Piece by Piece

75. New Disappointment

Maxi's pregnancy was horrific. Not that her previous ones had been a walk in the park, but with her newest baby or babies, she was so nauseous, she could barely stand and eat.

When Doctor Smith told her she was having twins again, he sounded almost as grim as she felt. At least she didn't have to pretend to be happy. But it wasn't just not being happy this time. It was pure rage that she had to fight very hard to keep hidden.

Even if her life had greatly improved once Sophie took Kyle to Texas and Freider hired the nanny for Jerry, she still hadn't recovered from the bathtub incident. Since then, she'd only taken brief showers and stayed out of the bathroom as much as possible.

The guilt was crushing her, turning everything into anger. The new pregnancy did nothing to alleviate her misery, only making the dark hole inside her deeper. Freider was happy, of course, chatting away about his plans for his new children. She only pretended to listen. If she nodded when it mattered, he was satisfied. Handling him was easy this time. She was physically sick, so her husband didn't have to wonder why she wasn't the least bit excited about being a parent again.

He tried his best, always bringing her whatever she craved, massaging her feet, and hiring a housekeeper for them. She hated being waited on, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. They needed food, and the mere smell of certain things made her throw up. This constant sickness was also a great excuse not to go to the doctor anymore. She didn't want to see Doctor Smith watching her with weary eyes, mincing his words. Gone was the cheerful old man she'd first met. It seemed as if his misguided insistence that Jerry would have a twin had humbled him.

Maxi didn't care either way. People were having kids long before doctors and checkups, so who needed their fussing and their inaccurate observations? Not like it worked well the last two times. The more medical attention she got, it seemed, the more troublesome her birth was. This time, she was content to just lay on her sofa, and whatever would be would be.

On such an afternoon in late April, she'd had a particularly nausea-inducing day. Grace had been over, complaining about her laying around all day and not watching Jerry properly, even if he was with his nanny and doing just fine. Freider had returned from work just in time to send her away and threatened to commit her again if she didn't stop acting crazy and bothering his wife.

Maxi didn't care about these things anymore, either. Even if Grace had been in and out of treatment facilities lately, she still hadn't returned to what Freider claimed was her normal state. Sometimes, she was melancholic and kind, but she was mostly a cranky old lady who sometimes looked like a dog about to bite. Maxi was definitely not sorry when she stopped visiting, whatever the reason.

That afternoon, however, after Grace left and Maxi could finally relax, her feet in her husband's lap, someone else decided to darken their doorstep. 

She had never seen Freider's older brother, Bill. Their wedding hadn't been important enough for him to move his butt to Chicago, so it was shocking that he suddenly appeared, holding a baby nonetheless. Freider, who'd opened to the door for him, stared from his brother to the child he was holding.

"Bad time?" Bill asked, his voice gruff.

Maxi straightened in her seat. Bill was a little shorter than Freider and looked broader with a weathered face and dark blond hair and beard. Even holding a baby, he looked unpleasant.

"Where did you get that?" Freider asked, pointing at the child.

"Oh, it's mine. Someone left him on my doorstep."

"On your doorstep?" Maxi couldn't help asking. Even if she didn't know Bill at all and couldn't appreciate the circumstances that had led to this, it was still vile. Who would do such a thing?