A New Attitude

by Charlotte Hughes

  “Anything happening in there?” Sam asked.

  “The nurse said Winnie’s labor is going fast.”

  “That’s good.” Sam looked at Josh. “I’m sorry for what I did back there. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “You were defending my mom and me,” Josh said. “Nobody has ever stood up to my dad like that, they thought he was this great man of God and all, so he pretty much did and said what he wanted. Even if he was wrong. You put him in his place.”

  Sam looked surprised. “You’re not angry with me?”

  “I don’t like seeing my dad punched in the face, but like Winnie said, he had it coming.” Josh sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. “I just wish he’d go to Georgia without us.”

  “I’M LEAVING,” WINNIE ANNOUNCED.

  “What?” Marilee looked up from the monitor. They had been panting and blowing for some time, and her doctor still hadn’t shown up.

  The girl made to get out of the bed as a contraction hit, and her entire body went rigid.

  “You can’t get out of bed right now,” Marilee said frantically. “Now, three pants and blow. Three pants and blow.”

  The door opened. “Hello, Winnie,” a gray-haired man dressed in hospital attire said as he stepped into the room. “I see you’ve decided to prove me wrong and have this baby early.”

  Winnie stopped panting. “Do you think she’ll be big enough?” the girl asked worriedly. “What with her coming before her time and all?”

  “She’ll be fine,” he assured her, looking at the monitor. “She’s got a healthy heartbeat.” He turned to Marilee. “I’m Dr. Johnson,” he said as he washed his hands at the sink. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. I just came out of delivery. But I’ve been keeping up with Winnie’s progress.”

  “She’s been having a rough time of it for about an hour,” Marilee replied.

  Peggy stepped through the door. “I checked the patient about an hour ago,” she said. “As I told you, she was dilated five centimeters.”

  “Let me have a look.” He smiled at Winnie as he took a look. “Goodness, girl! You must be in a hurry.” He turned to the nurse. “She’s dilated to eight.” He looked at Winnie. “We’re going to give you something for pain. You hang in there, and I’ll check on you in a bit.”

  “SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TELL US SOMETHING,” Ruby said once midnight rolled around. “At least give us an update.”

  Nell was dozing in the chair next to her and opened her eyes. “Yes, we need an update.”

  “I’ll ask this time,” Clara said, leaving the visitors’ area.

  “I’ll come with you,” Ruby offered.

  Clara’s look was cool. “That’s not necessary.”

  Ruby grabbed her arm and prodded her along. “Look, I’m sorry I told Winnie you had a boyfriend. It just slipped out. Give me a break for being human, Clara.”

  The other woman sniffed. “Well, I guess there was no harm done. I just don’t want to appear silly in front of the others, you know, carrying on about a man like I’m some teenager.”

  Ruby stopped walking and looked at her. “Listen to me, Clara. I’ve been around the block so many times they’ve named street signs after me. If you’ve found someone kind and decent in this world, someone who thinks you’re as great as the rest of us do, you shouldn’t care what other people think. You just go for it, girl. We were put on this earth to love. What greater gift is there?”

  Clara looked surprised. “Why, Ruby, what a nice thing to say.”

  They started walking. “So have the two of you done it yet?”

  Clara almost tripped over her own two feet. A blush spread across her cheeks. “Why, Ruby Ledbetter, I can’t believe you asked me such a question! Melvin and I have only dated a few times. He’s a gentleman, and I’m a lady.” She shot her friend a sidelong glance. “Of course we’ve done it, and guess what?” she whispered. “He found my G-spot.”

  “You go, Clara!” Ruby was still grinning when they stepped up to the long counter leading to delivery.

  WINNIE AND MARILEE WERE HARD at work. Sweat beaded both their foreheads. “Two cleansing breaths,” Marilee reminded her. “You’re doing great.”

  “Okay,” Dr. Johnson said. “Let’s push.”

  Winnie grabbed the bedrail and pushed with all her might. Once the contraction ended, she collapsed on the bed.

  “Lookin’ good,” the doctor said. “Only a couple more.”

  When the next contraction hit, Winnie and Marilee began the breathing pattern once again.

  “The baby is crowning,” the doctor said. “Get ready to push again.”

  Winnie, who had been too caught up in her labor to show any interest, paused and gazed into the overhead mirror. “There’s my baby,” she said. “Look, Marilee, there’s my baby’s head.” Another contraction hit, and they automatically went into their routine. A couple of contractions later, the baby slipped from Winnie’s womb.

  “You have a new daughter,” Dr. Johnson said, holding the baby up for inspection.

  Winnie smiled broadly through her exhaustion as he placed the newborn on her stomach.

  Warm tears streamed down Marilee’s cheeks as she took in the scene. “She’s beautiful, Winnie. Just like her mother. What are you going to name her?”

  Winnie had tears in her eyes as well as she met Marilee’s gaze. “Her name will be Marilee Elizabeth Frye,” she said softly. “After you and my grandmother.”

  Marilee was deeply touched. “Oh, Winnie, I never expected—”

  “I know.” A nurse reached for the baby and Winnie closed her eyes.

  IT WAS A WEARY BUT EXCITED group that left the hospital shortly before 2:00 a.m. Marilee rode with the women, Josh with Sam. Once they’d said a quick good-night, Marilee and Josh went into the house. After taking Rascal out, Josh trudged up the stairs, but Marilee grabbed the phone book, looked up a number and dialed.

  “Is this the Frye residence?” she asked when a sleepy-sounding woman answered. “I’m looking for the parents of Winnie Frye.”

  After a brief pause, the woman on the other end answered, “This is her mother.”

  “Mrs. Frye, I’m Marilee Abernathy, Winnie’s friend. I thought you might like to know you have a new granddaughter. She was born at 12:38 this morning.”

  “A granddaughter?” the woman said. “How’s Winnie?”

  “Both are fine. I just thought—” Marilee gave an exhausted sigh. “I thought you should know.”

  “Thank you.”

  Marilee hung up the phone. When she turned she found Grady standing at the bottom of the stairs.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Fine.” She noted his bruised jaw. “And you?” Her words were clipped.

  He tried to smile but winced. “I’m a little sore. I guess I made a fool of myself.”

  She tried to keep her anger at bay. “You guessed right.”

  “Josh wouldn’t even speak to me when he came into the room just now.”

  Marilee sat in the chair. Her feet ached from standing beside Winnie’s bed all night. “You were way out of line saying what you did tonight. I never once agreed to go back to you.”

  “You told me you’d forgiven me. You said I should take the job in Georgia. I thought—”

  “You thought wrong. That’s the trouble with you, Grady. You hear what you want to hear. Now hear this. I want you out of here by noon tomorrow or I’ll have you escorted out by the police.”

  “Does this have anything to do with that Sam fellow?”

  “It has to do with us.”

  He looked at her long and hard. “You’ve changed, Marilee.”

  “Thank God for that.” She stood and made her way upstairs, pausing at the bottom step. “Noon, Grady.”

  IT WAS LATE WHEN MARILEE AWOKE. She went down into the kitchen to make coffee and found Josh sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. She mumbled a good-morning.

  “Dad left in a taxi about an hour ago.”


  Marilee leaned against the counter. “I’m sorry.”

  He looked up. “I know you’ve already divorced him, Mom. He told me.”

  Marilee hung her head. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you. Are you okay?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve made a lot of excuses for Dad over the years. I did it at the hospital, too, and I hurt you. Again,” he added, hanging his head. “You were right. It’s up to him to see that he gets better.” He sighed heavily. It was obvious he was struggling with his emotions. “I just want us to be happy, Mom.”

  Marilee walked over and hugged him. “We will be. And you can see your dad whenever you like.”

  He remained quiet.

  “How do you feel about going back to Chickpea Baptist?”

  He shrugged. “It’ll feel funny at first, but I’d like to see my friends.”

  “We’ll start next Sunday.”

  MARILEE AND JOSH VISITED Winnie after lunch. Marilee brought flowers and a new car seat for the baby’s ride home, and Josh carried an enormous teddy bear. Winnie looked touched. Marilee noted a vase of yellow roses on the girl’s night table.

  “Mike brought them,” she said.

  Marilee gave her a knowing look. “I told you it would happen one day.”

  “Not only that, several of my girlfriends called. They plan on visiting later.” She looked at Josh. “That’s some teddy bear you got there. Did you break into a toy store?”

  “I bought it with my own money.” He passed it to her. “Consider it your Christmas gift as well, because I wasn’t counting on spending that much on you.”

  “I love gifts that come straight from the heart,” she said. “Wait till you see my baby.”

  “Does she look like you?”

  “Darn right she does.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Don’t mess with me, Joshua. I may be sore, but I can still kick butt.”

  Someone knocked on the door. Clara and Ruby came into the room, both carrying flowers and gifts. “We just saw the baby!” they announced.

  “She’s beautiful!” Clara said. “And Winnie, how sweet of you to name her after Marilee.”

  “Get this,” Ruby said. “Clara and I are standing at the window looking for your baby. Of course, she’s the only black baby in the room, yet Clara still read all the names on the bassinets, trying to find one with the last name of Frye.” Ruby shook her head sadly. “So I took a chance and told her I thought it was the dark-skinned baby.”

  Clara laughed self-consciously. “I guess I was caught up in the excitement.” She looked at Ruby. “Besides, I don’t think of Winnie as being black or white, I just think of her as my friend.”

  Josh rolled his eyes at Winnie. “I can’t handle all these women,” he said. “I’m going to grab something to eat in the cafeteria.”

  Nell came into the room some twenty minutes later. “Sam and I just saw the baby. Oh, Winnie, she looks like a little doll. So beautiful. She has your eyes.” She turned to Marilee. “How are you? I’ve been so concerned.”

  “I’m better now that Grady’s gone.”

  “For good?” Winnie asked. When Marilee nodded, the girl looked relieved. “How’s Josh taking it?”

  “Surprisingly well.”

  “Well, we certainly have plenty of things to celebrate once we bust Winnie out of here,” Ruby said. She looked at Clara. “Don’t we?”

  Clara blushed. “I have a little announcement to make.”

  All eyes were on her. “Tell us, dear,” Nell said.

  “I’ve fallen in love. After all this time, I’ve finally met the man of my dreams.”

  The women gave a whoop and took turns hugging her.

  “I can’t believe it happened so quickly,” Clara said. “I mean, I don’t believe in love at first sight or anything like that, but Melvin Benefield is the kindest, most loving man I’ve ever met. So when he told me he was in love with me this morning, I confessed feeling the same about him.”

  Marilee couldn’t stop smiling. “Clara, I am so happy for you.”

  “As are we all,” Ruby said.

  Winnie looked perturbed. “Okay, I’m thrilled that Clara has found a man, but does anyone want a blow-by-blow description of my labor?” Without waiting for an answer, she began. The women stepped closer to the bed and listened attentively, grimacing when Winnie told them the pain she had survived, and smiling when she described holding the baby for the first time. She looked at Marilee. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Nonsense,” Marilee said. “You have already proven you can do anything you set your mind to.”

  “You serve as a pretty good example,” Winnie replied, and the two smiled at one another.

  The door opened. A middle-aged couple peeked in. “Winnie?” the woman said.

  The girl went very still. “Mama? Daddy? What are you doing here?”

  Winnie’s mother stepped inside while her father remained at the door. “We just saw our new granddaughter. Why, she’s beautiful! Just like you.”

  “How did you know?”

  Marilee cleared her throat. “I thought your family should be notified,” she said. “I hope that’s okay.”

  The woman stepped up to the bed. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to pick up the telephone and call you. We, I mean your daddy and I, have spoken to Reverend Bishop a number of times regarding the matter, but we were too embarrassed to call you after what happened. Can you ever forgive us?”

  Winnie glanced away quickly and swiped at her cheeks. “Why don’t we talk about it later?”

  Clara and Ruby started for the door. “We’re going to have a bite to eat in the cafeteria,” they said. “Anybody want to join us?”

  “I will,” Nell said. She started for the door, then turned. “Marilee, are you coming?”

  “I might be along later.”

  Nell nodded and followed the others out.

  Marilee walked to the bed and kissed the girl on the forehead. “I’ll be back this evening.” She looked at Winnie’s parents. “You have a wonderful daughter. You should be very proud of her.”

  Winnie’s father spoke for the first time, with a great deal of emotion. “We are proud of her. Always have been. We’re just not very proud of ourselves right now.”

  MARILEE FOUND SAM STANDING at the nursery window, his broad shoulders hunched, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket. He looked as though the weight of the world had landed on him, and the burden was more than he could bear. She joined him and stared through the window wordlessly as a nurse visited each bassinet. She caught the clean scent of Sam’s aftershave.

  “Where are the others?” he asked without looking at her.

  “Having lunch in the cafeteria.”

  He nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Winnie’s baby.

  “Isn’t she lovely?” Marilee said.

  “Yes.” He turned to her, taking in the face he’d come to love. Her hair gleamed beneath the lights. She looked so delicate and fragile standing there in her simple skirt and sweater, but he knew she was one of the strongest, most determined women he’d ever met. “I’m surprised you’re speaking to me after last night.”

  “Why don’t we try to put it behind us?” she said softly. Marilee’s heart ached at the raw hurt she saw in his dark eyes. His handsome face was drawn, and there were lines on either side of his mouth. “You look tired, Sam.”

  “I couldn’t sleep after I got home last night. Just sat on the edge of my bed thinking.”

  Marilee had not slept well herself. She had spent the entire night thinking about all that had occurred these past months. She felt as though she’d come through a bad storm, and although she’d survived it, she was still picking through the rubble, trying to find her place in the world. She hoped that place was with Sam. She looked away, not wanting him to see the yearning in her eyes.

  “Look at them,” she said, gazing at the newborns inste
ad. She was surprised to find her maternal instincts perfectly intact. She wondered if other women longed for a baby every time they found themselves looking through a nursery window. “They’re all brand spanking new.”

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, they’re starting out fresh. They haven’t had time to make mistakes or know the meaning of regret or loss.”

  “I don’t like seeing you this way, Sam.”

  “How do you expect me to feel? I’m in love with you, Marilee. How do you think it feels knowing the woman I love is going back to her ex-husband?”

  “Oh, Sam.” She touched his cheek and watched his jaw harden. “I never told Grady I was going to Georgia with him. He just assumed it, because I’ve always done what was expected of me. I don’t have to live like that anymore.” Her eyes misted. “Besides, why would I leave Chickpea when everything I want and love is right here?”

  Sam was afraid to get his hopes up. “You’re not going back to him?”

  She shook her head. “Grady left this morning. At my insistence, I might add.”

  All Sam’s fears and doubts drained from his body, leaving him with a feeling of renewal, as full of hope as the newborns on the other side of the window. “I thought I’d lost you, Marilee. I can’t tell you what it did to me.”

  She smiled. “You’re going to have a tough time getting rid of me, Sam Brewer.”

  He looked at her for a long moment. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m in love with you, too, Sam. You give me butterflies.”

  His heart swelled with love. “Oh, Marilee—” He started to say something, then paused when a nurse walked by.

  Finally, Sam pulled his hands from his pockets, raised one to her face and caressed her cheek with his knuckles. Her skin felt like satin. He wondered if she knew how much power she had over him, over his heart, his very soul, for that matter. He had felt hopeless and helpless without her; now he felt like a king. His body vibrated with life when, only moments before, he’d thought his life was over. He slipped his arms around her, pulling her close, inhaling her sweet scent, made even sweeter by the knowledge that she was his.

  “You know, if we get married,” he said, “we’ll have to buy a big house to accommodate everybody. The Edgerton place is for sale. It has five bedrooms and a two-bedroom guest house. Mother and Winnie could share the guest house since they get along so well. Mom would be a big help with the baby. She’s come a long way, thanks to you and your friends.”