Baby Talk

herself. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Oh.” Her mother’s tone immediately shifted from concern to I’m still angry and hurt.

There was an awkward silence.

“Listen, Momma...I...I don’t know what to do...I’m scared.”

“Annie, what on earth is the matter? I thought you said nothing was wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong, really. Not yet, anyway.” Annie paused, not knowing how to continue. “It’s Neal, Momma. He...well, I think he’s going crazy or something.”

There was another long silence. Annie had a feeling her mother was fighting the impulse to say “I told you so.” But instead, she said, “Why don’t you just tell me exactly what happened, honey? You’re about to give me another ulcer.”

Annie stalled for a moment, not knowing how much detail to provide. If she was completely open about everything that had taken place, her mother’s already low opinion of Neal would plummet to rock bottom. On the other hand, if she glossed things over too much, it would make Annie sound like a “complainer,” something her mother detested, especially in a wife.

Annie opted for a compromise. “Neal thinks Natasha hates him. Every little negative thing she does, he blows out of proportion.” Annie tried to laugh lightheartedly. “He thinks Natasha’s out to get him.”

“Out to get him?”

Annie glanced down at her sleeping baby, feeling silly now for even calling. But she was still afraid. Very afraid.

She bit her lip, then launched headlong into a detailed account of everything that had taken place. “Yesterday, Neal was convinced that Natasha had started talking to him...”

When she finished, there was another long silence.

“Annie, a five-month old baby can’t even sit up by itself, let alone t—”

“I know, Mamma.” Annie was fighting tears. “What am I going to do? I don’t have anyplace to go.”

“Doug and I were just getting ready to drive down there.”

“Down where?”

“To Atlanta. Doug got tickets to the Braves game this weekend.”

A prick of sadness touched Annie’s heart. Her mother had been planning a trip to Atlanta and hadn’t even called. But after their big fight and what Annie had told her (“Get the hell out of my life and stay out!” were Annie’s exact words), what did she expect?

“I don’t want to mess up your trip...” Annie said, hoping her mother might volunteer to cancel it and stay home.

“I really can’t back out now, honey. Not this late. Doug went to a lot of trouble to get the tickets.”

“Well,” Annie said, “I guess I’ll have to find someplace else to stay, if things get much worse.”

There was a long silence. “Annie, you can come home anytime you want, you know that.”

Annie hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was get underneath her mother’s thumb again. That was the reason she had moved away from Chattanooga in the first place. And she certainly didn’t want to look like a failure in her mother’s eyes—when she married Neal, Paula had predicted that the marriage wouldn’t last a month, that Annie would come running home to Chattanooga with her tail between her legs.

Annie said, “I just might need to come home for a couple of days, you know, until this gets straightened out.”

“A couple of days, whatever you want. Just stay as long as you need to.”

Annie felt a little better. “Are you sure?”