Page 60 of Baby Blue
“What? Baby, you’re scaring me!”
“Beer! I need a beer!” was all he could squeeze out.
Anne ran to the fridge and grabbed one, popped the top, and handed it to him. When he took it, he fell into the sofa and handed her the hiring packet he was still clutching in his hand. “What? What is this?” she asked, trying to make sense of the paperwork.
He took a long swig of beer, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and hauled air into his lungs. “Thirty-five to start. They pay for my ASE. After six months, sixty thousand, full benefits, three weeks of vacation, ten days of sick leave. And I run the service department. Two months later, up to seventy. Annual raises after that.”
Anne’s hands started to shake, and she leaped up and started to jump up and down and scream. “Oh my god! Oh my god! I don’t believe it! That’s awesome! Awesome, baby! I love you!”
Blue bolted out of his seat, grabbed her, and hugged her to him, still bouncing. “I love you, Anne.”
“I’m so proud of you,” she said and kissed him. “Wait! You’ve got an appointment with Ms.Nosy-butt in an hour or two, don’t you?”
“Not until three thirty.” He lifted her off her feet and kissed her. “Let’s celebrate.”
“In bed?”
“Hell no, right here on the floor!” Before she could protest, he lifted her gown up and over her head, then started shucking his clothes.
They made love right there on the floor, in broad daylight, with the baby sleeping in the next room. Inside Anne, he felt strong and smart and safe. He had plans, big plans, and they’d include her and the kids. They’d all be together.
Maybe that afternoon would be the day he was free of Ms.Parker.
“So,Mr.Wallace, how has everything been?” Ms.Parker asked over her usual scratching on that white legal pad of hers.
“I’ve got some exciting news!” he said, almost breathless. She looked up at him like he had a foot growing out of his chin. “I got a job!”
She gave him a blank look. “Well, that’s nice. What kind of job did you get?”
The more Blue told her about it, the more interested she seemed. When he finished, she sat there, staring at him and saying nothing. “So, what do you think? Good, huh?”
He was beginning to think she’d died sitting up when she finally said, “That’s, um, that’s pretty fantastic.”
“Yeah, it is, huh?” he said, grinning.
“I really don’t know what to say. I didn’t think you had it in you,” the woman said and it hit Blue square between the eyes.
Never raising his voice, Blue said, “What? Have you been hoping I’d fail? Do youwantto take my daughter away from me?”
“No, no! Not at all! But when I first met you…” she said, then stopped. “I really didn’t know what to think. You’ve surprised me, Mr.Wallace. You’ve surprised us all.”
Uh-huh. I’m not the loser you thought I was, Blue wanted to scream. And there was another truth there that he had to acknowledge.
He wasn’t the loser he’d thought he was either.
“Mom,can I invite Grandma and Grandpa?” Polly only had three invitations, and she didn’t know who to send them to. It was Saturday night before eighth-grade graduation the following Saturday, and Polly really wanted to send somebody an invitation.
“I doubt they’ll come, but you can try. Hang on. I’ll get their address.” Anne rummaged around in the drawer and came out with a set of spiral-bound index cards. “It’s in here somewhere… Ah! Here it is!”
“Thanks.” The girl went back to printing their return address on the envelope, then started adding her grandparents’ address. “What about my other grandparents?”
“Honey, I think that would be a waste of a stamp. In all the time we’ve struggled along, they never once offered to help us. I don’t think they care.”
Defeat was thick in Polly’s voice when she answered, “Oh. Okay.” Then she perked up. “What about Blue’s family? Doesn’t he havesomebodywho’d like to come?”
Kids. Things seem so simple to them, Anne thought as she took a seat at the table. “Honey, Blue doesn’t have parents.”
Polly snorted. “Mom, everybody has parents.”
