Nothing But This (Broken Pieces 2)

She was blindingly furious and strode toward the back doors that led to the alley, not bothering to check if Tina was following her.

Two of the busboys were sneaking a smoke, and since she hadn’t authorized the break, she glared at them angrily. They both paled, apologized, and rushed back inside, leaving the two women alone in the well-lit alley.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Tina said, and Libby folded her arms across her chest, unimpressed with her words.

“Having Clara in the office is clearly not working,” she said, cutting to the chase and choosing to ignore Tina’s apology. “I’m trying to find another solution.”

“No. Libby . . . that’s not necessary. I just . . .”

“Tina, it’s not fair that you have to work with a crying baby in your space.”

“And it’s not fair that you have to move your infant daughter to a place where you won’t be close to her. We can make this work. It’s only day two. We’ll all get used to the arrangement.”

She was saying all the right things, in the sincerest of voices, but Libby was not buying it.

“Like you got used to having us staying with you that first month?” she asked pointedly, and Tina looked stunned by the question.

“I . . .”

“It’s obvious you’re not too fond of babies, Tina,” Libby interrupted firmly, refusing to soften at the utter devastation she saw in Tina’s eyes. “And that’s okay . . . but I’d rather have Clara around people who love and enjoy her.”

Tina reeled back as if absorbing a blow and sucked in a harsh, stunned breath. She blinked rapidly, her green eyes bright with tears. Libby nearly apologized, but she bit back the words. She had a baby to consider now, and Clara’s needs would always come first.

“I do love her,” Tina whispered, looking utterly devastated by Libby’s words. But how could Libby believe her when Tina had never shown any indication of love or affection for Clara? Instead, she had gone out of her way to avoid being in the same room as the baby.

“It’s not just Clara,” Tina admitted quietly. “It’s all babies, Libby. I can’t be around them.”

Was that supposed to make it better? It didn’t; it made it so much worse. And it merely served to confirm Libby’s belief that the woman she considered her best friend found being around her baby a burden. Which was so hard to believe, since Tina had once seemed to adore babies.

“What happened to you?” Libby asked angrily. “You wanted to be an obstetrician, for God’s sake. And now you can’t even stand to look at my baby.”

“I do love her,” Tina said, looking like she was trying to convince herself more than Libby. “She’s beautiful.”

“It’s okay, Tina,” Libby said dismissively, needing to get away from the woman and this conversation as quickly as possible. Because it was not okay. She didn’t understand this. She wanted to understand it, but unless Tina chose to be more forthcoming about what had happened to her, Libby feared their friendship was teetering on the brink of disaster.

She stood for a moment, hesitating, as she stared into her friend’s devastated face. She felt herself softening in the face of all that misery. She teetered on the brink of begging Tina to confide in her, to talk to her and explain what was going on. But she knew that the middle of dinner service wasn’t the time or place. One of them needed to be a leader here. Needed to be strong for the sake of their business. And that person was clearly not going to be Tina.

She shook her head, irritated with herself for lingering out here for so long. There was work to be done.

“I’ll figure something out,” she said, before reluctantly turning and walking back toward her responsibilities.

She didn’t know how she got through dinner service. But it was another quiet evening, and the last patrons left at eleven. The kitchen had taken final orders at ten thirty, and by the time the customers left, most of the kitchen staff had already headed home. Libby and Agnes were the last to leave the kitchen at just after eleven.

She bade the slightly younger woman good night and watched as Agnes met up with her good-looking husband, who was waiting at reception, and greeted him with a tired hug. The man, Dr. Mandla Ngozi, was the local pediatrician and Clara’s doctor. Libby smiled and waved at him. He waved back before escorting Agnes out.

Libby threw back her shoulders and went to the office for Charlie and Clara. The baby was already bundled up in her cute little dinosaur hoodie, a gift from her uncle Harris. Tina was in the office, but after one quick look over at the desk, where the other woman sat staring up at her with mute pleading in her eyes, Libby diverted her attention on Charlie.