Colby named her baby Luna Grace. Luna for the big moon she spent so many hours gazing at from her window at Meadow Farm. Grace for her mom.
Milo wanted to name her Scarlet Ruby, but Colby vetoed that as super dumb. Jordan figured they should name her something more gender neutral, like Taylor or Kelly. Or Jordan.
Gram loved the name, just as she loved everything about the baby. Colby could’ve named her Dump Truck Sani-Station and Gram would’ve sung it in a lullaby without so much as blinking.
And Gigi?
Well, she hadn’t met her niece yet.
Luna was a week old, and Gigi hadn’t even seen her. She’d come once to get clothes and look for a mascara, but Colby had only just fallen asleep with Luna after a really long, hard night and Gram forbade Gigi to even tiptoe into the room. Not even to look for the missing mascara.
When Colby woke up later, she cried. “I would’ve wanted her to meet Luna, Gram.”
“You needed sleep.” Gram put a plate in front of Colby. Peanut butter on toast. A mug of hot, milky tea. “Besides, she was in no state to meet a new little baby.” She shook her head and made a disapproving tut-tut sound.
Gigi didn’t meet Luna until she was almost three weeks old, and even then, it was hardly a proper introduction. If Gigi needed anything, she came by in the middle of the night. Even if Colby was awake, she’d pretend not to be. It was awkward now. There was too much space between them. They were so far apart now, Colby wasn’t sure how she’d ever get back to Gigi. Or get Gigi to come back to her.
One night when Gigi came into the room, Colby was wide awake. Luna was asleep beside her, tucked in one of those Baby-Safe Sleeper thingies. Colby had just nursed her and was almost asleep too, but not quite.
Colby shut her eyes when she heard Gigi come in. And she would’ve stayed like that, pretending to be asleep, except that she heard Gigi rooting under Colby’s bed.
The jewelry box.
Colby turned over. “Hey.”
Gigi raised her phone, the light on it making Colby squint. “Hey.”
“What are you doing?” Colby sat up. She turned on the bedside lamp.
“Nothing.”
Gigi had the jewelry box in her hands.
“That’s mine.”
“Hell no, it’s not.”
Colby reached for the box. Gigi backed up into the small circle of light. She was gaunt. Scratches lined one cheek. Her eyes darted back and forth, back and forth, dark shadows underneath them.
“I watch her, you know.” Gigi coughed. She reached for Colby’s water glass beside the bed and took a drink. “When I come at night. I watch her sleeping. She looks like you. Milo too. Her nose. His nose. My nose. The family nose.”
“I haven’t seen you watching her.”
“I know you pretend to be asleep.” Gigi laughed. “But sometimes you actually are asleep.”
“Put the box down.” Colby still had every intention of returning it. She just hadn’t had a chance yet.
Much to her surprise, Gigi set the box beside Colby on the bed.
“Thank you.” Colby took it and held it in her lap.
Then she knew. All of a sudden she knew.
She opened the box.
It was empty except for the earrings and the child’s bracelet.
“Gigi?” Colby looked up at her. Her voice knotted in her throat. “Where’s the rest of it?”
“I took it.” Gigi shrugged. “Why not? It wasn’t doing anyone any good hiding under your bed. Gram takes care of you. You get welfare. I need money. You don’t.”
“Oh, Gigi…”
Gigi lurched forward to get a better look at Luna.
“It doesn’t make any sense.” Gigi gazed at the baby. “You and Milo. And Jordan. That baby.”
“It makes sense.”
“Not really.”
“It’s like you stayed back, Gigi. Behind us,” Colby said. “In the past.”
“It’s like you took off and went somewhere else entirely, Colby.” Gigi pulled a backpack off her shoulder and set it on the floor, rummaging through it in that frenetic way junkies do that makes everything seem so much harder than it needs to be. “I got this for her.” She pulled out a soft, pink blanket with satin edging and Luna Grace embroidered along the bottom. “From that place in the mall where we got those matching shirts done last year. For Christmas.”
“Ho.”
“Ho.”
Colby laughed. “And when we stood side by side—”
“Ho, ho,” Gigi said. And then, “Give me the box.”
“No.” Colby tightened her grip on it. “I want to give it back.”
“What’s the point now? There’s hardly anything left.”
“There’s a point. Even if you can’t see it.”
“I need the money, Cole.”
“You need help.”
“Oh, right. Well, thanks for letting me know.”
“You need rehab, Gigi.”
“No thanks.”
“Why not?”
“Why should I?”
“Because you’re a drug addict.”
“Preach it, sister.”
“You won’t go because of Arman, right?” Her drug-dealer boyfriend.
“Leave him out of it.” Gigi glowered at Colby. “Give me the box.”
“No.”
“Fine.” Gigi lunged for it, trying to wrestle it out of Colby’s hands. Colby held tight, and Gigi gave her a shove.
“Stop it!” Colby shoved back, still holding tight to the box. “Careful of the baby!”
Then Luna began to cry.
Colby let go of the box at once. She turned to her baby and scooped her up into her arms.
Gigi stuffed the jewelry box into her backpack. “You don’t see what’s happening, but I do.”
“You have no clue, Gigi.”
“I know exactly what’s happening.” She nearly spat the words. “You’ve taken everything that was ever mine. My room, my house, my gram, even my brother! I hate you, Colby. I really do.”
Colby sat on the edge of the bed. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She held her baby and stared at her, willing herself not to say anything. To just let Gigi go. Gigi hadn’t hit rock bottom yet. Colby wondered if she ever would. When they used to get high together, they watched out for each other. But now Gigi was alone out there.
“I love you, Gigi. No matter what, I love you. ”
But Gigi was gone.
When Luna stopped crying, Colby could hear Gigi arguing with Gram by the front door. But Gram couldn’t stop Gigi either. She slammed the door behind her, and then the tiny house rang with simple, painful silence.