Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) (22 page)

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE

A moment later Beth darted
into her bathroom and threw up. The half-digested potato salad and baked beans
swirled in her toilet bowl, making her retch again.

When she was sure her
stomach was empty, she saved the card
Kaylee
had made
and tossed the pizza ingredients into the trash. The jar of marina clinked and
probably cracked when it hit the bottom of the can. Then she lay on her couch,
staring at the gray sky, crying.

She did not call her mother
and she did not call Parker. No one would be able to comfort her.

This was one of the worst
Mother’s Days of her life. A woman who’d given away her only child had a lot of
bad Mother’s Days.

Eventually she grew weary
of crying, but she remained stuck to the couch.

Around midnight she fell
asleep in her clothes.

# # #

The next day she barely
managed to call in sick to work.
That evening her phone rang
and even though she felt emotionally drained
,
she
answered it
.

Her mom’s cheery voice
greeted her. “Hi, Bethany. I missed seeing you and
Kaylee
this afternoon. Maria wouldn’t play with any of the other kids. Where were you?
Is everything all right?”

Beth swallowed. “No.” Her
voice was raw. “They’re gone.” It was hard to speak. “I must’ve spooked Jim, so
he packed up while I was at the tea, and took off.”

“Oh, dear! Do you have any
idea where they went?”

“No. How could I?” She pulled
at her cuticle. “I should’ve seen this coming. He admitted they move around all
of the time. If anything, I should be surprised he didn’t bolt as soon as CPS
started asking about
Kaylee’s
broken arm.”

“
Maria’s
going
to be sad that
Kaylee
won’t be back.
You poor thing.
You were so good to her.”

“Better than her own
mother, Jim said.” Beth’s voice was flat.

“I’m sorry. Do you want to
come over for dinner?” Food was her mother’s way of offering comfort.

“No.” Seeing her dad would
only emphasize that her life had been a series of missteps. She’d given away
her only child, she’d moved in with her ex and helped raise his niece, and now
she’d allowed herself to bond with another girl that she’d never see again.
“Mom, it hurts so bad.” Her breathing grew ragged, but there were no more tears
left.

“You loved her, didn’t
you?”

“Why do I keep giving my
heart to people who just trample it?” She plopped her head onto the couch
pillow.

“This wasn’t
Kaylee’s
fault. She wanted to spend Mother’s Day with you,
remember?”

Beth thought of the mug
painted with orange flowers. “She even gave me a Mother’s Day gift.” Her voice
cracked.

“Do you think Jim went to
get
Kaylee’s
sister?”

“No. I think he disappeared
so he could keep telling
Kaylee
his lies.”

“That’s too bad because I
found out some more about Willow.” Her mother paused. “Do you want to hear it?”

Did she? Because it was
about
Kaylee’s
sister, she couldn’t help but care. “I
guess.”

“Apparently she got kicked
out of so many foster homes, she’s been moved to a group home.”

“Why did she get kicked
out?”

“I’m not sure. All I could
find out was that she’s a troubled little girl and she’s acting out.”

“Probably because her mom
neglected her, now both of her parents are in jail and she doesn’t know if her
sister’s dead or alive.”

Her mom made a sound deep
in her throat signaling that she agreed. She waited a few beats as if Willow
deserved a moment of silence. “But you said you keep giving your heart to
people who trample it.
Who
else were you talking
about?”

A deep sigh pushed out of
Beth. “Parker. We broke up.”

“What happened?”

“Again, I should’ve seen
this coming. From the start, he said because of the Huntington’s, he didn’t
want to get serious. Lately he’s been blowing me off and working more and more.
Now it turns out, he’s joining the Peace Corps and leaving the country for two
years.”

“Two years?”

“That’s a really long time.
I can’t wait for him for two years. Not that he asked me to. He wants me to
date someone else and stop pressuring him to commit.” She hadn’t thought she’d
been pressuring him, but deep down, she’d hoped he would ask her to marry him.

“You shouldn’t wait for
him. There’s a nice young man who just joined the church that would be perfect
for you.”

“Mom, give me a minute to
grieve here before you go playing matchmaker.” Beth tried to chuckle and it hurt
her chest.

“Beth, dear, won’t you
please come over for dinner? You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Alone is exactly what I
am, so I think I’d better get used to it.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

When Beth finally dragged
herself back to the office on Friday, it was the first day all week that she’d
showered. She informed her boss that she could return to her regularly
scheduled hours. Then she went through her day, reading e-mails and sitting in marketing
meetings, on
auto-pilot
. She didn’t have an original
or creative thought to contribute. She couldn’t even stay focused on what her
co-workers were discussing. Customer profiles, storyboards,
tag
lines—everything seemed trivial. Without
Kaylee
and Parker, her days were meaningless and she had nothing to look forward to
when she returned home at night.

Her mother had asked her to
keep attending the ENL classes at the church to play with Maria and the other
kids, but Beth just couldn’t do it. She never wanted to jump rope or teach
anyone how to do yo-yo tricks again.

As she watched the
depressing nightly news about war, random shootings,
and
 
crooked
businesses, she worked her
way through
Kaylee’s
bag of Oreos she’d found above
the fridge. The first couple of wafers had tasted great, but now that she was
half-way
through the second row, the cookies no longer
satisfied. She shoved them in one after another because she needed to do
something to fill the void. Stupid, she knew, but old habits died hard.

When the phone rang, she
allowed her hopes to rise. Could it be Jim confessing where he’d taken
Kaylee
? Could it be Parker admitting that he missed her as
much as she missed him? Putting down the Oreos, she muted the news and grabbed
the phone. “Hello?”

“Thank God you’re there.”
The female voice was familiar, but it took her a minute to place it. “It’s
Ivy.”

Every muscle in Beth’s body
tightened. Never in a million years had she expected it to be Ivy. If anything,
she figured it would be her mother checking up on her. “OK.” She wasn’t sure
what to say. What could she possibly want? The last time they’d seen each
other, Beth had given her Osh
Kosh
overalls in size
three months and Ivy’s mother had thrown cupcakes at her.

“Trust me, you’re my last
resort. I just got a call that the band playing at
Jazzy’s
tonight has a sick lead singer. They asked if I could fill in. This is my
chance to break into the Chicago clubs. I need to go. I have to go. And I need
you to watch the baby.”

Beth shook her head and
stared at a house fire on the TV screen. “You need to find someone else.” She
was never going to babysit again.

“There isn’t anyone else.
My mom is working over-time, my aunts aren’t home and Parker won’t do it.”

“Call a service. Call a
friend. I don’t care, but I’m not doing it.”

“I don’t trust some
stranger to watch little Parker. And I don’t have any friends.”

“Whose fault is that?” Beth
relished making Ivy squirm.

“It’s just the way it is.
I’ve always gotten along better with men than women. I think women are jealous
of me.”

Beth sighed. Motherhood
hadn’t given Ivy any great insight into her personality flaws. “Sorry, but I
can’t help you.”

“Can’t or won’t?” When Beth
didn’t answer, Ivy pushed forward. “Please. We were friends once. College
roommates. I took you to parties because you were too shy to go alone,
remember? We stayed up talking all night about boys and what kind of man we
hoped to marry. Weren’t those the days?”

Twist the knife, why don’t
you, Ivy? You married the guy I wanted. Now you’re lucky enough to have a baby
while I live in this miserable, one-bedroom apartment stuffing my face with
cookies.

“Beth, please. I’m begging
you. You know it’s always been my dream to sing professionally. This is my
chance.”

Then it hit Beth. She
wasn’t the only one in her mid-thirties regretting the way life had turned out.
Ivy wanted a singing career as much as Beth wanted a family. Her eyes landed on
the half-eaten bag of Oreos on her coffee table. No doubt she’d finish it off
if she stayed there feeling sorry for herself.

“What do you want me to
say, Beth?” Ivy took a breath. “OK, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I said you stole
Parker away from me because I know it’s my own fault. I screwed up my marriage
all by myself. I mean, Parker did his part, working late hours and ignoring me,
but it’s over now. If Parker makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.”

Beth bit her lower lip. How
could she ever fill the emptiness both Parker and
Kaylee
had left in her soul? It wasn’t possible.

“Are you there? Beth? I’m
desperate. I’ll pay you any amount if you’ll come babysit for me.”

“You don’t need to pay me.”
The words slipped out, surprising them both.

# # #

When Beth arrived at the
glass house, Ivy opened the door holding the blond baby against the shoulder of
a black sequined dress. Her eye shadow was dark and her lips scarlet.

“Beth, you’re a lifesaver.
Maybe it’s silly but I’ve never left Parker Junior with anyone besides my mom.”
Ivy walked past the grand piano, dodging baby blankets, rattles and plastic
toys on the white carpet. Stopping at the granite kitchen island, she pointed
toward a note. “I wrote down his routine as best I could. Babies are
unpredictable, but I just fed him so I’m hoping he’ll go to sleep and not fuss
while I’m gone.”

Beth scanned the
note which
described a cycle of feeding, burping, diaper
changes and napping.

Ivy bounced Parker Junior,
who was dressed in
a
onesie
,
as she explained how to warm the baby formula in a cup of hot water. Patting
the baby’s tiny back, she didn’t seem ready to hand him over. “I’d better go.
Any questions?”

“Where are the diapers?”

“Oh, silly me.” She led her
down the hall to a nursery with blue toile curtains and bedding. The white crib
stood in the corner with a changing table next to it. It was the first French
Country-themed nursery Beth had ever seen and it was beautiful.

Parker Junior’s eyes stared
inquisitively at Beth while Ivy explained about the diaper rash cream and the
diaper disposal contraption.

Swallowing, Beth started to
wonder if this would be more complicated than she’d first thought. She hadn’t
babysat an infant since she was a teenager. All of her recent experience had
been with children who knew how to walk and talk. “Did you write down your cell
phone number, just in case?”

“Good idea.” Ivy raced,
still clutching the baby, back to the kitchen. With one-hand, she scribbled her
digits at the bottom of the note. “If he gets fussy, there are clean pacifiers
in there.” She pulled open a drawer next to the fridge. “If it drops on the
floor, please don’t stick it back in his mouth. Just toss it in the sink and
grab another.”

Beth nodded. “I’ll take
good care of him. I promise.”

Ivy made eye contact with
her and her brown eyes started to water. “I know you will. But maybe I
shouldn’t leave him just yet. I’ll call
Jazzy’s
and
cancel.”

“No, Ivy. This is your big
chance. Junior and I will be just fine. You’d better get going.”

“I almost forgot. When he
goes to sleep, be sure to place him on his back. It helps prevent SIDS. And
there’s a CD player in the nursery with lullabies for him to listen to.” She
cradled his fuzzy head a moment before handing him over to Beth. He started to fuss
and reached a tiny hand toward Ivy.

Beth started bouncing him,
thinking she’d held cats that were heavier than he was.
 
Despite Beth’s efforts to sooth him, he
kept crying.

“Oh, dear,” Ivy said. “Am I
a terrible mother?”

 
“No.” She couldn’t believe it, but it appeared
that Ivy actually had a maternal instinct. She seemed to care about her baby
even more than herself. “I’m sure every working mother goes through this. Remember,
by earning money, you’re helping take care of him.”

“Thanks.” Ivy stuck a
pacifier in Parker Junior’s mouth, then grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her
eyes. “My mascara’s going to run.”

The baby settled down as he
focused on sucking his pacifier. Beth took his little hand and helped him wave.
“Bye-bye, Mommy.”

Ivy inhaled a deep breath
and stepped into three-inch heels. “I really have to go. I’m not sure when I’ll
be back. Feel free to sleep in the guest bedroom, just make sure you turn on
the baby monitor.”

“Don’t worry, Ivy.” Beth
walked her to the door and couldn’t believe what happened next.

Ivy reached around and
hugged her. “I’m lucky to know you.”

Nodding, Beth fought the
urge to cry. Her emotions were too close to the surface these days. “Knock ‘
em
dead.” She watched her college roommate drive away in a crimson
BMW. Beth looked at Parker Junior’s chubby cheeks and smiled. “Your mom is
following her dreams. Isn’t that great?”

He grunted and started
squirming so she put him down on a baby blanket embroidered with puppies. Aunt
Fran had given it to Ivy at the baby shower along with those homemade bibs.

The doorbell rang and Beth
startled. She handed the baby a nearby rattle and headed for the door. Even
though it was a gated neighborhood, she looked through the
peep
hole
.
 

Standing on the porch was
Parker.