Page 65 of Summer Longing
“Still no improvement?”
“Maybe a little,” Olivia said.
A waiter, young and beautiful with dark skin and bright green eyes, handed them menus and asked if they wanted flat or sparkling water.
Olivia situated the stroller so it was out of people’s way. She took one more peek at Mira, then pulled the hood over her. The sight of Olivia being even a little maternal warmed Ruth’s heart.
“You’re good with her,” Ruth said.
Olivia shook her head. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“What? You don’t want children someday?”
“No,” Olivia said. “What I want is to get my career back on track.”
“You can have both.”
“Oh, like you did?”
“Yes, like I did.” Why did every conversation have to degenerate into an indictment of her?
“I’m sorry. But I don’t believe you can have it all.”
Ruth wasn’t about to get pulled into a feminist debate. “Well, you seem very comfortable with the baby. I hope you won’t entirely rule out the idea of motherhood.”
They both looked at the stroller. Olivia moved the hood again. Mira’s head was turned to one side, her cheeks pink with sleep. One arm was raised with her little hand curled next to her shoulder. “Sheiscute. But I’m still unclear—who does she belong to?”
Ruth hesitated. The mysterious provenance of the baby had nagged at her. She could remember the bewildered expression on Elise’s face when she’d admitted,I don’t know whose baby this is.
Mira had been left on the doorstep intentionally—that much was clear. Ruth had thought that Elise would take a day or two and then hand the baby over to the authorities. When that didn’t happen, she thought Elise was maybe trying to figure out who had left the baby, to handle it privately. Now Elise was telling everyone they were in the process of trying to adopt. Clearly, they were dealing with it through some legal channel she wasn’t privy to. With all of this in mind, she had kept her word about not mentioning it to anyone, and yet she suddenly felt the weight of the truth. She didn’t want to lie to Olivia. She also, selfishly, wanted a way to bond with her.
“If I tell you something, can you promise to keep it to yourself?”
Olivia nodded, looking at Ruth with interest. “Sure.”
“No one knows who Mira belongs to. I found her on the doorstep of the house the morning after I moved in.”
“What?”
“Yes. I know. Elise swore me to secrecy and I assume they are handling it but I really don’t know what’s going on.”
Olivia sat back in her chair, reached out one arm, and pulled the stroller closer. She looked at Mira. “That’s crazy,” she said quietly.
“It’s odd. But these things do happen.”
“I know people abandon babies, but the fact that they’re just keeping it—do you think they notified anyone?”
“At first, no. Elise had this we-take-care-of-our-own mind-set and didn’t want to get anyone in trouble. But she said they are in the process of trying to adopt.”
Olivia seemed to consider this. Then she laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just…the irony. You came out here to, what, retire? Be alone? I mean, you chose a pretty remote place. And then someone leaves ababyat your house. I mean, you didn’t even want to take care of your own—”
“Olivia, please. Let’s not turn this conversation into yet another referendum on my parenting. Okay?”
“Okay,” Olivia said. “But you have to admit, it is pretty funny. I wish I could have seen the look on your face.”
