The Photographer - Mary Carter (best romance ebooks .txt) 📗

I hadn’t realized that the father was white. It was possible my strategy was backfiring. I knew that Amelia would have preferred that the mother be white too, but she didn’t want to acknowledge that the race of the child made a difference to her, so she might dig her heels in even more, just to prove something.

“Would you like me to take some photographs of Lucia and you together?” I asked.

“What?”

“Shoot some photographs?” I pointed to the camera, which was still around my neck.

“Why?” She held her hands over her eyes, as if shielding them from bright sunlight.

“Just documentation.” I thought a photo of Lucia and Amelia together could highlight their differences—differences I could make even starker with a little editing.

“No!” she said.

I felt pressure in my lungs.

“I can’t imagine anything less appropriate than that,” she said. “Are you crazy?”

I felt the blood behind my eyes. I felt my scalp burning. “It’s possible that you’ll end up with several choices. And you may want a reminder of who she is and what she looks like.” I focused on slow and sustained breathing.

“I appreciate your desire to be helpful, Delta. But, no.”

“OK. Just tell me how I can help you.”

“This is how you can help me.” She looked at me, and then at Natalie. “Both of you.” She scanned the room and I wasn’t positive what she was looking for. “Just keep your mouth shut.” Amelia turned her back and picked up several used dishes and glasses from the coffee table.

“Just keep your mouth shut,” Natalie quietly mocked her mother’s voice. Amelia didn’t seem to hear. She walked down the hall to deposit the dishes in the kitchen sink.

I pretended not to hear. I was still recovering from Amelia’s dismissive and hurtful comments. Moreover, if I had heard, I would have had to say something or do something. I didn’t want to cause any friction in their relationship. I wanted to support their family. Honestly, I did. My goal was to strengthen the bond between Amelia and Natalie, but still provide Natalie with a sounding board and another badly needed perspective. I wanted Natalie to have a warm, loving home. To the degree that Amelia was absent and unable to attend to Natalie, I would step in and offer my assistance. I wanted Amelia to have the baby that she dreamed of having, and I strongly believed that I could help her. Together, we could achieve her dream.

I knew that Lucia’s baby was not the right one for the Straubs. I loved them. I wanted what was best for them.

CHAPTER NINE

“What a beautiful home,” Lucia said. “Natalie, I love your unicorn collection.” She and Fritz returned to the library after touring the house.

Natalie forced a tight smile. “Thanks.” She was looking more like her mother all the time: her face was getting thinner and she had a growing air of sophistication. Not sophisticated in her clothing or her language or her ideas, but sophisticated in that her innocence was leaving or had already left. Maybe the right word was worldliness. Over the last couple of months, her carefree spirit had been replaced by a quiet understanding of the emotional landscape she lived in. I felt as though she were seeing her home for the first time. And witnessing a divide between her parents. One that she’d probably witnessed in the past, but in this situation, that divide could not be ignored.

Perhaps she was also seeing her mother’s actions more clearly. Amelia’s actions had little to do with promoting the interests of her family. I understood Amelia’s need for a baby. It was a desire to pull herself from the abyss. To be lifted out of her suffering. To leave her own body and become someone else.

“Have a seat,” Amelia said to Lucia, gesturing to the sofa, and sat down across from her. Natalie was sitting tense and cross-legged on the arm of the sofa. I sat down between her and her mother.

“Lucia,” Amelia said, “your medical bills must be a burden.” She clasped her hands in her lap in an earnest-looking pose. “And you mentioned that you had to cut your hours back at work because you haven’t been feeling well. Pregnancy takes such a toll on a woman’s body. Such a toll. I remember it well. I think … it’s important to have support. Assuming that this works out, and that we all feel comfortable, I’d like to provide the kind of support that would allow you to rest, to study, to exercise, and to have proper nutrition.”

Amelia was successfully managing a maternal tone, as if the only difference between her and Lucia was age.

“Assuming that it works out,” Amelia said, “I’d like to cover all your expenses—medical, food, transportation—retroactively and for the duration of your pregnancy. It’s the least Fritz and I can do.” She looked at Fritz like she was hoping for a nod of affirmation, but she received none. She quickly turned back to Lucia, who appeared to be confused by Amelia’s offer. “Furthermore, I recognize that your pregnancy interrupted your studies, so I’d like to cover the remainder of your college tuition. Wherever you choose to go.”

Lucia held the end of her red scarf in her fingers and twisted the tassels. She didn’t smile or say thank you. Maybe she recognized the semi-bribe for what it was and was insulted. Maybe she saw in Amelia an easy target and planned to squeeze her for all she was worth.

Leaning his back against the doorway to the library, Fritz removed his glasses, revealing a red indentation on either side of his nose, and cleaned the lenses meticulously with the bottom of his undershirt. I gathered he and Amelia had not discussed the subject prior to Lucia’s arrival. I gathered he was angry.

I sensed Natalie feeling her importance in the family slipping out from underneath her. Amelia’s offer to Lucia would have a financial impact on their lives. I thought about that