sign to the bad checks?” Martin asked. I glanced at him admiringly, for making a point I’d never have considered.
“Well,” Rory said, trying on his charming grin, “ours. Or it’d have been forgery. Much more serious.”
Rory seemed to know his way around the penal code.
“Craig’s boss would have paid him that money at the end of the month; we just needed it a little earlier than that.”
Martin and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. This sounded very weak to me. It was becoming all too clear that Regina had made a poor choice in the man she married. Of course, some people thought I had done the same when I married Martin. Ha! At least Martin had never been in jail! I thought. I opened my mouth to make what would have been a very ill-timed query, when we were interrupted. . The phone rang, startling all of us out of our skins. In Hay-den’s case, this naturally meant he started to cry. I began patting him more rapidly, saying
“Sshhhh, baby,” in an increasingly frantic whisper, as Martin grimaced at me while he tried to hear the caller.
“Give him his Binky,” suggested Rory.
“His what?” I patted faster.
“His pacifier.”
A lightbulb went on in my head as I remembered seeing Lizanne’s baby sucking on a plastic thing.
“Where?” I asked eagerly. “Where is one?”
“You didn’t find one in the diaper bag?”
Martin’s scowl increased in ferocity.
“No.” I scooted into the kitchen as fast as I could burdened with Hayden, and returned with the diaper bag. I thrust it at Rory. “Find one!” I told him.
The young man turned the bag around, opened a Velcroed flap, and reached in a pocket, one I hadn’t even noticed. He pulled out a plastic and rubber object and offered it to me.
It looked like it had lint on it. I stuck it in Hayden’s mouth anyway.
Blessed silence.
Rory beamed at me angelically. Hayden’s face looked just as sweet, all of a sudden. Martin became my handsome husband instead of Ebenezer Scrooge. I felt as if the vise clamping my temples had been loosened a couple of turns. I sat down on the couch very carefully, easing Hayden onto his back. He looked up at me with hazy blue eyes, relaxed and content.
“Hello, sweetie,” I said softly, watching the baby’s hands curl and straighten. His fingernails, his tiny fingernails, how would I ever cut them?
Martin said into the receiver, “So you haven’t found her or seen any sign of the car?”
I snapped back into our current situation with some reluctance.
“Umm-hrnmm,” he said. “I understand.”
Rory was looking down at the shabby boots on his feet, and I could practically feel the force of his hope that Martin would say nothing.
“She hasn’t called here,” Martin said, as if he was confirming what the caller had already stated. “No.” While he was talking, Martin was eyeing Rory with the same calculation he showed when he was hiring someone. Martin seemed to reach a conclusion. He turned his back on the boy. “No, we don’t know anything more than you do. Please keep us posted. Anything you find out, we want to know as soon as possible.” After another minute’s worth of listening, Martin hung up.
“If you don’t explain things to my satisfaction,” he told Rory grimly, “I’ll pick up the telephone in a minute. Now, when did Regina have this baby and why didn’t anyone know about it?”
“Could I have something to eat and a little trip to your bathroom before I have to explain?”
Rory asked.
“You’re welcome to go to the bathroom,” Martin said, “but before we feed you, we have to know more about you.”
The young man looked surprised at Martin’s refusal. I was a little embarrassed at not offering hospitality right away, but I could see Martin’s point. We’d probably already made a mistake in not calling the police the moment we’d seen him. We shouldn’t compound that mistake by turning Rory into our welcome guest.
While Martin showed Rory the
“Well,” Rory said, trying on his charming grin, “ours. Or it’d have been forgery. Much more serious.”
Rory seemed to know his way around the penal code.
“Craig’s boss would have paid him that money at the end of the month; we just needed it a little earlier than that.”
Martin and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. This sounded very weak to me. It was becoming all too clear that Regina had made a poor choice in the man she married. Of course, some people thought I had done the same when I married Martin. Ha! At least Martin had never been in jail! I thought. I opened my mouth to make what would have been a very ill-timed query, when we were interrupted. . The phone rang, startling all of us out of our skins. In Hay-den’s case, this naturally meant he started to cry. I began patting him more rapidly, saying
“Sshhhh, baby,” in an increasingly frantic whisper, as Martin grimaced at me while he tried to hear the caller.
“Give him his Binky,” suggested Rory.
“His what?” I patted faster.
“His pacifier.”
A lightbulb went on in my head as I remembered seeing Lizanne’s baby sucking on a plastic thing.
“Where?” I asked eagerly. “Where is one?”
“You didn’t find one in the diaper bag?”
Martin’s scowl increased in ferocity.
“No.” I scooted into the kitchen as fast as I could burdened with Hayden, and returned with the diaper bag. I thrust it at Rory. “Find one!” I told him.
The young man turned the bag around, opened a Velcroed flap, and reached in a pocket, one I hadn’t even noticed. He pulled out a plastic and rubber object and offered it to me.
It looked like it had lint on it. I stuck it in Hayden’s mouth anyway.
Blessed silence.
Rory beamed at me angelically. Hayden’s face looked just as sweet, all of a sudden. Martin became my handsome husband instead of Ebenezer Scrooge. I felt as if the vise clamping my temples had been loosened a couple of turns. I sat down on the couch very carefully, easing Hayden onto his back. He looked up at me with hazy blue eyes, relaxed and content.
“Hello, sweetie,” I said softly, watching the baby’s hands curl and straighten. His fingernails, his tiny fingernails, how would I ever cut them?
Martin said into the receiver, “So you haven’t found her or seen any sign of the car?”
I snapped back into our current situation with some reluctance.
“Umm-hrnmm,” he said. “I understand.”
Rory was looking down at the shabby boots on his feet, and I could practically feel the force of his hope that Martin would say nothing.
“She hasn’t called here,” Martin said, as if he was confirming what the caller had already stated. “No.” While he was talking, Martin was eyeing Rory with the same calculation he showed when he was hiring someone. Martin seemed to reach a conclusion. He turned his back on the boy. “No, we don’t know anything more than you do. Please keep us posted. Anything you find out, we want to know as soon as possible.” After another minute’s worth of listening, Martin hung up.
“If you don’t explain things to my satisfaction,” he told Rory grimly, “I’ll pick up the telephone in a minute. Now, when did Regina have this baby and why didn’t anyone know about it?”
“Could I have something to eat and a little trip to your bathroom before I have to explain?”
Rory asked.
“You’re welcome to go to the bathroom,” Martin said, “but before we feed you, we have to know more about you.”
The young man looked surprised at Martin’s refusal. I was a little embarrassed at not offering hospitality right away, but I could see Martin’s point. We’d probably already made a mistake in not calling the police the moment we’d seen him. We shouldn’t compound that mistake by turning Rory into our welcome guest.
While Martin showed Rory the
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