Juliaâs arm.
âIâm not like you, Angie. I get soâ¦â She paused.
âTense?â Angie completed the thought.
Another embarrassed nod.
âAnd angry?â
Julia looked at her friend turned inquisitor. How did she know?
âAnd insecure, like you think youâre doing everything wrong?â
âExactly,â Julia replied.
âThen youâre just like every mother on the planet.â Angie smiled reassuringly. âGo on.â
âLike yesterday morning. I ran Amanda to the store to pick up a bottle of some shampoo her friends insist makes their hair smell like rose petals. New Aroma or New Fragrance. Something like that.â
âNuScent?â
âThatâs it.â
âLilies,â Angie said. âIt makes your hair smell like lilies.â
âRight, lilies. Anyway, I had no idea how expensive it would be until we got to the store, so I suggested a different brand.â
Angie grinned. âI bet that didnât go over real well.â
âOh, my goodness!â Julia said. âYou would have thought I had suggested shaving her head bald. She folded her arms tight like a temper-throwing child and stormed out of the store after calling me a stingy, selfishâ¦â She paused, unwilling to quote the rest.
âOuch,â Angie said sympathetically.
âCan you believe it? After all Iâve given that girl.â
Angie didnât appear to take up Juliaâs offense. âSo whatâd you do?â she asked.
âI bought a bottle of the stupid shampoo.â
âGood girl,â Angie said, to Juliaâs surprise. âThen what?â
âI was upset, so I took my time walking to the car in order to cool down.â
Angie smiled like a teacher writing âA+â on a struggling studentâs test paper. âWhat did you say to Amanda?â
âNothing. I just opened the door and handed her the bottle.â
âDid she apologize?â
âNo. We drove halfway home in silence.â
âAnd then?â
âAnd then Amanda opened her window and tossed the bottle of NuScent into a ditch.â
Angie winced.
âI nearly lost it,â Julia continued, her head bowing slightly in self-condemnation. âI wanted to pull the car over and make her walk the rest of the way home. I wanted to ask her if she had any idea how much stress Troy and I have been under since she arrived, how much time and money weâve spent trying to give her a better life, and how much sleep Iâve lost worrying about whether we made the right decision.â
âYou made the right decision, Julia. That girl needs you and Troy.â
Julia nodded in hesitant agreement. âI know she does.â
âAnd you need her.â
Did she? During the countless hours she had rehearsed the decision in her mind, Julia had always landed in the same place. Troy wanted kids and would make a great father. Since they were unable to conceive their own, taking on a neglected transition-orphan seemed the right thing to do. At times Julia even felt as if God himself had orchestrated the union between infertile couple and parentless child. So why, she wondered, hadnât he endowed Julia with the kind of calm confidence and loving patience that overflowed effortlessly from her friend?
âYou think I need temper tantrums and flying shampoo bottles?â
Angie laughed. âI guess, in a way, yeah. You do.â
Julia gave a puzzled look.
âIf motherhood has taught me anything,â Angie continued, âitâs that nothing gets us in better shape.â
Julia imagined herself at the gym. âIn shape?â
âPushes us to become more than we want to be.â
âI see,â Julia bluffed.
âI donât think you do,â said Angie. âYou just described a situation that tells me youâre becoming a wonderful mom.â
âWhat?â
âYou heard me, a wonderful
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