Sophie convinced Kate to move out of her hotel and stay at her
and Adam’s house.
“I’m never there, and Adam could use the company. So could
Blu,” she pleaded with her sister.
“But where are you sleeping? Aren’t you going home at
night?”
“No, I can’t do that yet. I need to be here, in case anything
happens to Danny. I either sleep in the pull-out chair next to
him or in the parents’ lounge. It would be good for Adam to have
some company.”
“Okay, sounds good to me.”
Kate checked out of the hotel, and they took a cab to Sophie’s
house. Seated in the back of the cab, Sophie glanced at the Bos
ton newspaper in Kate’s pocketbook. Dead Fetus Discovered in
Freezer of South Boston Apartment, read the headline.
Sophie grabbed the newspaper. “What is this?”
“Oh shoot, sorry. I didn’t mean for you to see this. Kind of
sick, right?” Kate stuffed the paper and its headline deeper into
her pocketbook.
They had turned onto Sophie’s street. Looking out the
window, she was so excited to be heading home she forgot the
newspaper.
Sophie scrambled out of the taxi, thrilled to be home. She
ran inside to an excited Blu, who greeted her by jumping up and
licking her face. Laughing, Sophie tried to push him off, telling
50
JULIE HATCH
him to sit. Blu wouldn’t have it. He kept jumping up and licking
her face. Sophie laughed with delight.
“I haven’t heard that laugh in forever,” Adam said, smiling as
he walked around the corner of the kitchen. He had coffee brew
ing and some fresh pastries he had picked up at the corner bakery.
“Man, you’re the best.” Kate gave him a sisterly peck on the
cheek, then went upstairs to unpack.
“Hey, I’m heading to school,” Adam said to Sophie. “I’ve got
some catching up to do for next week’s classes.”
He kissed Sophie on the lips, then yelled up the stairs to
Kate, “See ya later, Kate.”
Sophie sat at the kitchen table with her sister next to her and
Blu under her chair. She allowed herself to enjoy the moment
of normalcy.
“You know,” she said to Kate, “I really liked Dr. Wagner ini
tially. But I’ve been talking with other mothers and thinking
back to my own delivery. His booming voice echoes in my head,
and I remember him touching me in a creepy way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was getting flashbacks from that night at college.”
Alarmed, Kate said, “Sophie, what do you mean?”
“The flashback lasted only a few seconds, but it scared me.”
Sophie paused and looked at Kate. “It’s like he was touching me
in a sexual way. I know that sounds sick.” Sophie reached down
to pet Blu.
“Whoa, that’s serious stuff, Soph. Maybe it was accidental, or
at least wasn’t what he meant to do.”
“Except that there are other mothers who have similar sto
ries. I met another mom. She and I talked, and we both agree
what he did was wrong.”
Neither spoke. The only sound was of Blu scratching his ears.
“Are you going to say anything?”
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THE VERY BEST OF CARE
“Well, I haven’t seen a complaint board or suggestion box
anywhere,” Sophie joked. “But, yeah, I talked with Adam, and
he agreed I need to tell someone. I talked to Kim, Danny’s nurse,
about it a little. Just to see if she had any advice for me.”
“And did she?”
“She was reluctant to say much. I think she didn’t want to
be too unprofessional by talking about one of the doctors, but
she did tell me to tread carefully. Dr. Wagner is highly respected
in the hospital. She also said that there’s another side to him, a
side that most people don’t see. She alluded to something about
a vengeful side of him, but she wouldn’t go into details. I think
she was saying that if I accuse him of inappropriate touching, I’d
better be able to back it up.”
“How are you going to do that? You don’t have any proof.”
“I know. That could be a problem.
