8
Onion turned on the light and sat heavily on the edge of the bed.
Brooke rolled over and glanced at the digital clock—3:47. She was instantly awake and surprisingly clear-headed despite the several rounds of Daphne’s potent punch. “Where have you been?”
“What do you care?” Onion said, his voice thick, his words slightly slurred.
“I care where my husband has been when he comes home at 3:47 in the morning.”
“Why? You don’t care about him at any other time.”
“Cut the crap, Onion. Where were you?”
“I went to Jack’s and watched the fireworks. That’s what you do on New Year’s Eve.”
“With your wife at home?”
“Your choice, not mine.”
“We’ve got a baby, remember?”
“She could have stayed with Mom.”
“Jodie was exhausted and so was I.”
“Not too tired to party with Daffy.”
“Daffy was nice enough to keep me company. More than I can say for her brother!”
“Your choice, not mine.”
“What was my choice?”
“To leave me alone on Christmas.”
“What’s that got to do with tonight?”
“Got everything to do with tonight,” Onion said, his voice rising. “You take my daughter away on her first Christmas, don’t care about me or my family.”
“Jodie and I are with you and your family every day. But she has two sets of grandparents, and I took her to see the other set for a few days.”
“Left me!”
“I asked you to come! I wanted you to come!”
“Leave on Christmas?”
“It’s not that hard, Onion. I did it last year. You could’ve done it this year. My family wanted you to come.”
“They don’t care about me.”
“You’re my husband. You’re Jodie’s father. They care about you because we care about you. They want to get to know you.”
“Have them come out here.”
“They will, but not on Christmas. Kids go to their parents on Christmas.”
“See!”
“What?”
“Kids stay with their parents.”
“You can’t be in two places. We alternate.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“You said we’d never spend a night apart!”
“And so did you!”
Onion stood and ran out of the bedroom and slammed the door to the outside. The apartment was suddenly eerily quiet. Brooke held her breath, waiting for Jodie to start crying. But she didn’t. Then Brooke had a sudden panic and jumped out of bed. She ran to Jodie’s crib and was immensely relieved to see her baby sleeping on her stomach, her legs pulled up under her body, her butt raised beneath the blankets. She picked Jodie up and carried her into their bedroom and laid her in the middle of the bed. Jodie emitted a couple of faint squeaks but never opened her eyes. Brooke climbed in beside her daughter, pulled the covers over the two of them, reached across Onion’s side, and turned off the light.
Barrier Islands Page 8