The Tea Series

by Sheila Horgan

  “I’m going to tell Mom you called her the mighty one.”

  “I’m going to tell her you called her, her. You know that drives Mom crazy.”

  “All I’m saying is that if you aren’t one hundred percent committed to the fact — not the feeling, not the thought, not the wish — that you and Jessie will make it through this, then don’t bother. Wait until you have gotten there. We are not into the whole disposable relationship thing. You know that’s a family mantra. If you’re going to commit, commit.”

  “I hate your wording, and I hate being preached to, but you’re right.”

  “That was always a given.”

  “The old Cara is back. Gone are the days of maturity and wise support.”

  “The old Teagan never left. Still the wiseass…”

  “Shut up. But you’re right. I need to either do this or not do it. And I need to decide in a reasonable period of time.”

  “Yep.”

  “Although, torturing Jessie is not all bad.”

  “Don’t you think making him go over to Mom and Daddy’s was punishment enough?”

  “Actually, they were worthless. They were nice and understanding and supportive. Mom gave him the look a couple of times. Dad shook his head a couple of times, but other than that, nothing but candy and flowers.”

  “Having parents who understand that an adult child’s life is their own to live sucks.”

  “It really does.”

  FIVE

  “WE HAVE A problem.”

  I hate it when people start a conversation out like that. Especially my family.

  “Tell me, Troya, what is our problem?” I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice, but I have a gift for sarcasm, so it’s difficult.

  “Okay, it isn’t really a problem, and it really isn’t ours, it’s mine. I’m not sure what to call it.”

  “It’s early. Can you just keep it in English?”

  “Sorry. I just got off shift, and it kind of freaked me out. I should have looked at the clock.”

  “What freaked you out?” When your unflappable sister says she’s freaked out, it gets your attention.

  “I got home and Gavin was pulling up a floorboard in the laundry room.”

  “Why is your roommate pulling up boards in the laundry room? That might freak me out too.”

  “No, I knew he was going to be pulling boards. He did construction work to get himself through nursing school, and he has been doing some stuff around here to help make the place a little more this century. It’s charming in an English cottage kind of way, but we needed more space in the laundry room.”

  “Why is he pulling boards at this time of day?”

  “Focus, Cara.”

  “Sorry. What has you freaked out?”

  “When he pulled the boards, there was a bunch of stuff in between the studs.”

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “Bernie stuff.”

  “Why call me? If it’s Bernie stuff, then you should call Mom. I just got a blooming trunk, Troya. That’s it. My life isn’t centered on Bernie.”

  “Overreact much? I called you because one of the first things he pulled was a bunch of pictures of you.”

  “What?”

  “When you were little.”

  “That makes no sense. Why would Bernie have pictures of me when I was little, and why would they be stuffed under floorboards? It’s probably somebody else.”

  “I know it’s you. Remember the year Mom got you the haircut and then Grandma did a perm on your bangs?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Well, now we have a picture to remember it by.”

  “What else?”

  “I don’t know. That’s as far as he got. He worked a full shift last night, and then he came home and did construction.”

  “While the baby was asleep?”

  “She has a pink noise machine in her room. She’s used to alarms going off all night. That little one could sleep through the apocalypse.”

  “I guess that’s a good thing for you.”

  “And for her new family.”

  “What do you mean, ‘her new family’?”

  “She found a forever family. A nurse practitioner and a doctor, so I’m comfortable that she’s in good hands.”

  “They’re taking her away from you?”

  “Cara, it was only supposed to be temporary.”

  “But you love her.”

  “Yes, I do. And I want her to have a good life. I think these people will provide her with one.”

  “Why don’t you keep her and provide her with one?”

  “As much as I want to say that a one parent household with a fabulous roommate is good enough for anyone, in this case, she really is better off with a mom and a dad, not us. I know it isn’t politically correct to say things like that, but it’s what is best for her. She has such difficult needs. When she’s older, they’re only going to become more of a challenge.”

  “Are you okay? That would kill me.”

  “I’m good. I feel like I was a part of getting her strong and finding her a forever family.”

  “You were. You did. Oh my God, Troya. You’re a much stronger person than I am.”

  “I don’t think so. It’s going to be hard, but I think it is what’s best for her, and what is best for her is all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “So what do you guys do now? Are you going to get another baby?”

  “She isn’t a puppy, Cara.”

  “I know that. That’s not what I meant. It’s just that you guys are all set up for it, and you both have the biggest hearts in the world. I just thought that maybe you would want to keep going with all of this.”

  “We haven’t decided yet. As much as we both loved everything about having her, it was huge work and sometimes very difficult to arrange our schedules, especially since we aren’t really a couple or anything, just roommates.”

  “How is Gavin taking it?”

  “He’s a strong guy. He loves her with all his heart. The new family says we can visit any time we want, but you know how that goes. Once they’re really bonded, they aren’t going to want us around as much.”

  “Maybe you can be their babysitter once in a while, or respite care or something.”

  “That’s the plan. What do you want me to do with these pictures?”

  “Just hang on to them. If you find anything else, let me know.”

  “Will do. Should I call Mom and tell her about it?”

  I shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

  “Just depends. She might be interested. She might not care. She might come over here with a sledgehammer and start breaking down walls. You’re better at reading her than I am, Cara.”

  “I’ll talk to her. I’ll make sure Daddy has the sledgehammers locked up before I say anything.”

  “Thanks. Are you going to be there Sunday?”

  “Yep.”

  “Good. All three of us are coming. Kind of a chance for everybody to say goodbye.”

  “When does she go live with her forever family?”

  “Tuesday.”

  “Troya…”

  “Don’t start. I said I’m fine.”

  I could hear her crying when she hung up the phone.

  And I thought I had challenges.

  Giving up a baby you love so that she can have a more stable life… That’s gotta go high on the difficult to do list. Really high. Like right under losing a child.

  The more I thought about it, the harder I cried.

  And she wasn’t my baby.

  Poor Troya.

  Poor Gavin.

  The phone rang as I was hitting the print button. Adeline needed a bunch of information, and I liked to print it out and file it. I know people say it’s easier to keep track of everything on a computer, but I seem to catch more mistakes and typos and inconsistencies when I print things out. I also like to have a folder of stuff when I go to visit the potential client or some of Adeline’s professional people. As
much as Adeline tells me that I’m just as skilled as they are or just as important, they intimidate the crap out of me.

  “Dingleberry, I need your help.”

  “You got it.”

  “Thanks, but don’t you want to know what I need your help for?”

  “Short of giving Jessie a bath, I’m good.”

  She laughed. “That one you will never have to worry about. If it comes to me needing you to help give him a bath, I’ll just spray him down in the front yard.”

  “Now that I’d like to help with.”

  “Shut up. I need to find Joy.”

  “Joy, as in the baby’s mother?”

  “Yep.”

  “Does Jessie know about this? Teagan, you need to tread softly on all things around this situation. At least until you guys are on solid ground and everything. Subtlety has never been your strong suit.”

  “True. Yes, Jessie knows. He’s the one that asked me if I could think of anything. She has disappeared again. Took the baby with her.”

  “What about the cops?”

  “They don’t have a custody arrangement yet, so there isn’t a lot the cops can or will do. I’m not sure which.”

  “Does he think she’s in town? She could be anywhere.”

  “He’s confident she’s either local or in Texas.”

  “Why Texas?”

  “She has family there.”

  “Has he called them?”

  “She doesn’t have anything to do with them.”

  “How does he know that?”

  “She told him, when they were dating.”

  “Well, she seems to have a bit of a problem telling the truth, so I’m not sure how much faith I would have in anything she tells him.”

  “Good point. I figured I would snoop around here for a while, and if I find her, great. If I don’t, then maybe he will have to hire a private detective or something.”

  “I’ll help you in any way I can, you know that. If we don’t find her, we can always ask Adeline, Carolyn, and Anna. They seem to have a talent for finding people.”

  “Don’t doubt that I would. It can’t be good for a baby to be pulled in all different directions. They can’t really have a good schedule or anything if Joy keeps running off with her.”

  “Did he say why she left?”

  “They had a court appearance that she was supposed to be at. She’s so crazy she was probably scared the judge would take the baby.”

  “Well, if she had a court appearance and didn’t show up, won’t the courts look for her?”

  “They just continued it. Jessie’s lawyer says they may do that several times. In the interim, he’s going nuts. He’s worried.”

  I kept my mouth shut. What I wanted to say was that he’d had the better part of a year to work on all this and make sure that his ducks were in a row, but he chose not to do anything. Now that the baby was here and was in danger — at least emotionally — he was going to jump up and down and play at being the good father? I didn’t like it.

  I didn’t have to.

  I wasn’t the one marrying Jessie.

  Not that I was sure Teagan would either.

  I tried to focus on the conversation. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I don’t have a clue. I’ve got about three things here on my desk that I have to take care of, and then I can pull a Honey. Can you be ready to be brilliant in about half an hour?”

  “I’m brilliant now.”

  “Dingleberry, I’m serious. I need help.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  Teagan showed up in skinny jeans and a blouse. She must have left her blazer in the car. She wasn’t the type to go to the office so casual. As if reading my mind she said, “My blazer and shoes are in the car. I changed into some flats, just in case we have to run or something.”

  “Don’t go all Starsky and Hutch on me, Teagan.”

  “Starsky and Hutch? Really?”

  “Sorry, A.J. made me sit through one of their shows. The original. He has a shoot to do, and the geezers want to recapture it, or something like that.”

  “Geezers?”

  “Their word, not A.J.’s. They belong to some group called Geezers with Gumption or something like that. They have all these social things they do, and they raise money for charity and generally enjoy their golden years.”

  “I like that.”

  “Me, too. For them. If I ever join something like that, Teagan, shoot me.”

  “I’ll be happy to shoot you. Long before you do anything like that, if you like. Tonight, if you don’t help me find the baby.”

  “Teagan, I’ve been good, but I can’t do it anymore. You need to tell me about the baby. At least her name.”

  “I’m praying Jessie will be able to change it.”

  “It can’t be that bad.”

  “Joynessa Poppyseed Melnick.”

  “Her last name is Melnick? That must be Joy’s last name.”

  “No, Joy’s last name is Smith. She just likes the sound of Melnick.”

  “You can give your kid a name that you just pull out of your…”

  “Evidently you can name your kid anything you want. Jessie is going to try to get that straightened out when he gets everything else straightened out. For right now, we call her Poppy.”

  “That’s kind of pretty. It’s better than a lot of things she could have come up with.”

  “Really? Like what?”

  “I was talking to a woman at the store the other day. A teacher. She said one of her students is named Klamedia.”

  “Chlamydia?”

  “Yep, but spelled differently. Her mother just likes the sound of it.”

  “She named her daughter after a sexually transmitted disease? Why didn’t somebody stop her?”

  “I imagine the nurses tried, but parents do terrible things to their children.”

  “God, I hope she has a beautiful middle name that she can use until she’s old enough to change her name legally.”

  “The teacher was encouraging kids to call her Nivea. She liked it. Hopefully it will stick.”

  Teagan shrugged. “Poppy is sounding pretty good. So what are we going to do?”

  “Do you have a phone number for Joy?”

  “Yes, but she isn’t going to answer if Jessie calls, and she isn’t going to answer if I call. That’s why she took off. Jessie was stupid enough to tell her I know all about her and am going to stand by him.”

  “Are you?”

  “We’re working on it.”

  “I thought she took off because of court.”

  “It’s a bunch of stuff. It’s court. It’s me. It’s Jessie standing up to her. It’s the fact that Jessie is respectable and she isn’t. He’s a homeowner. He has a good job. He could provide Poppy a good home, and she knows it, and she doesn’t want to lose the baby.”

  “Okay. Then all you have to do is find her and assure her that you want to be a support system, not take the baby from her.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “We’ll find her.”

  “I know, but Jessie is thinking about taking the baby. He thinks she’s an unsafe mother. That she’s going to ruin the kid. Put her in bad situations. All that.”

  “And how do you feel about that?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t even figured out how I feel about him being a father and not telling me. Now I have to figure out how I feel about him being a full-time dad.”

  “And you being a full-time stepmother.”

  “Right now, we just need to find her.”

  “So we have a number that we think will work?”

  “Yes.”

  “How badly do you want to find her?”

  “Badly.”

  “I can call Roland, Adeline’s security guy. I’m not sure how much it will cost, but he has access to things that normal people don’t have access to, and if her phone was built in this century, then chances are good that it has a GPS thingy, and he can track it. I think.”<
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  “Do it.”

  “What’s your budget?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Spoken like someone’s mother.”

  “Shut up and call him, dingleberry.”

  Roland was unavailable, but I was able to get the information I needed, and one of his staff said that they would get back to me as soon as they had information. When I asked that the billing come to me directly and not be put on Adeline’s account, there was a moment of silence and then a “sure” in an overly sunny tone.

  I bet this is going to cost a fortune.

  About five minutes later, Candy called. She works for Roland. I’m not sure what she does, but I’m beginning to think that she has been assigned to me. Every time I call and ask for something, it’s Candy that calls back.

  “Cara, we have the information you requested. The subject is at 17171 Borghden. Do you need directions or backup?”

  “How long has she been there? Can you tell?”

  “About twelve hours.”

  “Okay. Thanks. We don’t need any help. It’s a personal thing. More for my sister than for me. There isn’t going to be any trouble.”

  “I’ll text you the coordinates. You put that into your GPS, and it will take you right to the place. Are you okay? Are you sure you don’t want me to send a couple of the guys?” She let go of her ultra professional affectation and sounded much younger and friendlier. “If you get mixed up in the middle of something, Roland is gonna kill me.”

  “I’m not mixed up in anything. Long story. No violence. No crazy people. I’m good.”

  When I’d hung up, Teagan had to comment. “You lied. She is crazy.”

  “I don’t know that. I’ve only got your word for it, and it’s secondhand from Jessie. Jessie thinks you‘re sane, so obviously he isn’t a good judge of such things.”

  “Shut up, dingleberry. Where are we going?”

  I gave her the address.

  “Let’s go.” She was on her way to the door.

  “Hang on a minute. You don’t know where we’re going or what it looks like. Give me two seconds to look it up. She’s been there for twelve hours. She isn’t going anywhere, or if she does, she’ll be back. You can’t go in blind. You might only have one shot at talking to her. Calmly. Remember?”