A Family To Cherish by Carole Gift Page Page B

soft, tenuous voice.
    â€œTabby’s staying with a neighbor,” said Barbara, trying to sound nonchalant, as if this were just an ordinary evening. When Barbara had realized she would be staying in San Francisco longer than a day or two, she had called Mrs. Paglia next door to come pick up their cat. “Would you like to go with me to get Tabby?”
    Janee shook her head.
    â€œThat’s okay,” Barbara assured her. “We’ll let Doug go get Tabby. Would you like something to eat?”
    Again, a quick shake of the head.
    â€œSurely you’d like something, Janee,” Barbara pressed.
    Janee stared up at her, her round eyes glazed with tears. “I want to go home.”
    â€œYou are home now, Janee,” said Barbara, wondering if the words sounded as foreign to the child as they did to her. Who was she convincing? Surely not Janee. Surely not herself.
    Janee remained in the foyer, clutching her ragged bear in her arms. “Where’s my mommy?” she whimpered.
    Barbara closed her eyes and drew a haggard breath. This was going to be worse than she had feared. It was a miserable, no-win situation. She went over and took Janee by the hand, then led her to the sofa. “You sit here, honey, while I go make your bed, okay?”
    Janee perked up. “In the pretty room?”
    Barbara bristled. “No, sweetie. In the room you stayed in when you came to visit last week. Remember? It’s a very nice room, too. You’ll be very comfortable there.”
    Janee sat down finally and stuck out her lower lip. “I want the pretty room with the dolls and bears.”
    Barbara felt her patience waning. “I’m sorry, Janee. That room is taken. It… It belongs to another little girl.”
    Janee was wide-eyed again. “What little girl?”
    Barbara scoured her mind for a reply Janee would understand, but she could think of only one thing to say. “My little girl.”
    Janee looked around curiously. “Where’s your little girl?”
    Barbara sank down on the sofa beside Janee, suddenly too exhausted even to move. “My little girl’s in heaven, Janee, just like your mommy and daddy.”
    Janee gazed up soulfully at her. “Will my mommy and daddy take care of her?”
    Barbara’s heart melted. “Yes, honey, just like I’ll take care of you.”
    For a moment the two gazed at each other with faint, lopsided smiles—a mother without her child, a child without her mother. Too quickly the smiles gave way to sad faces, and Barbara looked away, the familiar pain rising unexpectedly like a geyser. She stood up abruptly and said, “I’d better go make your bed, Janee. You look like a tired little girl.”
    Doug came bounding into the house then, his curly black hair studded with glistening raindrops. He was carrying their suitcases and Janee’s small bag. “It’s becoming a downpour out there,” he said, setting down the cases and running his hand over his hair. “We’re sure having a wet summer.” Helooked from Barbara to Janee. “So are you two getting settled? Any problems, Barb?”
    â€œNo. I’m just going upstairs to make Janee’s bed.” When Doug gave her a sharp questioning glance, she promptly said, “In the room she had before. The little room just off the guest room.”
    Doug’s gaze was penetrating. “I thought maybe…”
    â€œNo, Doug,” she said coolly. “Don’t even suggest it.”
    Doug loosened his tie. His dress shirt was damp with rain and stuck to his muscled chest. “I’m going upstairs, Barbie, and get some shut-eye. I’ll take the cases up. I’ve got to be at the hospital early tomorrow. There’ll be a mountain of paperwork waiting for me.”
    â€œWhat about getting Tabby?”
    â€œIt’s late. Leave her with Mrs. Paglia. She won’t mind keeping her another