Page 8 of Not Another Beach Read
I walked her to the door and gave her another hug.
"I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be in for my club sandwich."
"I'll have it ready at noon."
"You know me all too well."
"You're very predictable," said Cat with a laugh. And then with a sobering look, said, "Until you're not."
"Love you," I said to her back as she walked down the driveway toward her motorcycle. She turned before she slipped her helmet on, and the last thing I saw before it fully covered her face was her tongue sticking out.
I blew raspberries back at her and waved. I may be lonely when Drew was out of town, but I was never alone, and I knew I was very fortunate for that.
After Cat left, I felt a little out of sorts because I knew that we hadn't resolved things. I felt compelled to be able to help other women who were in the same situation that I had been in once before. A situation Cat was well aware of.
A situation that had shaken me to my core and changed me forever.
ELYSE
November, 2004
It was a mild, sunny day and I was cleaning out my garage, getting ready for the holidays, and pulling out our Thanksgiving decorations. The garage door was rolled up, and I had music playing on the radio. The song had just switched to "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" by Tom Petty when a car I didn't recognize pulled up in our driveway.
I assumed they had pulled into the wrong driveway and I was done pulling boxes down from the attic so I went inside to wash my hands. As I walked out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang, and I could see the outline of someone in the etched glass of the front door. It was the same person who had pulled up in my driveway, but they appeared to be holding a (screaming) baby. I opened the door slightly, having heard about a few new scams of people with babies stealing people's cars and breaking into houses and whatnot, and I had never seen this woman in my life, so I was a little apprehensive.
"Hello, can I help you?" I asked the screaming-baby-wielding stranger.
"Is Frank here?"
I couldn't for the life of me figure out what this young girl wanted with my husband.
"He's not here right now. Is there something that I can help you with? Is he expecting you?"
She shifted the baby to her other arm and bounced it gently to soothe it. "No, he's not expecting me. I'm sorry to bother you, but I've been trying to reach him on the phone for hours and he's not picking up."
"Well, he is working overtime right now, so that could be why, but can I ask what this is regarding?"
She looked flustered as she continued to lightly jostle the crying baby she was cradling in her arms. The baby that, once I got a look at his face, looked... vaguely familiar.
"I'm sorry to bother you like this. I really didn't think I had any other option right now, but our baby is sick and I need to take him to the hospital. But I don't have an insurance card for him."
Our baby?
"I'm sorry. Whose baby?" I asked. I had half a mind to close the door in her face, not wanting to hear what I suspected was about to come out of her mouth.
"Mine and Frank's baby."
Too late.
She gently lifted the bundle she was holding in her arms. Mini Frank was squalling, his face twisted in pain or discomfort. I didn't have any children of my own, so I didn't have much to go off of, but the baby definitely looked to be quite upset.
"Is he okay?" I said, pointing at the bundle wrapped in the blue blanket. "He appears to be sweating profusely."
"Yes, he's been running a fever all night. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I need to take him to the doctor, but Frank hasn't given me an insurance card. I'm sorry to surprise you likethis. He told me he stays with you sometimes so I thought I'd see if he was here."
At this point my mouth must have been hanging open like a Halloween Scream mask. "He stays with me sometimes? Heliveshere," I said to her, incredulous.
"Well, I mean, yes, of course, but now that you're divorced, he's here only to help out with the house, I thought."
