Page 20 of Baby Blue
He wanted to be BrentAlan Wallace, IndigoDarling’s daddy. And maybe it was a rocky start, but it was still a start.
His phone rangat a quarter to ten, and he checked it to find Anne calling him. “I thought you were at work,” he said instead of a typical greeting.
“I am. But I wanted to check on you. Doing okay?”
Blue sighed. “Yeah. Doing pretty good. Polly came over while I was feeding her earlier and brought me some food.”
“Oh! Well, that was nice. I don’t care if sheismine?she’s a good kid,” Anne told him.
“Yes, she is. Oh, and she showed me how to bathe the… Indigo,” he said, remembering to use her name.
“Damn! I didn’t even think to get baby wash! What did you use?”
“Baby shampoo. She said it would work in a pinch,” Blue explained.
“She was right. I’ll stop at the big discount store on my way home and pick up some real baby wash so you’ll have it. Once I get everything bought, you’ll be able to look at all the labels and know what to buy when you run out.”
“Right. But I hate for you to do that.”
“No trouble. It’s right on the way home. So unless you need me, I’m going straight home after work and I’ll see you in the morning. Is that okay?” Anne asked.
“Sure! Please. Go on home. We’re okay. I’ll have to pick up more formula tomorrow, but I can do that on my way home,” he told her.
“No, I’ll get it while I’m there. And before I go to work tomorrow, I’ll check a couple of the thrift stores for car seats,”she said. “I wanted to surprise you with one, but I haven’t had the chance yet. So now you know.”
“Anne,” Blue said, and to his surprise, his voice faltered.Don’t get all emotional, he warned himself, but he couldn’t help it. “Anne,” he said, trying again, “you have no idea how much I appreciate all of this. I mean, really, you didn’t have to do any of this, but I… Thank you. I mean, really. Thank you so much.”
“You want to thank me? Be successful at this, Brent. I mean it. Do right by her and that’s all the thanks I’ll need.”
“I won’t let you down, I promise,” Blue said, meaning every word.
“Don’t worry about letting me down. Worry about letting her down. You worry about that and I’m pretty sure I’ll be happy, okay?” she said with a tiny chuckle.
“Gotcha,” Blue said with a chuckle of his own.
“Good. Gotta get back to it. It’s almost quitting time. Goodnight, Brent. Talk to you in the morning.”
“G’night, Anne. Be careful going home.” With that, he ended the call and sat there, wondering at himself.
He’d just told the neighbor who hated him to be careful driving home.Life’s full of wonders, he mused. Did she still hate him?
He thought about her soft curves, that dark hair, and those luminous eyes. God, he hoped she didn’t still hate him, because he sure as hell didn’t still hate her.
She satand worked on charts, but Anne was having trouble concentrating. No matter how hard she tried to put it all out of her mind, she kept seeing Blue’s face when she asked him abouthis family, and the pain in his eyes when he’d told her he grew up in foster care. She’d heard the horror stories over the years from first one and then another patient who’d been abused and neglected as they grew up in the system. She’d also run into several who sang the praises of their foster families and swore those people had kept them from being alone and afraid. For some, it had been their undoing; for others, their rebirth. It was a pretty sure bet which it had been for Blue.
BrentAlan Wallace. It was a good name, a strong name. Just trendy enough to not sound like an eighty-year-old man, and just mature enough to not sound like a college kid. There was no doubt in her mind that he’d gotten the nickname Blue because of the color of his eyes. He’d been called that as he was growing up, and by all the people in his life who’d hurt him, mistreated him, or disappointed him and let him down.
But now he was a grownup with a child of his own, and he needed a grownup name. She’d call him Brent from that point forward. He was turning a page in the book of his life, and the next chapter needed to begin differently than the stuff that had already been written.
And she desperately wanted to be the one who helped him rewrite his life.
The next morning was insane.Blue got up extra early to feed Indigo and get her ready for the day, then pulled on his uniform pants and shirt and ate a granola bar with a cup of coffee to wash it down. He gathered up her things, grabbed her basket, and headed across the yard. Polly and Toady were just coming outthe door to catch the bus, and they greeted him and the baby as he stepped up onto their porch.
“Anybody home?” he called out when he opened the door slightly.
“Yeah! Come on in!” Anne called back, and he scrambled to pick up everything he’d set down to open the door, but she was there in a second. “Here. Let me help you.” She snatched around, picking up the bag and some extra towels. “You didn’t have to bring these,” she said. “I’ve got plenty.”
“Just put them in a garbage bag and I’ll take them home and wash them. I shouldn’t cause you extra laundry,” he told her.
