Page 120 of Charlotte's Reckoning
“Slow down,” her harried-looking mother-in-law exclaimed. “Or did you forget you’re expecting?”
“Given my immense size, how could I possibly forget?” the expectant mother complained.
“Humor the grandmother of your child, dear. Please.”
When she stepped up on the boardwalk nearby, Janelle fanned herself but relented. “All right, but I have to wonder why you’re having trouble keeping up. I only have two speeds—waddle and slower waddle.”
“Maybe because I’m carrying all our purchases?” Letty returned, coming up alongside her loaded down with bags and parcels.
“I’m sorry,” Janelle exclaimed, taking two of the bags from her. “After I picked up the telegram, I got so excited, I just ran off and left you.”
Aaron, who had exited behind them, immediately took them from her. “I thought you were resting today,” he asked while also relieving his mother of her bags and packages.
“I had an appointment with the midwife.”
“And how did that go?”
Janelle rubbed his arm reassuringly. “She said everything is progressing as expected.”
“What about your swollen feet?”
“She advised her to rest more,” Letty answered for her.
“Then that’s what you’re going to do. And get out of this heat, which can’t be good for either you or the baby.” Aaron glanced up and down the street. “Where’s the buggy?”
“In front of Mrs. Mayhew’s dress shop,” Letty helpfully supplied.
“I’ll go fetch it. Don’t move from this spot until I return,” he ordered Janelle, softening his words by placing an affectionate kiss on top of her head. “No bonnet either, I see.”
“They burn me up worse than the sun. You know how much I hate them.”
“I do. Your constantly pink nose reminds me,” he said, already on the move, his long strides taking him quickly down the block.
Janelle sighed, a hand resting on her distended belly. “I’ll be glad when this baby comes and I’m not so restricted. The boredom is getting to me.”
“We can revisit this conversation when you’re elbow-deep in diapers and facing the constant demands of a newborn,” Leticia said gently.
“When is the baby due?” Charlotte asked.
“In two months, if I make it that long.” Janelle looked down at her burgeoning belly. “When you’re vertically challenged, you run out of room quickly, I discovered.”
“Vertically challenged,” Letty repeated with a laugh. “Or short, right? You say the most amusing things.”
“Charlotte!” Janelle suddenly exclaimed, holding up what she’d been waving earlier. “Before Aaron gets back and whisks me away to resting and knitting booties ad nauseam, this telegram came for me.”
“Um, how nice for you?” she replied, not understanding why that mattered to her.
“I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it came ‘care of Janelle Jackson.’”
Suddenly, it clicked. “A response, especially by telegram, this soon, is unexpected. What does it say?”
Janelle’s smile faltered, replaced by a look of unease. “Do I look like someone who would read private correspondence?”
“You do because you did,” Letty declared.
Janelle gasped at her mother-in-law’s betrayal. “I saw, it’s true, but he handed it to me as is,” she hurried to explain. “No envelope. Not even folded—”
“This is true,” Letty allowed. “And she didn’t tell me what it contained. But I’m dying to know what this is all about.”
