The Dark Side - Danielle Steel Page 0,42
on Monday.”
He looked serious when he drove up to the emergency entrance, and Zoe and Jaime got into the backseat. He didn’t have her car seat in his car, since Jaime usually rode in Zoe’s car, so Zoe put the seatbelt on her. Jaime showed him her bright pink cast, and he exchanged a look with Zoe. He wasn’t angry at her, she could see, he was worried.
“Did you call Cathy?” Zoe shook her head. She was as upset as he was, and furious with herself for giving Jaime a harder push, so she fell off when she turned to see her mother.
“I didn’t want to bother her on a Saturday. I didn’t think it was broken.”
“They’ll probably report us to Child Protective Services next time, if there is one,” he said seriously.
“Cathy would vouch for us.”
“They might not give her a chance to, particularly if they find out we’re friends.” Zoe nodded, as he drove toward a deli they liked in SoHo. There were mobs of tourists and people from the suburbs milling around. He found a parking space two blocks away, and carried Jaime to the deli. They sat down at a free table in the middle of the restaurant, and Austin looked unhappily at Zoe. “I can’t believe she broke something again. Maybe her bones are unusually brittle.”
“I don’t think so. It’s just bad luck.”
“Bad luck doesn’t happen this often,” he said as a waiter handed them the menus and dashed off to pick up someone’s order. It was a busy place, but they liked the food there. They had great chicken soup, and Jaime loved the hot dogs. They were looking at the menus, when Austin glanced up and realized that Jaime had left the table. She was wandering down the aisles, smiling at people and showing them her pink cast, as waiters whizzed by her, carrying pots of hot coffee. Zoe smiled when she realized what she was doing, and Austin flew out of his seat, crossed the restaurant, grabbed her, picked her up, and brought her back. He set her down on her chair and spoke to her sternly.
“You don’t get out of your seat again until we leave, do you hear me, Jaime?” Her lip started to tremble and tears filled her eyes, as Zoe looked at him in outrage.
“Why did you do that? You embarrassed her, it’s humiliating to be carried away like that.”
“Why did I do that? Are you kidding me? There were four waiters about to trip over her and pour hot coffee on her. Do you want to check out the burn unit at NYU next? We’ve worn out the charm of the ER, and met everyone who works there.” His tone was harsh, but he had seen another disaster about to happen, and they had just barely finished the last one. “Don’t you see that, when an accident is about to happen? You can’t let her run around a busy restaurant.”
“What do you want me to do? Tie her to her chair? She has a right to get up just like you and I do.”
“She most definitely does not. I’m not three feet tall and going to trip a waiter. They wouldn’t even see her until they fell over her and poured coffee on her.” They filled coffee cups at the table, and the coffee they poured was boiling hot. He’d had it before. “You have to pay closer attention, and see the accidents before they happen, not after.” He made her feel about two inches tall, and this time Zoe’s eyes filled with tears as Jaime watched her. “This isn’t about respecting a two-year-old, Zoe, it’s about being a responsible parent.”
“You think I’m irresponsible?” She looked crushed.
“We both are, if this keeps happening again and again. It’s not her fault, it’s ours. We have to teach her that some things are dangerous, like riding a swing for big kids, or running through a restaurant. We can’t let her do whatever she wants.”
“She just wanted to show those people her cast.”
With that, Jaime piped up and agreed with her mother. “I told them I bwoke my wist, they liked the pink cast. I do too,” she said, and her wrist didn’t hurt once the doctor set it.
“She should be picking out sneakers or teddy bears or hair ribbons, not casts,” Austin said miserably, as the waiter came to take their order. Zoe ordered chicken soup, Jaime said she wanted a hot dog and a donut,