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Show All the Variables & Other Love Stories 99 Her mother looked very concerned, but Angie hardly noticed, concern being her mother's natural state. Her mother made sure the skin folds under Cleo's chin were clean, checked her for rash, her mouth for thrash. She asked if Cleo might have colic and then was absolutely certain Cleo's diaper was too tight. After that was fixed, her mother checked the windowsills, showed Angie the dust she'd found, and wondered aloud if the untidy home she kept might be why Patrick hadn't asked Angie to marry him yet. "How ij Patrick?" "He must be fine or I'd have heard about it by now. He hasn't been over for a few days, which is fine with me." "Trouble in paradise?" Angie yawned, determined to enjoy being baby-free a little while. Patrick had asked, and Angie had said "no," though she had no intention of sharing this with her mother. Angie's mother didn't like Patrick because his job was unreliable and undignified. He worked graveyards at a grocery warehouse filling orders for stores in the surrounding area. She only wanted him to marry Angie because she thought it indecent for a girl to be unwed with an infant, even if, unlike Angie, the girl had been married at the time of conception; single with a baby meant you could barely keep a husband long enough to get in trouble. Angie's mother schemed unsuccessfully for months to get rid of Patrick, decided him a dupe she could con into supporting her daughter and granddaughter, and changed tactics. Lately shed been finding him not so easy to take advantage of, and Angie loved it. |
