idea, but finally agreed, and the two of them went to Target to buy all the supplies, stocking the cart with baby bottles, ribbon, and confetti shaped like little rattles.
“We should get some streamers,” Martha said.
“Really? Streamers?”
“You don’t think so?”
“That seems more junior high dance than baby shower.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” They continued walking up and down the aisles. “I still can’t believe this is happening. I feel so bad for Mom and Dad.”
“Don’t you feel bad for Max?”
“No. I mean, look what this is doing to Mom and Dad. He’s the one that put himself in this position.”
“Martha, it was an accident. You think he meant to do this?”
“I’m just saying it was irresponsible. And he’s always been that way. I’m just worried about Mom being able to handle this.”
“She’s fine.”
“She’s not fine. Haven’t you noticed? And it’s really affecting the whole family.”
“Have I noticed that she’s being dramatic because that’s how she is? Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
“You’re being really insensitive.”
“I’m being insensitive? You’re the one that doesn’t even feel bad for our twenty-one-year-old brother who’s about to be a dad and is scared out of his mind. Stop making this about anyone else. It’s Max that has to deal with this, and he’s the one you should be worried about.”
The two of them pushed the cart down the aisles, sighing and shaking their heads. “Have you thought any more about coming to therapy with me?” Martha finally asked.
“Oh my God, Martha, I’m not going to couples therapy with you. Seriously, what is your problem?”
“It’s not my problem. We’re having trouble communicating.”
“No, we’re not. You’re just looking for something to be wrong. You’re looking for a problem to have. It’s like you like it when you have issues to deal with.”
“That’s not true.”
“Well, it seems like it is. It seems like Max is taking a lot of the attention lately, and you want some disaster of your own to focus on, and so you want to go to couples therapy with your sister, which isn’t just ridiculous—it’s totally weird.”
“People have done it,” Martha said. She sniffed.
“I’m sure they have. But we’re not going to. Look at us—we’re communicating right now. So let’s finish shopping for this baby shower and go home.”
“Fine,” Martha said. Later that afternoon, she sat on her bed and evaluated her behavior. This was something that Dr. Baer had suggested she do. She wasn’t being insensitive to Max, like Claire suggested. That was absurd She just didn’t think that everyone needed to be falling all over themselves feeling bad for Max and Cleo, when really, they were the ones who got themselves into this mess in the first place.
MR. CRANSTON CAME DOWN WITH A COLD, that turned into bronchitis, that turned into pneumonia. When he coughed, his whole body shook, and sometimes it sounded like his chest was going to rip right out of him.
Ruby and Billy agreed that it was probably smart to have nurses there round the clock, at least for a little while. “He’s having so much trouble breathing,” Jaz told Martha. “They just want to make sure that there’s someone here to help.”
Martha wished that she could be the nurse that was there, but she couldn’t. She hadn’t done one thing—not one thing!—to start getting recertified. What had she been doing this whole time? She was ashamed of herself for wasting these months. Sure, there had been family drama that had taken her attention away, but still. That was no excuse. She promised herself that she would start looking into it.
THE BABY SHOWER WAS A SUCCESS, despite the arguments that had taken place. She and Claire strung a clothesline across the living room, and hung little onesies on it. Claire had wanted to make strawberry cupcakes, but Martha thought that made it look like the baby was going to be a girl.
“I think it’s fine,” Claire said. “It’s a girlie cupcake, the kind you would have at a shower.” But Martha was really against it, and eventually Claire gave up and made chocolate chip cupcakes instead, which were delicious.
Martha was dying to meet Cleo’s mom at the shower. Cleo had described her once as “driven,” and Martha wanted to know what that meant exactly. Elizabeth arrived a few minutes after the shower started, as though she were just another guest and not the mother of the mother-to-be. She wore a suit, and stood out among all the other women. Martha wasn’t surprised to see that Elizabeth was a very attractive woman, although