was frowning at her.
“I’m feeling fine. Are you gonna let me in?”
Her mom stepped out of the way and let Cherry into the house. “I thought this was Hope’s Friday.”
“I had the day off,” Cherry said, “so I seized it. Are you disappointed? You want me to call Hope?”
“Oh, you.” She pinched Cherry’s arm.
Cherry and her sisters took turns running errands with their mom on Fridays. Faith made the schedule. Cherry got the fewest shifts because her hours were the least flexible, but she tried to make up for that when she could.
Their momcoulddrive herself around, but their dad always had the car. And it was always better if one of the girls went along on her doctors’ appointments; their mom was a selective listener, in every scenario.
Cherry flopped down on the couch. Her parents still lived in the same three-bedroom house she’d grown up in. It had always been run-down, but it was getting truly dilapidated now. Her dad didn’t even pretend to work on it.
The house was still comfortable. Cherry’s mom had a way of making things comfortable. She sewed and crocheted. The couch was draped in a homemade quilt. The throw pillows had needlepoint covers with yarn tassels. Cherry had made a few of these pillows when she was eleven or twelve. She’d loved a yarn tassel in middle school.
Her mom was frowning down at her, with both hands on her hips. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Mom, I’m fine. I’m just not wearing makeup.” Cherry wasn’t wearing makeup, and she hadn’t run a flat iron through her bangs to make them lie just so, and she was wearing old yoga pants that she’d had since college.
Her mom tutted and headed for the kitchen. “You girls are so beautiful, you don’t need makeup.”
“ApparentlyIdo.”
“Are you hungry, Cherry?”
“Not really.”
Her mom was back in the kitchen, leaning over the stove. “I’ve got some fried rice, with beans, and I made homemade tortillas.”
“Why’d you make tortillas?”
“Your dad felt like them last night.”
Cherry’s mom was a great cook. She could replicate any recipe once she’d watched someone else make it. She liked to stand behind people in their kitchens while they cooked. YouTube had been a game changer for her.
“I’ll have some,” Cherry said. “I can get it.”
“No, I’ll get it. You relax. You look tired.”
“I swear to god, Mom—I’m just not wearing mascara.”
“Oh, you don’t need mascara.”
