Cassie waited until he was gone and then looked at me and at Mother and shook her head.
“Mother, we need you to stop this and get better,” she said. “It’s not the end of the world. Other women have had miscarriages and rebounded quickly. Besides, you were taking a chance getting pregnant this late in life. Surely, you knew this mig
ht happen.”
“Cassie!” I cried.
She ignored me. “Daddy is devastated, too, but he has to recover and deal with his responsibilities. The quicker you get better, the less pressure there will be on us all.”
I looked down at Mother. She didn’t open her eyes, but her lips began to tremble again. I couldn’t stand it. I walked away from the bed and looked at the floor, with my back to Cassie. She came up beside me.
“Stop behaving like an infant, Semantha. This is how you deal with people in her state of mind. You force them to snap out of it. You don’t cater to their self-pity.”
“How do you know what to do? You’re not a doctor,” I snapped back at her.
“I’ve read about this. In fact, I studied up on it last night. I did a great deal of research on my computer. I’m not doing anything to hurt her or be mean. I’m trying to help her. I’m surprised you would think anything else. In fact, I’m a little hurt, Semantha. I would hope you’d think better of me. I’m always looking after you, aren’t I?”
“It sounds very cruel.”
“It’s called tough love, and it’s a proven technique. I’ll show you articles on it when we get home.”
I nodded, but I still didn’t like it. She returned to Mother’s bedside and continued to whisper her tough love. I stood back, watching, until Daddy returned and she stopped talking. Cassie shook her head to indicate that there was no change.
“I was right. She is still under sedation,” Daddy said. “We should leave and return after lunch. She’ll be more alert then.”
“Whatever you think, Daddy,” Cassie said.
Just then, Uncle Perry appeared in the doorway.
“How is she?”
“Resting … sedated,” Daddy said.
Uncle Perry nodded. He came in and looked at Mother and then at us. “Sorry, girls,” he said.
“We don’t want to dwell on it,” Cassie said. “Especially in front of Mother. She might still be able to hear us, sedated or not.”
Uncle Perry looked at Daddy, who nodded, and then we all walked out of the room.
“What’s Moffet saying today?” Uncle Perry asked Daddy.
“He has a therapist coming to see her late this afternoon. He wants to keep her a few days.”
“What about the bleeding?”
“It’s under control. Thank God,” Daddy told him, and smiled at me.
Uncle Perry nodded and looked at Cassie and me. “You girls have got to stick together and pitch in.”
“Oh, they’re doing a great job already,” Daddy said.
“We do stick together, Uncle Perry, and we always pitch in,” Cassie said sternly. Then she smiled. “Especially now, with all this pressure from the new store opening.”
“Good. Well, as long as your mother is on the mend and—”
“I thought you had a very good idea with that lottery,” Cassie continued. She sounded disinterested in talking about anything else.
He raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”