There was silence, then a burst from Carl. "Your father must be rolling over in his grave. Responsibility was his credo."

"It's mine, too," Tanner argued. "Anyone who knows me knows that. But if I'm a responsible person, I have to think responsibly. And when I do, I realize this discussion has grown too personal. The school board shouldn't be deciding who is or is not a good mother. This discussion should be limited to whether Ms. Tate is a good principal. I believe she is. Thank you. That's all I have to say."

The meeting adjourned soon after. Between excited calls and texts, the car buzzed as loudly as the boardroom had when Tanner finished speaking.

Pam phoned Susan. "He came through," she said with what sounded like utter relief.

But Susan knew better. "You were the one who got him thinking, Pam, and you got people to the meeting to hear him."

"The best was the look on Neal's face. I wish you'd been here to see it."

But she wasn't, and the reason why seemed to hit her at the same time as it did her friend. "We're rooting for you," Pam said quietly.

As they left the highway for the city streets, Susan needed all the help she could get. The pace here was light years removed from the pace in Zaganack. She was so not a city person, and thinking of the reason they'd come? Sobering.

Their hotel was adjacent to the hospital. They took two rooms, one for girls, one for guys. Had Robbie not come, Susan would have stayed with Rick. She was nervous, and he was steady.

But she had to settle for a hug.


***

It was before dawn when the wake-up call came. With the surgery scheduled for eight, Lily had to check in before seven. Susan had fully expected to walk her over alone, but none of the others wanted to be left behind.

For several minutes, they sat in the waiting room with other patients and their families. The occasional newspaper rustled; if there was talk, it was a murmur.

When the nurse who came for Lily waved Susan along, she went gratefully. Lily was frightened, her face pale, her eyes worried as each new person entered her cubicle. Susan held Lily's hand, whispered encouraging thoughts, answered questions asked of Lily when the girl was too tongue-tied to reply.

The doctor stopped by, as did the anesthesiologist, who inserted an IV for the medication that would sedate Lily during the procedure. She was wide awake, though, when they came to fetch her.

Leaning over, Susan tucked a last strand of hair into her cap. "They say once the medication starts you won't remember much, but I want you to tell me everything you do. Your son will want to know the details." She drew a heart in the outline of Lily's face. "He has an amazingly good mother."

Lily gave her a hug so tight that it hurt inside. Choked up, Susan watched them wheel the girl off.

So she was already feeling emotional when she returned to the waiting room. Between this day's surgery, last night's meeting, and all the days and nights of worry that had come before, her composure was nil. That may have explained why, when she approached Rick and saw the man and woman with him, she turned away.

Rick was quickly at her elbow, guiding her down the hall until she stopped, stared at him, and asked weakly, "What was that?"

"My dad and your mom."

"How?"

"I told Dad on Wednesday. I never dreamed he'd show up, much less with Ellen. I'm as surprised as you are."

"She knows?"

"Looks it."

"Did she want to come? Or did he force her?"

"Maybe a little of both. All I know is she looked terrified walking in here just now."

Susan was terrified herself. "I haven't had a decent conversation with her in years. What am I supposed to say now? I saw her last month and didn't tell her Lily was pregnant. I've talked with her on the phone since, and didn't tell her. Do I apologize? Do I try to explain? What am I supposed to do with her?"

"Nothing," Rick said. "My dad brought Ellen, so she's his responsibility. Your only responsibility is Lily."

That sounded all well and good. But Ellen was her mother.

Of all the times Susan would have died for her mother's support, this wasn't one. She didn't want Ellen making her feel like a lousy mother-didn't want to spend one second wondering what Ellen thought about Lily's pregnancy. And as for Ellen's relationship with Big Rick, Susan could not have cared less.

Rick took her hand. "C'mon. Let's go get coffee. They won't be starting the surgery for a while. It'll be close to an hour before we hear anything."

They went to the coffee shop and split a doughnut, wandered through the lobby, explored the gift shop. When they ran out of places to go, Rick took her back upstairs.

Susan was prepared to see her mother this time. Still, she felt a jolt opening that door and meeting Ellen's eyes. The woman looked well-hair more silver than not, but stylishly combed, black slacks, peach sweater. The fact that she looked frightened was some consolation to Susan, who was frightened herself.

But she was, after all, a big girl now.

So she kissed Big Rick's cheek and took the chair beside Ellen. "Thank you for coming," she said softly. "Lily will be touched."

Ellen nodded. After a minute, she murmured, "I had no idea."

That Lily was pregnant? That the baby had problems? That Susan had nearly lost her job? "Some things are hard to discuss," Susan said. "Did you fly up with Big Rick?"

Again Ellen nodded. "I'm no traveler. He dragged me along."

An unwilling companion, then? Or just a poor choice of words? It struck Susan that her mother might not know what to say to her, either.

"You must have landed last night." It was a safe remark, but barely spoken when a man in scrubs approached, then went on past and into the hall. After a worried glance at the clock, Susan caught Rick's eye.

"Too soon," he said softly.

She sat back, hugging her middle, and thought of Lily and the baby. She didn't try to talk to her mother. Rick was right; her focus should be on Lily. Needing to relax, she took out her knitting.

A few minutes later, Ellen did the same. She wasn't working with PC Wool, but with a glitzy novelty yarn.

"What're you making?" Susan asked.

"A scarf for Jack's Emily. She chose the yarn."

The mention of the girl's name rubbed Susan the wrong way. "Emily. Ahhh. Darling child." Instantly remorseful, she remarked on the yarn, "It's pretty."

"No, it isn't," Ellen murmured. "It's tacky. And no pleasure to knit."

"Why are you making it, then?"

"Because she asked."

"You never made a scarf for me."

"You never asked."

"Maybe I was afraid I'd be refused." Setting down her knitting, she rubbed her forehead. Her voice was a whisper, for Ellen's ears alone. "This is unreal. My pregnant daughter is on the operating table while doctors try to save her baby, and I'm arguing with my mother, whom I have seen once in nearly eighteen years and never east of the Mississippi. This is blowing my mind."

Ellen continued to knit her tacky yarn.

Susan glanced at the clock, then at Rick. "Do you think something's wrong?"

"No. We're just impatient."

Try superstitious. Susan was starting to wonder if her job had been spared to cushion the blow of losing the baby. Or losing Lily.

Desperate for comfort, she returned to her very beautiful, very artistic, very original PC Wool scarf.

"That's very pretty," her mother said. "It's one of the new colors, isn't it?"

"Yes. Robin At Dawn. We want to photograph finished pieces for the catalogue. I told you about that."

"Yes," Ellen said. Susan had knit another row, before her mother asked, "Are those short rows?"

"Yes."

"Interesting design."

Susan passed her mother the pattern, but continued to knit. She focused on the stitches, focused on the rhythm, focused on turning at the gap. When Ellen returned the pattern, Susan tucked it back in her bag and kept on knitting. Knitting was familiar at a time when everything around her was strange.

At the ninety-minute point, she caught Rick's eye. Setting his laptop aside, he checked with the nurse, but returned moments later with no news. "They're still in the OR."

"Why so long?"

"They may have started late."

"What if they found something they didn't expect?"

Rick touched a finger to her mouth. "They won't," he said and returned to his seat.

The good news was that between imagining possible complications-oh yes, the Web had given her every last one-and praying, Susan didn't dwell on her mother's unexpected presence. The bad news was that it was two hours before the doctor emerged. By that time, she was frantic.

But he was fully at ease. "All's well," he told her. "Your daughter was frightened, so we spent a little while calming her. We gave her a tour of the OR and showed her the balloon we'd be inserting. She'll remember that part and be stronger for it. As for her little guy, his heart is beating good as gold. He'll do fine."

A little while later, Susan was allowed back to wait with Lily until they could transfer her to a room. She would be staying overnight in the hospital for monitoring, though the fetal monitor was only part of it. If they discovered any kind of amniotic leak, Lily would be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.

The girl was sleeping off the sedative in little cat naps. Susan waited until she was more awake before telling her that Big Rick was there.

Her eyes lit. "He came all this way for me?"

"He did. And he isn't alone. He brought your grandmother."

Lily didn't respond at first. Then she frowned. "Your mother?" When Susan nodded, she cried weakly, "She knows I'm pregnant?"