Page 149 of Summer with the Single Dad

“How is your practice going?” Guy asked, turning to Justine.

Justine smiled. “I’m really enjoying it. I still get to do the odd surgery, mostly emergency and minor, like an appy or splenectomy. But I’m getting to know the people on the island. It’s been very rewarding. I’ve done a few home births too, which has been cool. First one was a little daunting as I didn’t have any of the regular equipment.”

Daniela sat forward. “Did she have any complications?”

“Baby was sunny side up. So I did have to manually rotate him.”

Daniela winced. “That’s apparently really painful.”

“Yeah, she screamed so loud her cat ran through the screen door.”

They all snorted.

“But the baby was born, beautiful and perfect. Eight pounds, eleven ounces.”

“I don’t understand why people don’t go to hospitals now,” Tasha said. “This isn’t the dark ages. We have the science and the medicine. Use it.”

Justine merely shrugged. “Everything is twenty minutes away here. We both knew that if things got scary, we could make it to the hospital. She trusted me to make the call.”

Daniela didn’t seem convinced. Bennett couldn’t have been prouder. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. She smiled at him and mouthed, “Thank you.”

He glanced at his watch. Jesus. It was only three fourteen. Dinner was another two hours away.

Fondant!

“Where has your mother gotten to?” Justine’s dad asked, sipping his wine. “Did she get lost? Does this house have multiple wings and hidden trap doors?”

Justine got up from her seat, equally curious where her mother wandered off to.

Oh god! What if she was under Bennett and Justine’s bed and saw how it hadn’t been vacuumed?

“I’ll go check on her,” she said, heading down the hallway toward the powder room. The door was open and the light was off. Then she checked the study, which was also empty. So she made her way upstairs, where she heard voices. Two of them little and one of them big, coming from Emme’s room.

She crept closer to the open door, but hung out in the hallway up against the wall to listen.

“And what was Justine’s favorite food as a kid?” Aya asked.

“She loved gua bao which is a pork belly bun. It was her absolute favorite.”

“I don’t think she eats pork anymore,” Emme said.

“No, I don’t think so,” Justine’s mother replied. “She is very health and heart conscious now.”

“What was her favorite color?” Aya asked.

“Turquoise. Like the blue water in the Caribbean.”

“Favorite animal?” Emme asked.

“Panda.”

“I love pandas,” Aya cooed. “They’re sooo cute. And Emme has a stuffed panda that she sleeps with at night. She got it from Ikea when she was a baby.”

“And they can only be found in China which is where my family is from,” Justine’s mother said.

Justine’s brain hurt. Who was that woman in there with the girls? Because that sure as heck didn’t sound like Hui Ying Brazeau. The woman in there sounded warm and nurturing. And she knew all these things about Justine. Never in all her childhood could Justine remember her mother ever showing any interest in her or what she liked.

“What’s your favorite thing about Justine?” Aya asked. “Can I tell you mine first?”

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