A Baby in the House

by Pamela Bauer

  “Good morning…or I guess I should say good afternoon,” Leonie greeted her. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks,” she replied, wishing she wasn’t the center of attention.

  “When you left the wedding last night I was worried you were coming down with the flu that’s going around.” Her landlady eyed her in a motherly way.

  She shook her head. “No, no flu.”

  Krystal’s eyes met Garret’s in an unspoken question. They gave her no indication what he was thinking. She quickly glanced at Maddie and saw sympathy and understanding.

  “Come join in the celebration,” Dylan said. It was then that Krystal noticed the open bottle of champagne.

  “What are you celebrating?” she asked cautiously.

  “Donovan babies,” he said with a grin.

  Babies. Plural with an s. Krystal conveyed her panic to Maddie with a glance.

  “We hope there will be more than one coming in the near future. Shane told us he and Jennifer would like to have another baby.”

  Krystal didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she let it out in a rush. “That’s great!” she finally managed to squeak out.

  Shane looked at Maddie. “Thank you for not saying we’re trying to get pregnant or else I never would have heard the end of it from this guy,” he said, jerking a thumb in Dylan’s direction.

  “It was only yesterday that I was telling Garret the Donovan men have never had to work hard at that particular project,” he said with a grin.

  Maddie playfully punched him on the arm. “You shush.”

  “Hey—it’s a good kind of work, isn’t it?” Dylan added. “All kidding aside—” he lifted his champagne flute “—I’m looking forward to the third Donovan grandbaby. This way our little guy will have another boy cousin to keep him company.”

  “Or a little girl cousin,” Leonie spoke up.

  “We all know Mom would like a granddaughter,” Shane said with an affectionate grin aimed at his mother.

  “Well, I’ve had four boys, so it wouldn’t surprise me if I had four grandsons,” Leonie told them all with a shrug of her shoulders.

  Krystal knew her face was red and hoped no one else noticed. She tried not to look at Garret, but she couldn’t help casting a glance his way. His face had the same unreadable mask it always had. She didn’t know how he could keep his emotions hidden. Worried that she wouldn’t be as successful at hiding hers, she said, “I’m going to leave and let you have your family moment together.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Leonie said, pulling her by the elbow into the room. “You’re like one of the family, isn’t she?” she said to no one in particular and a chorus of yeses answered. “You must celebrate with us.”

  “I’d like to, but I have company. My sister’s here. Actually, she’s the reason I came down here. Leonie, I need to speak with you for a few moments—if you don’t mind?”

  “Of course, dear. Why don’t we go into the kitchen?”

  Dear. She hardly felt worthy of the affectionate title. She followed her landlady, listening to her chatter happily about how wonderful the wedding had been.

  When they were alone, she asked, “What is it you need to talk to me about?”

  Krystal gave her an abbreviated version of what Carly had told her, ending with, “So she really could use a place to stay until she figures out what she’s going to do.”

  “You want her to take Dena’s room?”

  “If it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience for you.”

  “It’s not an inconvenience at all,” Leonie insisted. “I haven’t had time to find a new tenant. Tell Carly she’s welcome to use the room.”

  “She’ll pay you…” she began, but Leonie cut her off.

  “There’s no need for her to pay. Once she’s back on her feet we’ll talk about it. Dena moved everything out of that room except the bed. I’ll send up some fresh linens and she may need some hangers for the closet.”

  Her generous spirit only made Krystal feel more uneasy about her own situation. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”

  Leonie brushed aside her compliment. “It’s what family does in a time of need. They take care of one another.”

  Krystal gave her a smile of gratitude, then went back upstairs. She could only hope Leonie would feel the same once she learned Krystal was expecting Garret’s baby.

  KRYSTAL SPENT THE remainder of Sunday taking care of Emily. While Carly slept, she took her niece to the park, where they flew a kite and had a picnic lunch. Being with four-year-old Emily made her realize that, for the past few months, she’d been focusing on how difficult her life had become because of her pregnancy. Stress and uncertainty had overshadowed the fact that one day she would be blessed with the greatest gift a woman could have—a child.

  Playing with Emily and watching her mimic her mother’s behavior made Krystal hope she was carrying a girl. “A son is your son till he takes his wife, but a daughter’s your daughter all of her life.” How many times had she heard her mother say those words? She wasn’t sure they were true. After all, Leonie had four sons and they were all very close to her, yet Krystal found herself hoping for a daughter.

  Normally Krystal ate her meals in the kitchen, but on this particular Sunday evening she decided it would be much easier to order pizza and eat in her room. Carly slept most of the day, getting up to take a couple of bites from a slice, then returning to the futon.

  Krystal marveled at how resilient kids could be. Emily, with all the innocence of a typical four-year-old, hopped and sang as Krystal brushed her teeth and got her ready for bed.

  As Leonie had promised, she’d sent up fresh linens to Dena’s old room. She’d also put a vase of fresh-cut flowers on the small bedside table and a message of welcome.

  “If there’s anything else you need, please let me know.” It was signed, “Love, Leonie.”

  “She’s very kind, isn’t she?” Carly said when she read the note.

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Have you told her about…” her sister began but Krystal cut her off, not wanting her to mention the baby in front of Emily.

  “No, and it’s important that she hears it from Garret. You understand?”

  Carly gave her a cross look. “Of course. What do you think I’m going to do? Blab?”

  Krystal wasn’t sure what Carly would do in her present emotional state. She didn’t bear much resemblance to the sister she knew. “I hope you don’t.”

  Carly just rolled her eyes. “I’m tired. I’m going to bed,” she said, pulling back the covers. “Get in, Emily.”

  The little girl looked around. “I don’t want to sleep in here.”

  “Why not? There’s nothing wrong with this room,” her mother said.

  Big eyes surveyed the nearly empty apartment. “It’s scary.”

  Krystal could see Carly didn’t have much patience. “It won’t be. I’m going to be in bed with you.”

  The little girl looked as if she were going to cry. “Why can’t we go home?”

  “Because we can’t,” Carly said wearily.

  “Maybe Emily wants to sleep with me?” Krystal suggested. “Would you like that?” she asked her niece.

  The little head nodded, her lower lip still pushed out.

  “What do you think?” Krystal looked to Carly for approval.

  Carly looked as if she wanted to protest but was simply too worn-out to say anything. “Go ahead. Most of her stuffed animals are in there anyway.”

  So Emily took Krystal’s hand and headed across the hall where the four-year-old climbed up onto the bed, positioning her plush pig on one side of her and her bunny rabbit on the other.

  “Are you going to pull the shade?” she asked, pointing toward the window.

  “Sure am.” Krystal walked over to the window. As she reached for the shade pull, she glanced outside and saw Samantha standing next to Garret’s car.

  She quickly lowered the shade, not wanting to
stare at them. She wondered if he had told her about the baby.

  As she climbed into bed, she tried not to think about Garret and Samantha. What he did or didn’t say to Samantha was none of her business. Right now she had more important things to worry about. Like helping her sister and Emily get through the next few days.

  She glanced at her niece. “There. Is that better?”

  Emily nodded. “Are you coming to bed now, too?”

  Normally Krystal would have said no, but she was exhausted. Emotionally and physically. She took off her robe and slid in next to her niece. She was about to turn off the light when Emily sat forward.

  “Can you leave the light on for a little bit?”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Krystal said climbing back out of bed. “How about if I plug in a night-light for you? I have one I think you’ll like.” She dug through a drawer until she found a tiny light in the shape of a rose. She plugged it in next to the bed. “There. How’s that?”

  “I like it,” Emily said, then lay back down against the pillow.

  After more hugs and good-night kisses, she thought maybe her niece would finally go to sleep. First, however, she had to say her prayers. Krystal listened while Emily went down her list of people to bless, which included her aunt. It was the last line, however, that weighed heavily on her mind long after she’d fallen asleep.

  She said, “And please make Mommy and Daddy stop fighting.”

  THE NEXT FEW DAYS Krystal felt as if she were walking through a minefield, waiting for any one of the several explosive situations in her life to detonate. She waited for Garret to call or come see her, but he didn’t. She waited for Leonie to confront her about the baby, but she didn’t. She waited for her mother to come riding in on her high horse because Carly was still at her place, but so far she hadn’t. About the only place Krystal could feel any sense of comfort at all was at the salon, where at least listening to other people’s stories took her mind off her own problems.

  She had told her boss of her pregnancy, but none of her co-workers, with the exception of Shannon, knew she was having a baby. Since it was nearly impossible to fit into any of her clothes, it was only a matter of time before everyone knew. She took advantage of the large bib-front aprons provided by the salon, wearing them with the hope they would hide her weight gain. It also helped that the heat wave had broken and fall had arrived, bringing cooler temperatures and a reason for her to wear dusters and sweaters.

  If it wasn’t for the fact that Leonie was a client at the salon, she would have made her pregnancy public knowledge by now. What she didn’t want, however, was for her landlady to hear from someone else that she was pregnant, which was why, when she saw that Leonie had scheduled an appointment for later that week, she called Garret.

  As she suspected, he was unavailable, which meant she had to leave her name and number and wait for him to return her call. To her surprise it wasn’t a long wait. She was in the middle of cutting a client’s hair when the receptionist announced over the loudspeaker that she had a call on line three.

  Krystal excused herself and hurried into the employee lounge. She pressed the button next to the blinking light. “This is Krystal.”

  “It’s Garret.”

  She swallowed to ease the dryness in her mouth. “I…” she began. “I need to know what you’re planning to do.”

  “Krystal, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s only been three days since you told me.”

  “I mean about your mother. I feel guilty keeping this from her.”

  She heard him sigh and imagined him raking his hand over the back of his neck, the way he always did when he was stressed. “I know. I feel the same way and I’m going to tell her soon.”

  “She’s coming in on Friday to get her hair done. It wouldn’t be good if she heard the news from someone other than you or me.”

  “No, you’re right.” Again there was a sigh. “I’ll take care of it before then. Is that it?”

  She wanted to say, No, that’s not it. In about five months we’re going to be parents and I don’t have a clue as to how you feel about it.

  But she couldn’t tell him that right now. He was an overworked doctor with a long list of patients demanding his time, and she had a client with one side of her hair shorter than the other waiting for her to finish the job.

  “Yeah, that’s all I wanted.” She tried to make her voice as impersonal as his, but knew she failed.

  “All right then, we’ll talk soon,” he told her and, before she could utter another word, he’d hung up.

  Soon? When is soon? she wondered. She thought it might be that evening. When she arrived home, she saw his car outside 14 Valentine Place. Butterflies danced in her stomach at the thought of him inside with his mother. She used the tenants’ entrance to the house rather than walk through the main dining area.

  When she reached the second floor, she found Emily on the flight of stairs leading to the third floor. “I’m playing with my Slinky. Mommy bought it for me today. Watch.” She climbed several risers then let the metal spring toy flop down, giggling as it tumbled from stair to stair.

  “Where’s your mommy?”

  She pointed to Krystal’s room. “In there. Want to play with me?”

  “In a minute, sweetie. First let me talk to your mommy, okay?” She went into her apartment and found Carly inside reading a magazine.

  “Why is Emily playing on the stairs?”

  “She has a Slinky. Where else would she play with it?”

  “This is a boardinghouse that’s not supposed to have any children living here.”

  “So? Leonie doesn’t mind. She told me it was okay.”

  “And Samantha?”

  “She said it was okay, too.”

  “You asked her?”

  She nodded. “If you don’t believe me, you could have asked her yourself. You just missed her. She left a couple of minutes ago. Does she know about…” Her glance moved down to Krystal’s stomach.

  “I don’t know but I’m wishing you didn’t,” she snapped.

  “I told you I wouldn’t say anything and I haven’t.”

  Krystal knew stress was causing her to be short with her sister. “I’m going to change my clothes and then we’ll go get some supper. There’s a good coffee shop over on Grand that has a kids’ menu.”

  “I don’t feel much like going out. Can’t we just eat downstairs?”

  “We could but Maddie and Dylan are still here. They’re probably having dinner with Leonie.”

  “No, they aren’t. They all went out to eat.”

  It seemed that her sister knew more about what was going on in the house than she did. “Anything else you want to report happened while I was gone?” she asked dryly.

  “Mom called, like, three times.”

  “She didn’t say she was coming to visit, did she?”

  Carly shook her head.

  That was one land mine she could sidestep for today anyway. “Are you sure I can’t talk you into going out for something to eat? We could go to the cinema café. There’s an animated feature playing there that Emily would enjoy. We could get a bite to eat.”

  “I don’t feel much like sitting through a movie.”

  “You don’t feel much like doing anything, Carly. Why not do it for Emily?” Krystal urged her.

  Just when she thought she’d have to take her niece by herself, Carly agreed. The evening turned out to be a better experience than Krystal expected. The film may have been rated G for kids but much of its humor was intended for adults. For the first time in three days her sister actually laughed.

  When they got back to the house, however, her mood turned sullen once again, when Emily asked if she could call her daddy and tell him about the movie. Carly told her daughter her cell phone needed to be recharged before they made any more calls. Krystal’s offer to use her phone drew a nasty look from her sister, but she didn’t try to stop Emily from calling her father.

  To Emily’s dis
may and Carly’s relief, Joe wasn’t home. Emily left a message in her tiny voice, which had Krystal looking at Carly in sympathy.

  Long after they’d all gone to bed, Krystal was still awake. Not only was she restless, she was hungry. For the first time since she’d been pregnant she had a craving. It was for the root-beer-flavored Popsicles she’d purchased for Emily. She tried to ignore it, but all she could think about was sucking on that ice-cold treat.

  She glanced at the clock. It was after midnight. Normally Leonie would be in bed at this hour, but with Dylan and Maddie visiting, there was a good possibility she might still be awake. The question was, did Krystal want to risk running into her?

  The craving refused to go away and she gently slid out from beneath the covers, not wanting to disturb Emily, who still refused to sleep with her mother across the hall. She pulled her robe from the closet and headed for the kitchen. The house was quiet as she made her way down to the first floor, the only light the glow of a lamp that was always lit in the hallway.

  On tiptoe Krystal padded into the kitchen. She didn’t turn on any lights, simply went straight for the refrigerator. She stood with the freezer compartment open, searching for the Popsicles when the overhead light came on. Startled, she let out a gasp.

  “You’re caught.”

  It was Dylan dressed in a pair of khakis and a polo shirt. Krystal looked behind him, expecting to find Maddie, but she wasn’t there.

  “I didn’t expect to find you raiding the refrigerator,” he said.

  “I’m hungry. I thought you and Maddie would have gone back to the hotel by now.”

  “You know how Mom is. She likes to stay up late and talk. What are you after?”

  “Popsicles.” She pulled one from its box and held it up.

  “Maddie wants some yogurt. I thought she’d be sending me out for pizza or ice cream, but she craves yogurt.” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “At least it’s a healthy craving.”

  He opened the lower part of the refrigerator. “And Mom has some here in the house. I could have been out pounding the pavement looking for an all-night diner if she had asked for a pastrami on rye.”