Brown.”
There was a slight pause. “Miss Willis, didn’t you call about fifteen minutes ago?”
A lot could happen in fifteen minutes. “Is he all right?”
“He’s asleep.”
“That’s what you said the last time.”
“Babies generally nap for a couple of hours at a time.”
Not at her place, he didn’t. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“Positive.”
“Will you check? I mean, right now. Go stand over his crib and look at him. Make sure he’s breathing.”
The day-care worker emitted a taxed sigh. “Stop worrying, ma’am. We take excellent care of our children.”
That’s what they all said. Yet, she’d seen the news reports, the horrors of day-care abuse. Bad things happened in some of them. How was she to know if Bo-peep was a good one or a bad one? Yes, she’d checked references, toured the facility, talked to other moms, but still…
“Please. Put the phone up to Alex’s ear so he can hear my voice.”
She didn’t want him to feel abandoned.
“He’s asleep. You don’t want me to wake him, do you?”
“No, of course not.” Yet she wondered at the woman’s reticence. Was she hiding something? “Are you sure he’s all right?”
Again that pause, only this time when the woman spoke, she was defensive. “Miss Willis, Alex is doing fine, but if you are that concerned, I suggest you come to the facility and have a look for yourself.”
With a stammered thank-you, Cassidy snapped her flip phone shut and stared into space, deep in thought. After a couple of minutes, she dragged her purse out of the bottom drawer and jumped up. On her way out she passed Shane Tomlinson’s office. She called, “Something important came up. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
Before her surprised boss could ask about the new Web design or remind her that she was days behind in work, she rushed out the door and down the elevator.
At ten o’clock that night Cassidy sprawled on her couch eating a convenience-store burrito while Alex gurgled happily on his play mat. Classical music, Beethoven’s Für Elise, tinkled from the music box as colored lights responded to Alex’s movements.
She felt like a hammered banana while Alex was rested and ready to rock and roll.
He looked up at her and smiled.
That quick her spirits lifted. Stuffing the last bite of burrito into her mouth she slid onto the floor beside him. No matter how exhausted, frustrated or lacking in confidence she might be, one smile from that face and she was mush. Sometimes she stared into his precious, innocenteyes and saw her sister. With every look, every splashing bath, every time he caught her finger in his little fist, Cassidy fell more in love. Terrified, inadequate, but in sappy, sloppy love.
No wonder her sister had been so happy. But how had she juggled taking care of Alex with working on the B and B? How did she manage to appear fresh and rested when, at times, she must have been as frantic and exhausted as Cassidy?
The answers would forever remain a mystery. Perhaps birth mothers received some influx of hormone that kept them going.
A hormone Cassidy lacked.
Lying on her belly, she talked to Alex, played with him and then tried once more to get him down for the night.
Her head ached from lack of sleep. The tension in her shoulders was tight enough to snap. Her eyes burned.
She gathered a wide-awake Alex close to her chest and rocked him in the bentwood rocker.
“Come on, lamb, help Aunt Cassidy out. I’m so tired. I have to work tomorrow, you know. If I don’t work, I won’t be able to buy those cans of formula you’re so wild about.”
She rubbed his rounded belly with the flat of her hand. He seemed to like when she did that.
Her fingernails, she noticed, were looking rough, but when would she have the time or energy to go to the nail spa? Her roots needed to be touched up, too. Hopefully, in another week Alex would be on schedule.
“Ready for sleepy-pie?” It sounded like a dumb thing to say, but lately
There was a slight pause. “Miss Willis, didn’t you call about fifteen minutes ago?”
A lot could happen in fifteen minutes. “Is he all right?”
“He’s asleep.”
“That’s what you said the last time.”
“Babies generally nap for a couple of hours at a time.”
Not at her place, he didn’t. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“Positive.”
“Will you check? I mean, right now. Go stand over his crib and look at him. Make sure he’s breathing.”
The day-care worker emitted a taxed sigh. “Stop worrying, ma’am. We take excellent care of our children.”
That’s what they all said. Yet, she’d seen the news reports, the horrors of day-care abuse. Bad things happened in some of them. How was she to know if Bo-peep was a good one or a bad one? Yes, she’d checked references, toured the facility, talked to other moms, but still…
“Please. Put the phone up to Alex’s ear so he can hear my voice.”
She didn’t want him to feel abandoned.
“He’s asleep. You don’t want me to wake him, do you?”
“No, of course not.” Yet she wondered at the woman’s reticence. Was she hiding something? “Are you sure he’s all right?”
Again that pause, only this time when the woman spoke, she was defensive. “Miss Willis, Alex is doing fine, but if you are that concerned, I suggest you come to the facility and have a look for yourself.”
With a stammered thank-you, Cassidy snapped her flip phone shut and stared into space, deep in thought. After a couple of minutes, she dragged her purse out of the bottom drawer and jumped up. On her way out she passed Shane Tomlinson’s office. She called, “Something important came up. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
Before her surprised boss could ask about the new Web design or remind her that she was days behind in work, she rushed out the door and down the elevator.
At ten o’clock that night Cassidy sprawled on her couch eating a convenience-store burrito while Alex gurgled happily on his play mat. Classical music, Beethoven’s Für Elise, tinkled from the music box as colored lights responded to Alex’s movements.
She felt like a hammered banana while Alex was rested and ready to rock and roll.
He looked up at her and smiled.
That quick her spirits lifted. Stuffing the last bite of burrito into her mouth she slid onto the floor beside him. No matter how exhausted, frustrated or lacking in confidence she might be, one smile from that face and she was mush. Sometimes she stared into his precious, innocenteyes and saw her sister. With every look, every splashing bath, every time he caught her finger in his little fist, Cassidy fell more in love. Terrified, inadequate, but in sappy, sloppy love.
No wonder her sister had been so happy. But how had she juggled taking care of Alex with working on the B and B? How did she manage to appear fresh and rested when, at times, she must have been as frantic and exhausted as Cassidy?
The answers would forever remain a mystery. Perhaps birth mothers received some influx of hormone that kept them going.
A hormone Cassidy lacked.
Lying on her belly, she talked to Alex, played with him and then tried once more to get him down for the night.
Her head ached from lack of sleep. The tension in her shoulders was tight enough to snap. Her eyes burned.
She gathered a wide-awake Alex close to her chest and rocked him in the bentwood rocker.
“Come on, lamb, help Aunt Cassidy out. I’m so tired. I have to work tomorrow, you know. If I don’t work, I won’t be able to buy those cans of formula you’re so wild about.”
She rubbed his rounded belly with the flat of her hand. He seemed to like when she did that.
Her fingernails, she noticed, were looking rough, but when would she have the time or energy to go to the nail spa? Her roots needed to be touched up, too. Hopefully, in another week Alex would be on schedule.
“Ready for sleepy-pie?” It sounded like a dumb thing to say, but lately
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