Furthermore, I was granted some sympathy as well. Whether they were afraid to or not, most of my classmates didn’t laugh or think of Mother’s miscarriage as something funny or deserved. They all wished her a speedy recovery and pounded on Roxanne Peters for being an insensitive bitch. I was wallowing in my newfound popularity. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought my teachers looked at me differently, too, looked at me with a little more respect. Whatever, it turned out to be one of my more enjoyable days at school, now topped off with Mother’s return home.
I was surprised, however, at Cassie’s reaction. The moment she saw Daddy and the nurse, she became angry. She recoiled. Her body tightened like a guitar string, and her lips whitened at the corners. I could almost feel the rage in the air between us, but Daddy, maybe because of his happiness, didn’t see it or feel it.
“Great surprise for you, girls. Your mother is home. Dr. Moffet decided she had recovered enough to go home, but for a week or so, we’ll need the assistance of Mrs. Bledsoe. For now, she’ll see to Mother’s medications and nutrition and make sure she rests and is doing well. You can go up to see her.”
“Give her another hour or so first,” Mrs. Bledsoe said firmly. “I just got her to sleep.”
“Why would you get her to sleep minutes before we came home?” Cassie asked. “Anyone would realize we’d want to see her immediately, and she would want to see us.”
She came at Mrs. Bledsoe so sharply that the nurse was speechless for a moment. Even Daddy looked shocked. He gave Mrs. Bledsoe a small smile that said, Please excuse my daughter. She’s a little overwhelmed. Mrs. Bledsoe didn’t show any anger, but I felt certain she felt some.
I estimated Mrs. Bledsoe to be in her fifties, maybe sixty, but later would learn she was only in her mid-forties. Her hair had turned gray prematurely, and she had done little or nothing to hide the grayness. It wasn’t a bright, healthy-looking gray, either. It looked more like dull pewter. She was about five foot six, slim, with rather long, thin arms and hands with long, thin fingers. In fact, thin seemed to be her dominating characteristic. Her nose, although not pointed or too long, was thin. Her lips were pencilthin. Only her untrimmed eyebrows were thick, but her face was long and looked as if when it was forming, two strong hands had pressed on both sides to keep it narrow and her cheeks flat, extending her chin just an inch or so too much. The starch-white uniform washed out what little color there was in her complexion.
“When someone is in the hospital for a while, they are bed-tired,” Mrs. Bledsoe explained. “It will take a little time to get her back on her feet. You can’t rush it, especially with someone who’s been through all your mother has been through. Actually, Dr. Moffet wanted to keep her a few more days, but she insisted on coming home today. I hope you’ll both be very cooperative,” she concluded.
“Oh, I’m confident they will, Mrs. Bledsoe,” Daddy said. “Mrs. Bledsoe will be in the guest room right across the hall from our bedroom. I’ve already told her what a great cook you are, Cassie.”
“Of course, your mother will be following a diet plan Dr. Moffet has arranged,” Mrs. Bledsoe quickly interjected. “I’ll take care of that.”
“Fine,” Cassie said. “Do let us know when it’s all right to see our mother,” she added, and headed for the stairway.
Daddy watched her go for a moment and then turned to me, a little suspicious. “How was your day at school, Semantha?”
“It was good, Daddy. No problems.”
“I’m sure there won’t be any more. I’ve got to run back to the office for a few hours. Help Mrs. Bledsoe with anything she needs, will you, honey?”
“Okay, Daddy. I’ll just go put my school things away and change. I’ll be right down, Mrs. Bledsoe.”
She nodded and smiled at me, and I followed Cassie up the stairs. She was waiting for me at the top with her shoulders drawn up, which always made it seem as if her head and neck were sinking into her body. One look at her face, and I could see immediately that she was even more enraged, angrier, than I could ever remember. She wagged her head and smirked at me.
“I heard you. ‘Okay, Daddy. I’ll be right down, Mrs. Bledsoe,’” she imitated. “How nauseatingly sweet.”
“What should I have said, Cassie?”
She turned away, started toward her room, and stopped. “Why did he bring her here? We don’t need her. I can do everything for Mother. I was doing it before, wasn’t I? Now we have a stranger right in the middle of our personal lives and personal business, a stranger in a Heavenstone home. Bledsoe. Her name is quite appropriate, don’t you think?”
“Why?”
“Bledsoe … bled … Mother hemorrhaged. She nearly bled to death. Get it?”
“Oh. It’s just a coincidence.”
“There are no coincidences in life. Everything has a purpose, a reason. She won’t be good for Mother and especially not good for us. Don’t be so nice to her. Once she sees how unwelcome she is, she’ll leave.”
“But Daddy wants her here, Cassie.”
“He’s … just being overly cautious now. It’s absolutely the wrong tactic. He’s still babying Mother. She won’t get stronger if she has a crutch like that hanging around.”
“He’ll be upset at us,” I warned.
She thought a moment and then smiled. “You’re right. Forget what I just said. You can be nice to her. Don’t worry. Just follow my lead,” she said, and went to her room.
Forget what she just said? I had no idea what she meant by following her lead. Confused, I went to my room to change. Afterward, I wondered if I should go down to see what Mrs. Bledsoe needed, as I had promised Daddy, or wait for Cassie. What did Cassie want me to do? I stepped out of my room and looked across the hallway. Her door was open. I went to it, expecting to see her, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t in her bathroom, either.
When I came out and started toward the stairway, I heard a door open and close and saw Cassie come out of the guest room Mrs. Bledsoe was using.
“What were you doing in there?” I asked.