Handle With Care

This chapter jumps back in time to Charlotte’s second ultrasound. Piper told Charlotte what she saw and then recommended calling in a high-risk obstetrician. Piper drove Charlotte home and then told Sean what she saw on the ultrasound.

The next day, Charlotte underwent a litany of tests and met with a geneticist. When she asked how no one diagnosed Willow sooner, she was told that there was no reason to assume Willow would have OI since neither Sean nor she was a genetic carrier of OI. Charlotte and Sean discussed aborting the child but agreed it was not an option. They promised each other they would get through the pregnancy together.

In the courtroom, Marin asks about Willow’s traumatic birth. Charlotte discloses that she asked Piper whether or not to get a DNR because Piper was her friend, not her physician.

This chapter jumps back in time to Willow’s birth. Piper visited Charlotte and Willow in the hospital. Charlotte told Piper that the doctor had suggested a DNR, something Piper found unnecessary. When Charlotte asked Piper if she would sign the DNR, Piper remembered how she’d offered to go with Charlotte to terminate the pregnancy. She missed when their friendship was so carefree, and she wondered if it would have been less painful for Charlotte if she’d just terminated the pregnancy. She encouraged Charlotte to sign the DNR.

Marin questions Charlotte on the stand, asking her how Willow’s condition has affected her life. Charlotte describes the massive financial burden they experience and goes off script, telling the jury that she knows they think she’s in this lawsuit for the money. Charlotte says that the lawsuit is about cost, but not the financial kind. She wants to fight to make sure Willow has a good quality of life after Charlotte dies, which is why she filed the lawsuit.

Since Sean is not needed in court, he goes home and takes Willow to the ocean. While there, Sean reminds Willow that Charlotte loves her, but she doesn’t respond.

Guy cross-examines Charlotte. He asks her if she would have aborted Willow given the chance to, which she says she doesn’t know because now Willow exists, and she cannot imagine her life without her. She argues, however, that no one gave her the chance to consider an abortion at the time.

Following court, Amelia, Sean, and Charlotte share a tense dinner while Willow watches Jeopardy! in the other room. After excusing herself from dinner, Amelia wants to cut herself but has promised herself she won’t. She instead calls Adam. Adam breaks up with her, citing the distance and the fact that even though Amelia has a sister with OI, she’ll never truly understand what it’s like to have OI herself. Amelia is devastated. She cries and goes into the bathroom to cut herself.

Amelia remembers the past summer when she and Willow were home alone fighting. A bird flew into the window and died. Willow insisted on burying the bird, so the girls had a makeshift funeral. The girls returned inside and stopped fighting.

As Amelia cuts herself, Willow walks in and sees her. Amelia yells at her to leave and is confused about how Willow got in, given that Amelia typically locks the door when she cuts herself. When Amelia comes out of the bathroom, they don’t discuss what Willow saw. Instead, Willow asks her to tuck her into bed and tell her a story. The two tell a story together about two sisters who have different strengths and use those strengths to make each other stronger. Willow falls asleep before the story is completed.

Unable to sleep and worried about his relationship, Sean goes in search of Charlotte. He finds her in Amelia and Willow’s room. He quickly falls asleep with the three of them.

Marin and Guy are called into the judge’s chambers. One of the jurors—Juliet Cooper—has requested to be taken off the jury due to a conflict of interest. She has realized she is Marin’s biological mother.

Marin and Juliet chat for a few minutes. Juliet tells her that the trial gave her the courage to open up the letter Marin had sent. Juliet tells her that the trial has reminded her that some children would be “better off not being born” and asks Marin not to contact her again (180).

Marin is upset and confused but continues with the trial. She questions one of Willow’s doctors from Boston, who says that Willow is a successful case, but will still experience challenges in life. Guy trips up the doctor by asking if he would have suggested terminating the pregnancy; the man says he cannot answer that because he is only a physician.

The ultrasound technician who performed Charlotte’s first ultrasound comes to testify. She tells the court what she saw on the ultrasound and how Piper didn’t have anything to say about the results.

Flashing back to after the second ultrasound, Piper remembers driving Charlotte home following the ultrasound where she discovered all of Willow’s fractures. After Charlotte went to bed, Piper encouraged Sean to lie to her and tell her he was not worried.

Charlotte notices that Marin seems distracted, but she doesn’t know why. A doctor who specializes in OI testifies that while Piper should have run more tests, there’s no way OI could have been diagnosed on the first ultrasound alone.

While Charlotte is at court, Willow’s nurse gets sick and has to leave early. Amelia is studying for a test, and Willow offers to help her study, but Amelia tells her she’s not ready yet. Willow goes into the bathroom. When Amelia realizes her sister has been gone for too long, she goes to the bathroom and tries to talk to Willow. Getting no answer, she breaks down the door.

Sean hides in a conference room in the courthouse. He’s surprised when Piper comes into the room. The two chat about the trial and reminisce about when Piper introduced Charlotte and Sean. Sean had given Piper a ticket for speeding, and she called him a few days later to invite him to dinner to meet Charlotte. Sean comforts a crying Piper, and she kisses him. The two agree that this kiss was a mistake, with both saying they love Charlotte. Piper amends her comment to say that she did love Charlotte.

In court, Marin plays the video she had made of a day in Willow’s life. Charlotte’s phone keeps ringing, but Marin tells her not to pick up because the jury will think negatively of her. When the film ends, Charlotte runs out of the courtroom to answer the phone, distressed after receiving a text message from Amelia telling her Willow is hurt. An EMT tells her that Willow has lost a lot of blood and to meet them at the hospital.

Amelia breaks down the bathroom door and finds Willow bleeding from cuts on her wrists. She tries to wake her but cannot. Realizing that Willow was copying what she saw Amelia do previously, Amelia feels tremendous guilt. She calls EMTs and her mother and tries to stop the bleeding. When the EMTs arrive and ask where Willow got the razor blade, Amelia lies, saying she doesn’t know.

A recipe for Blueberry Peach Buckle precedes this chapter.

Charlotte goes to the hospital and sees Willow’s injuries: She has broken and bandaged arms, along with broken ribs from where doctors did chest compressions. She can’t believe that Willow would try to harm herself and struggles to not connect this incident to the lawsuit. She promises Willow that she will spend the rest of her life proving that Willow’s life matters. Charlotte calls Marin and gets a continuance in the trial for one day.

Later, Amelia and Charlotte talk, thinking about how they couldn’t imagine their lives without Willow. Amelia tells her mother she doesn’t think Willow was trying to kill herself because Willow knows she is the glue that keeps the family together.

When Amelia is finally able to see Willow alone, Willow tells her she won’t tell anyone where she got the razor. She tells Amelia she cut herself because she wanted to look as happy as Amelia looked when she saw her that night. Both girls realize they are trying to be like the other and stop talking when their parents come back into the room.

Piper hears about the continuance and tells Rob and Emma about Willow’s accident. Emma tells her parents that she thinks Willow learned to cut from Amelia and admits to hearing Amelia throw up and seeing her cut herself. Piper decides to tell Charlotte and Sean what she’s learned and ends up driving to the hospital. She goes to Willow’s room and kisses a sleeping Willow on her head. She cannot bring herself to wake up Charlotte, so she leaves the room.

Guy Booker stops by the house to tell Sean he won’t have to testify the next day. He flippantly says that Willow’s accident is good for their case since if she died, there wouldn’t be any damages awarded. Sean angrily tells him to leave.

Piper arrives to talk to Sean and tell him that Amelia is bulimic and cutting herself. Sean doesn’t believe Piper, and she encourages him to go talk to her. After she leaves, Sean thinks about the pipes they had to replace, realizing that vomit is extremely acidic and would damage them. He goes upstairs to search her room, finding empty food wrappers and bras that Amelia has stolen. He realizes that he has been oblivious to Amelia’s mental health condition.

When Amelia gets out of the shower, Sean confronts her about what he’s found in her room. She lies, saying it belongs to a friend, which gives her away because she has no friends. Sean asks her if she threw up before showering, which she denies. He then yanks her sleeve up to reveal the scars on her arm. Amelia apologizes and tells him that Willow saw her cut herself. When Sean asks why she did it, she says it’s the only thing she can do right. Sean tells her she will not cut anymore and that he’ll be watching her as he hugs her tightly. Amelia smiles at her father’s attention.

After sleeping in Willow’s hospital room, Sean and Amelia meet with Charlotte. Sean forces Amelia to tell Charlotte about her bulimia, shoplifting, and cutting. Charlotte is shocked that she missed the signs. When she finds out that Piper was the one to tell Sean, she assumes it’s a ploy to derail the lawsuit. Sean accuses her of acting like a victim. Amelia yells at her parents to stop fighting, telling them that this is why she cuts. Charlotte reaches for her daughter’s wrist and holds it.

Piper testifies in court. Guy asks her about Charlotte’s medical records and if she advised the O’Keefes to terminate the pregnancy. Piper admits that she knew termination wasn’t an option, because Charlotte had told her that she didn’t want the amniocentesis because she was having the baby no matter what.

Charlotte finds it difficult to hear Piper testify. After hearing how the lawsuit has affected Piper’s life, Charlotte asks Marin to go easy on Piper during her cross-examination. When Marin asks if Piper and Charlotte ever talked about terminating the pregnancy, she admits they did have a conversation.

After the ultrasound, Piper told Charlotte what an abortion would entail. Charlotte admitted that she was worried she couldn’t love Willow enough, to which Piper told her she already did.

Guy calls in an impressive and attractive doctor that Marin is afraid will sway the jury. During the recess, she sees Lou St. Pierre, the president of New Hampshire’s chapter of the American Association of People with Disabilities. She knows that Guy has arranged for him to be here talking to the press. Marin considers the ethical implications of the lawsuit and thinks about the fact that Juliet Cooper said some children—like her and Willow—were better off never being born.

Charlotte brings Amelia a chocolate milkshake after coming back from the hospital. The two discuss her bulimia, and Charlotte says she understands wanting to have control over her life. She tells her that Amelia will be going to an inpatient facility in Boston for children with eating disorders. Amelia is upset she is being sent away and is determined to ruin her mother’s life like her life is being ruined.

Sean testifies in court. Guy asks him why he dropped out of the lawsuit, and he explains that the lawsuit was tearing his family apart, and he doesn’t believe that Willow’s birth was wrong in any way.

As Marin cross-examines him, Sean asks to speak directly to Charlotte. He tells her that their marriage, while not perfect, has been an adventure and that she is the only person he wants to have that adventure with. Moved by Sean’s remarks, the judge clears the courtroom to allow them some privacy. Alone, they agree not to divorce and to figure out how to move forward.

The jury and media are moved by the O’Keefes’ public reunion, which makes Amelia want to sabotage her mother’s case even more. Amelia waits by Guy’s car and tells him that she has information about how her mother feels about Willow to share with him.

Marin drives to Juliet Cooper’s home and asks her to tell her why she gave her up for adoption. Juliet tells her that when she was 16, a stranger raped her. Marin looks just like him, which reminds Juliet of the traumatic sexual assault. She begs Marin to leave her alone, and Marin agrees. She thanks Juliet before leaving.

Marin drives to her parents’ house. Her mother makes her a bowl of ice cream, and she sits with her parents, realizing that her parents are not the people who birthed her, but the people she wants to be like.

Amelia tries to look as punk rock as possible before court. Marin and Charlotte are outraged when Guy calls her as a witness. Guy asks Amelia if her mother is telling the truth, to which Amelia says she’s not because she heard her talking to Willow.

She recalls the conversation after Willow’s broken femur. In that conversation, Charlotte told Willow that she was not a mistake and there was no way she would have ever missed out on having her. Amelia was devastated because, if that was true, the lawsuit had caused Willow to go through tremendous suffering for no reason.

Following Amelia’s testimony, Marin recalls Charlotte as a witness. As Amelia passes her mother, she mouths an apology. Marin asks about the conversation Amelia testified about, and Charlotte admits to saying those things but tells Marin she said those things because she was trying to do her best for her daughter.

Guy tells Piper their case is a “slam dunk” before presenting his closing arguments. Guy focuses on the fact that Charlotte has changed her story so many times and that wrongful birth suits create a system where doctors get to decide whose life is worth living.

Marin’s closing arguments focus on the fact that the case isn’t about abortion, but about whether Piper provided an adequate standard of medical care for Charlotte. Piper still wonders if she did and reflects on all the signs she overlooked, thinking to herself that maybe if she’d been more observant, her best friend wouldn’t have sued her. Marin rests her case, and everyone leaves the courtroom.

Charlotte, Amelia, and Sean meet in a conference room before the jury comes back from deliberation. Amelia apologizes for testifying against her mother, but Charlotte says she understands she was just protecting her sister. Sean says he wants to move back home.

Charlotte runs into Piper in the bathroom. Piper apologizes to Charlotte, telling her she’s sorry she didn’t get a healthy baby. The jury comes back from deliberation, and both women go back to the courtroom. Charlotte wins the lawsuit and is awarded $8 million in damages, which is the largest wrongful death payout in New Hampshire history. However, Charlotte feels like she’s lost the case for some reason.

A recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie precedes this chapter.

Willow considers how her family’s life has changed following the lawsuit. Sean and Charlotte have not cashed the settlement check but do live life more lavishly now that they have a safety net.

Willow asks her mother to bake with her, and Charlotte asks her to go get Amelia from outside. As Willow goes, she thinks of various trivia facts. She approaches the frozen pond and decides to walk on it. She falls through the ice. As she dies, she thinks of trivia facts, the fact that she was loved, and that she’s happy that for once, she was not the thing that broke.

A recipe for Willow’s Sabayon, With Cloud follows the chapter. In it, Charlotte reveals she buried the settlement check in Willow’s casket.