Susanna shouldn’t be the one giving her daughter life lessons. The family court judge should know that Frida could give Harriet a sibling too. A sibling who looks like her. A Chinese sibling, a brunette. With Harriet’s same eyes and skin tone. In Gust and Susanna’s family, Harriet will always look like she’s adopted. Strangers will always ask questions. If they’re having their own baby, why do they need hers?
During class, Frida daydreams about another wedding. Tucker in a three-piece suit. Dark pinstripes, not a tuxedo. A pink gown for her. A secret tribute to where they met. A bouquet of anemones. They’ll have the wedding in Chicago. She’ll do everything her mother requested the first time. Invite more of her parents’ friends and colleagues. Have a tea ceremony. Wear a veil. Pin up her hair. Wear a red qipao for the reception. Play music the older relatives can dance to. Allow more time for family portraits. Later, have a banquet for their baby’s hundred days. Make her husband learn Mandarin.
The counselor is concerned about Frida’s mental stamina. “I know how much you were looking forward to this call. It must be hard to see your ex-husband moving on.”
“He moved on a long time ago. I’m aware of that.” Frida says she’s glad Harriet will have a sibling, that she’s happy for them.
“I’m just worried that my daughter won’t get enough attention. After the baby arrives. Linda said the transition from one to two kids is the hardest. If I were home, I could help her. She’s going through so many changes. We’re going to be reunited in the same month that she gets a new sibling, aren’t we? We didn’t even get to talk about preschool. This was supposed to be my turn to talk to her, but Susanna—”
“Susanna has made plenty of sacrifices,” the counselor says.
Frida should be mindful of Susanna’s stress level. And she shouldn’t make any assumptions about her case, not yet.
Before Frida leaves, they return to the subject of fraternizing. The instructors have noticed Tucker’s interest in her. Frida reminds the counselor that she hasn’t flirted, hasn’t been accused of suggestive body language.
“I’m not saying you have. But you’re all human. Feelings can develop. Remember, Frida, this is a man who let his child fall out of a tree. You left your baby girl home alone. Nothing good can come of this friendship.”
* * *
Roses are wilting on the vine. There’s a week of one-hundred-degree days. The cafeteria feels increasingly like a dungeon. Fans are brought into the fathers’ school to augment the air-conditioning. Parents take cold showers and suck on ice cubes. Heat and mingling and boredom are contributing to high-risk behavior. Voices rise above whispers. Eye contact is brazen. Some parents refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Talk circle remains crowded. A father is abruptly expelled for allegedly leering at Charisse’s teenage girl doll. Most parents think he’s innocent.
“Her word against mine,” he said. The doll was the one who complained to the instructors. She felt he was undressing her with his eyes, said he looked at her like she was a snack.
Charisse said, “Believe women.”
Tucker has sent Frida messages via his doll Jeremy. He’s asked Meryl to ask Frida to sit with him at lunch. She almost said yes. She almost told him about Susanna’s pregnancy, Harriet’s short hair, the counselor’s latest warnings. She wants to thank him for treating her like she’s worthy of love. If she’d known such kindness was possible, that she’d ever feel deserving of it, she might have been more careful when she was younger. She’s imagined introducing him to Gust, has pictured them attending Gust and Susanna’s wedding. She too has been thinking past November, wondering if she’ll be able to get pregnant at forty or forty-one.
She knows she’s getting away with more because she’s yellow. Roxanne says they’re coming down harder on the brown girls. It doesn’t matter whether they’re flirting back. Roxanne has no patience for Frida’s problems with Beanstalk or Susanna. She tells Frida to get over her beef with Gust’s girl.
“Do not talk to me about diamond rings,” she says.
Roxanne’s mom hasn’t been staying hydrated, has developed another UTI. “I just want to wrap her in Bubble Wrap,” Roxanne says. Neighbors and friends are helping, but it’s not the same. Her mom is immunocompromised. Just an hour in a doctor’s waiting room or a trip to the pharmacy could get her sick. What if her mom gets sicker and no one tells her? What if she has to go to the hospital?