“Well, for your sake, I hope he’s not early, ‘cause that could be bad considering how limited the medical facility is in comparison to how hospitals used to be.” She shrugged a shoulder a smirked. “Maybe he’ll be a month late. Born in the month Mari was supposed to be born in.”
Leah snorted. “Again, the polite word, but yes, it definitely all makes sense now. Swap around a few personality quirks, and Hilda and Zelda could totally have passed for Leah and Lilah. How could you have ever guessed that I was a fan of that show growing up?” Amused, she listened as Rae tried to think of a sitcom that resembled her family. She staved off a comment about something involving strippers, both to avoid having Marigold hear it and to stop herself from being rude, for once. “Never did have any interest in either of those shows. Degrassi, maybe. Or a straight version of South of Nowhere.”
“It’s not easy either way. Being independent and trying to depend on people, or being dependent-ish and trying to be independent. Both take getting used to, and maybe you did pick a bad time to start trying the independent thing, but that’s not your fault.” She was trying to be comforting, yet she felt like she was failing.
Leah’s smirk grew. “Oh, I still think you could be capable of that. I wouldn’t be scared. I’d study you. Research. See if you really could make people scared of you.”
“Oh.” There was genuine surprise at the offer. “More than once, huh? I wouldn’t want to put too much work on you, not when you’ve got AJ to look after, too. Plus, you have to be up early to cook breakfast for the whole compound.” The endless list of tasks other people did made Leah realize just how little she was contributing to the place as a whole. Leadership things didn’t count. “Maybe every other week. And I warn you now, you might have to fight my sisters for babysitting duty.”
Leah paused when Rae remarked on the trip. “Yeah. I know.” She tucked her tongue in her cheek and averted her eyes. “We aren’t going, anyway. Not with everything that’s happening now. And I realized exactly how dangerous it would be.” Had she known that Marigold would be brought back to her, Leah would’ve planned to go back to her place while they were still in the city. “It’s all right, though. I mean, it’s not like she’s going without anything.” They all made sure that Marigold had everything she needed. Toys, food, other necessities.
Leah would’ve gladly cleaned up the mess, but Rae knew the kitchen better than she did and was already cleaning it up while Leah comforted a tearful Marigold. The little girl gave a hiccupping laugh at Rae’s attempt to cheer her up. “Clowns are weird, aren’t they, Mari? Their faces don’t belong on cups.” Leah kissed her forehead, smoothing her hand up and down the girl’s back. “It’s okay.”