Scarlett Rose's Arc

Chapter 53 of 57

Morning came slow at the clinic. Scarlett woke with Skye already fussing in the bassinet and Azure asleep beside him. Clayton was up, boots on, hat on the chair. Discharge was set for ten. She should have felt ready. Instead she kept seeing Rose's photo of the finished nursery and finding the parts it did not show. "Clayton." She shifted against the pillow in the thin recovery gown, the tie loose at her hip. "The crib. Did Maya check the rail catches after she built it?" He looked up. "She said she did." "Said, or checked." "I'll ask her." "And the outlet by the changing table. The cover was off last week. And the window latch upstairs. It sticks. If it swings open in a storm—" "Scarlett." She stopped. Her hands were shaking on the blanket. Azure stirred and made a small sound. Scarlett pressed her palm flat to steady it. "I can't bring them home to a room I haven't walked myself," she said. "Rose finished it in four hours. In a rush. I need to know it's right before they sleep in it." Clayton nodded once. He pulled his phone out and stepped into the hall. Dr. Wishborne came in a few minutes later with the discharge folder under her arm. Her glasses had slid down her nose. She looked at Scarlett's face and set the folder on the tray. "Your husband says you need another hour." "I need someone to check the nursery before we leave. Not Rose. Not Maya. Someone who knows what a newborn needs." Dr. Wishborne sat on the edge of the bed. "I do house calls the day of discharge when a mother asks. I'll drive out ahead of you. I'll check the crib, the outlets, the smoke alarms, the window. I'll call before you leave the parking lot." Scarlett's shoulders dropped an inch. "You'd do that." "I've done it forty years. I know what to look for." She tapped the folder. "You feed them. I'll go now." Clayton stood in the doorway with his hat back on. "Duke's trailered. I can follow her out and meet her there." "Go," Scarlett said. He kissed her forehead and left with Dr. Wishborne. She fed Azure first, then Skye. The clock moved. At nine-forty her phone rang. "Crib's solid," Dr. Wishborne said. "Rail catches locked both sides. Outlets covered. Window latch replaced. Clayton put a new one in while I watched. Smoke alarm tested. Room's safe." Scarlett closed her eyes. "Thank you." "Bring them home." She hung up. A nurse wheeled in the chair. Scarlett dressed, tucked Skye against her chest and Azure in the carrier at her feet. Clayton was waiting at the curb with the truck running. She climbed in and did not look back at the ward. The road home was ten miles. She counted every one.