by S. J. West
Most everyone mumbles, “Yes, Mr. Devereaux.”
“Caylin, please pass out the dolls.”
After I pass them out to the class, there is one doll left in the box. I walk up to Uncle Malcolm’s desk and leave the box.
“The last one is yours,” Uncle Malcolm tells me.
“I’ve already had this class,” I tell him, not seeing why I should have to participate any more than I already have.
“Refresher wouldn’t hurt,” he says, an eyebrow lifted. “Besides, I’ve already talked to your other teachers and they agreed to let you skip their lectures tomorrow if you do as I ask.”
It doesn’t surprise me in the least that the other teachers readily acquiesced to anything Uncle Malcolm asked them to do. But, a whole day off from school was too good to pass up. It would give me some much needed time alone…or perhaps not alone.
“How am I supposed to get the baby to you tomorrow if I don’t come to school?”
“I’ll have someone pick it up,” Uncle Malcolm assures me.
I look at the bald baby inside the box and lift it out.
Uncle Malcolm says to the class and me, “There is a button on each baby’s back. Press it to begin your 24 hours as a parent.”
As soon as the students press the buttons, some of the dolls begin to cry.
“Remember, these dolls are programmed to act like any healthy three month old baby. When it cries, you need to figure out why it’s crying. Is your little bundle of joy hungry? Does he or she have a dirty diaper? Do they simply want to be cuddled by their mommy or daddy? That is your job. Figure it out because until you do, it will continue to cry. And if I see that a baby has cried for more than an hour, you get detention.”
I look down at the doll I’m holding and feel thankful it isn’t crying, at least not yet. I feel confident I can handle whatever it does.
CHAPTER NINE
I was fourteen when mom had Mae, and I did what I could to help my parents take care of her. But, never in all the time that I helped look after my little sister, did she cry as much as this stupid doll Uncle Malcolm gave me. I literally want to snap its head off. Nothing I do, say or try seems to work to console it. I’ve fed it, rocked it, changed its diaper but even after all that effort it just won’t shut up!
“I don’t know what you’re doing wrong,” Will says smugly at the lunch table while he’s rocking his own doll. “Maybe it just doesn’t like you. Mine seems to adore me. Don’t you little, Wilhelmina?”
“Dude,” Linc says, “did you seriously name that thing after yourself?”
Will looks at Linc very indignantly and covers Wilhelmina’s ears.
“She is not a thing,” Will whispers. “And don’t say that again. She can hear you.”
Linc shakes his head in dismay and sucks on his straw to draw the last remnants of his soda out of his cup.
“I think Wilhelmina and I will be leaving now,” Will says, holding his doll with one hand and grabbing his lunch tray with the other. “All this negativity might cause her undo stress.”
Linc looks at Will as though he’s lost his mind.
“Dude, you’re taking this assignment way too seriously. You’re kind of scaring me.”
“I’ve just tapped into my sensitive side is all,” Will says in his own defense. “Wilhelmina brings it out in me.”
Will turns his back to us to go empty his lunch tray with his fake baby cradled firmly against his chest.
I watch him leave, but when I return my gaze to our table, I spy the real reason behind my little brother’s ‘emerging’ sensitive side.
Katie Ann, Will’s crush since the first grade, has her eyes glued to Will with a doe eyed look of adoration. It all suddenly makes sense, and I feel a sense of relief knowing Will was just acting for his audience of one. For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to organize a family intervention.
“I can’t believe your uncle is making you carry that thing around,” Leah says to me, doing her best to suppress a laugh at my predicament. “What’s he trying to do, embarrass you to death?”
“It gets me out of school tomorrow,” I say, hoping the effort is worth it. I know it will be if I can just figure out a way to be with Aiden.
When lunch is over, I’m walking to my locker to get my book bag and see Uncle Malcolm leaned up against the doorway to his classroom. He’s watching me and chuckling softly as if he finds my crying baby conundrum amusing.
Then it hits me.
I know my uncle.
I know him quite well in fact.
I know him well enough to wager that he did something to the baby doll I have to ensure it tortures me for the next 24 hours. It’s probably his subtle way of letting me know having a child at my age isn’t something I want to do.
I grab my book bag out of my locker and head to my favorite spot out on the hill behind school. I have to wait for Leah to get out of her last class of the day before I can leave. Even though it’s the spot where Baal attacked me, it’s also where Aiden came to my rescue and ended our three year separation. Plus, it affords me the privacy I need to do something.
I phase to where Joshua works in the basement of Jess and Mason’s Denver home.
I have Aiden to thank for this particular phase site because he brought me here after the attack by Baal. It was their only home I wasn’t allowed to come to because it also served as the Watcher Agency’s secret headquarters. My parents didn’t consider it a safe place for me to visit. I wasn’t sure what they would think if they knew I was here now, but I decide to worry about that small point later. Right now, I need Joshua’s help to save my sanity.
I find Joshua speaking with Nick Summers, Mason’s liaison with the United States government.
“Caylin?” Joshua asks, immediately noticing me when I phase in. “What are you doing here?”
“I need your help,” I tell him, holding out the crying baby doll. “I think Uncle Malcolm did something to this doll to make it keep crying. I want you to hack it for me to shut it up and give it a full 24 hours’ worth of good memories.”
Joshua walks the short distance to me and takes the doll out of my outstretched hands.
“Well, you’re right about one thing,” Joshua says with a guilty smile. “Your uncle did booby trap this doll because I helped him do it.”
I slap Joshua on the arm, a tactic I learned from years of being around my Aunt Tara.
“Why would you do that to me, you goof?”
“I didn’t know it was you I was doing it to,” Joshua says in his own self-defense. “I thought he was going to give it to Will.”
I smile. Then I bust out in laughter.
“That would have been funny,” I admit. “But, no, apparently it was meant for me.”
Joshua winks at me. “I’ll fix it. Don’t you worry, KK. If I can’t use my genius to help my best friend cheat in class, what good am I? After I get through reprogramming it, you’ll look like the mother of the year.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey there, Twinkle Toes,” I hear Mason say as he comes up behind me.
I close my eyes and force myself not to phase.
“Hey Mason,” I say in as cheery a voice as I can muster before turning around to face the man I fondled with my foot underneath the dining table just the night before.
Mason walks up to me with a sardonic grin on his face.
“What brings you here?” Mason asks as he comes to stand in front of me.
“I needed Joshua’s help with a school project.”
Mason looks at the still crying doll in Joshua’s hands.
“Mind doing something about that thing?” Mason asks my friend.
“Oh, yeah, sorry.”
Joshua pops open the dolls back and quiets its cries.
“Why don’t you come on upstairs?” Mason says to me. “Jess and the kids are having their afternoon snack.”
“I should probably be getting back,” I say, not wanting to stay around Mason any longer
than I have to. I feel like I might die on the spot from embarrassment as it is.
Joshua clears his throat drawing my attention.
“You want to go up there,” he says matter-of-factly. “Trust me. You’ll kick yourself later if you don’t. I’ll bring the doll up to you when I’m done.”
My heart races because I decipher Joshua’s subtle hint.
Aiden is upstairs.
“On second thought,” I say, “I would love to come up for a little while.”
Mason tilts his head towards the elevator. “Let’s take the scenic route.”
I follow Mason to the elevator and step into it. After the doors close, I hear Mason start to laugh.
“I’m assuming last nights…uh…mistaken leg identity was just that, a mistake?”
I bury my face in my hands because I can’t do anything else in that moment. I’m so embarrassed.
“Yes,” I admit, my voice muffled slightly against my hands. “I thought it was Aiden’s leg.”
I hear Mason laugh even harder.
“I’m sorry,” he says and I hear him try to stop laughing, but he just can’t seem to make himself.
I lower my hands and look at him.
“Please don’t tell Aiden about it,” I beg. “I don’t think I could take him knowing what I did.”
I think the look of desperation on my face sobers Mason up.
“I would never embarrass you like that, Caylin. I did, however, tell Jess. I don’t keep any secrets from her.”
“That’s fine,” I say. “I don’t mind her knowing. She’s your wife. You shouldn’t keep secrets from her. Was she upset with me?”
Mason shakes his head. “Absolutely not. She just felt bad that you didn’t get the leg you were after. She’s been pulling for the two of you for a while now you know.”
I nod. “I know. She’s always been there for me when I needed to talk about Aiden. I’m not sure what I would have done without her the past few years.”
“She may have your grandfather’s soul inside her, but Jess would care about you even if she didn’t. I hope you know that. And, I’ll admit, I’ve grown pretty fond of you too, Twinkle Toes.”
“Are you seriously going to make that my new nickname?” I groan.
Mason smiles. “Only when we’re alone. But please, try to keep your toes to yourself. I am a married man after all, Caylin.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “I’ll try to control myself around you, Mason. But, you do have nice calves.”
Mason smiles. “So I’ve been told.”
The elevator doors open, and I hear Aiden’s laughter for the first time in my life. I immediately smile at the deep, rich sound his happiness makes.
I follow Mason out of the elevator and down the hallway to the family room.
Aiden is lying on his back in the middle of the floor within the large open space. He’s holding Brynlee above him and gently tossing her into the air, which makes her giggle in glee and Aiden laugh.
“Stop spoiling my kid,” Jess jokes from her spot on the couch as she cuddles with Max. “Otherwise, she’ll expect me to do that to her when you’re not around.”
“Look who I found lurking downstairs in the dungeon,” Mason says as we walk further into the room.
Aiden sits straight up cradling Brynlee, who looks like a miniature version of Jess, to his chest. His face lights up with unfiltered joy when he sees me. Brynlee doesn’t seem to like having her playmate’s attention diverted away from her and promptly places a pair of small, pudgy hands on either side of Aiden’s face making him look at her.
“Dawg,” she drawls out, making Aiden chuckle.
Jess laughs. “She’s calling everything and everyone, except me and Mason, ‘dawg’ now. I blame Beau and those stupid dog paws he refuses to take off the top of his store. Speaking of which,” Jess says pointing to a platter of Beau’s famous cinnamon rolls on the coffee table in front of her, “help yourself to one, Caylin.”
If there was one thing I looked forward to when going to Jess and Mason’s house in Cypress Hollow, it was visiting her on a Wednesday because she always made Mason go to Beau’s store for at least a dozen of his freshly baked cinnamon rolls. They were a prized commodity in the small community Jess lived in. Normally, I would have already devoured two of them. But, at the moment, all I can think about is Aiden.
“Thanks…but I don’t think I can eat one right now,” I say, my stomach feeling like it’s tied up in nervous knots with Aiden watching me.
Mason walks over to Aiden to take Brynlee. When Aiden stands, he immediately walks over to me. It’s a simple movement, one people do all the time, but watching Aiden rise from the floor in one fluid motion and saunter towards me makes my heart flutter and my knees weaken. Again, I have to wonder how I got so lucky to have someone like him be the match to my soul.
“Hi, beautiful. I was just thinking about you. Though,” he says as he stops in front of me, smiling my favorite lop-sided grin. “I guess there aren’t a lot of times I’m not thinking about you.”
Can your heart literally melt inside your chest? Because I’m pretty sure mine just did with that statement.
“Why are you here?” He asks. “If wishful thinking can make you magically appear anytime I want, I need to do it more often.”
Yep, my heart’s a complete puddle now.
“I needed Joshua’s help with a school assignment.”
“Why do you have a crying baby doll by the way?” Mason asks, taking a spot beside Jess and Max on the couch while sitting Brynlee on his lap.
“Uncle Malcolm’s idea of a joke,” I tell him. “He asked me to help him in his sex ed class today.”
“Did he now?” Aiden asks, his interest piqued. “And what did you learn?”
I let out a small nervous laugh. “Can I plead the fifth on that question?”
“That bad?”
“That embarrassing, at least one part of it. The other part he just made us watch a video showing a woman give birth. If that didn’t make the kids in the room not want to have sex, I’m not sure what will.”
Jess laughs. “I swore to Mason after Max was born that I didn’t want to have any more babies.”
“From what I just witnessed, I don’t blame you,” I tell her. “How did you force yourself to go through that pain again?”
Jess smiles and looks over at Brynlee. “I wanted that beautiful face to look at every day of my life.” Jess looks back over at me. “I won’t lie and say it’s not the worst pain I’ve ever gone through. I think even dying was less painful. But it’s all worth it in the end when you look at your children. In time, the pain fades from your memory but your children’s love stays with you forever.”
“So what's the doll for?” Mason asks.
“I’m supposed to take care of it for 24 hours. It records everything that’s done to it like feedings, rockings, and diaper changes. I’m not actually in Uncle Malcolm’s class, but he said if I did the assignment I would be excused from all my other classes tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to go to school tomorrow?” Aiden asks, hope in his voice.
I shake my head and smile. “No, I don’t have to go.”
Aiden’s eyes light up, and I can tell he’s having the same thought I did when I learned I would have tomorrow free.
“Why don’t you come spend some time with us at our beach house tomorrow, Caylin?” Jess says.
I look over at her and know she’s doing this so Aiden and I won’t just sneak off somewhere behind my parents’ backs. Sometimes Jess seems to know me a little too well.
“That would be great,” I tell her.
“Good. I'll call your Mom in a bit and make sure it's ok. And you’re welcome to come too, Aiden,” Jess says in a way that makes me think she’s trying to make sure Aiden understands she’ll be there acting as our chaperone.
“Besides,” Jess says, hesitation in her voice, “I have a feeling after tonight the two of you might have a lot you might wan
t to discuss with one another.”
“Yes,” Aiden says, holding one of his hands out to me. I don’t hesitate in taking it. “I think we’ll have a lot to talk about after tonight.”
“Good things,” I whisper to him. “I refuse to believe we were brought together for anything else.”
Aiden tries to smile, but I can tell he’s worried about what we might find out when Gabe reveals my future to us.
I squeeze his hand.
“Don’t worry. I’m not.”
Even though I had my misgivings earlier about peering into the crystal ball to see what my future has in store, I realize my words to Aiden are true. God didn’t bring us together to have a miserable life. He wouldn’t be that cruel. No, whatever the future holds for Aiden and me, I firmly believe it’s blessed by God. And with His guidance, we will face any challenges ahead of us side by side.
“Do you have to go back right away?” Aiden asks me.
I shake my head. “No, I need to wait for Joshua to reprogram my doll.”
Aiden’s eyes narrow on me as if he didn’t expect my answer.
“Are you cheating?” He asks in disbelief.
“Only because Uncle Malcolm cheated first,” I clarify. “He had Joshua program it to cry all the time. I’m just playing by his rules.”
Aiden laughs and my heart sings.
“Then I wholeheartedly support your cheating,” he tells me. “Would you like to go outside while we wait?”
I nod because I know if I open my mouth I’ll scream with joy. So, I try to play it cool and remain mute as a mouse.
“We’ll just be out back,” Aiden tells Jess and Mason.
“Ok,” Jess says. “I’ll let Joshua know where to find you when he’s done. Oh and Caylin, grab one of my coats by the back door. It’s a lot colder here this time of year than back in Lakewood. That little school jacket of yours won’t do, and I refuse to be the reason you get sick.”