The Shop on Blossom Street (28 page)

On the third ring, her husband reached for the receiver. “Hello,” he said groggily.

Carol could hear only one end of the conversation and at first she assumed it was a wrong number. To her surprise, Doug said, “Yes, she’s here. Who did you say this is?”

A moment later he placed his hand over the mouthpiece. “Do you know a girl by the name of Alix Townsend?”

Carol nodded. “Did she say what she wants?”

“No. Only that she has to see you right away.”

Carol hesitated.

“Should I buzz her up?” Doug asked.

If Alix had come to her in the middle of the night, there had to be a good reason. “Yes,” she told her husband. “Let her come up.”

“You’re sure?”

“She probably wants to talk,” Carol said.

“At this time of the morning?”

Carol kissed his temple. “Yes, darling.”

Throwing aside the blankets, Carol reached for her robe at the foot of the bed. “You don’t need to get up.” She supposed that Alix had come to her as one friend to another, presumably to ask for advice about some urgent crisis in her life. In her current frame of mind, Carol wasn’t convinced she’d be much help. Then again, maybe she would….

As she walked out of the bedroom, Carol passed the nursery across the hallway. Bon-Macy’s was coming that very morning to pick up the furniture. With the crib, changer and chest of drawers would go her dreams of a family. After everything she’d endured, after the frustration and disappointment and heartache, Carol thought it should’ve been easier to let go. This futile quest for a child was killing their marriage, and Doug was right—this had to end. Still it hurt and the pain would linger.

There was a knock at the door. Barefoot, Carol crossed the tiled entry to unfasten the security lock. She opened the door and gasped when she saw Alix standing there, cradling a baby in her arms.

“Here,” she said, holding the infant out to Carol. “This baby boy needs a mother.”

Carol stared down at the newborn thrust into her arms. Speechless, she raised her eyes to meet Alix’s, unsure what to think. What to say was even more of a puzzle.

“I delivered him,” Alix explained.

“Whose…?” She did manage to get out the one word.

“My roommate told me to get rid of him. She said she planned to throw him in a Dumpster if I didn’t take him. He needs a mother and a father—he needs someone who’ll love him.”

This didn’t seem real, didn’t seem possible. The only thing Carol could think to do was cry out for her husband, but her voice was hardly a croak. Although she thought he couldn’t have heard her, Doug came roaring out of the bedroom, bare-chested, wearing only his pajama bottoms.

“Hi,” Alix said, sounding so unlike herself that Carol glanced at her. “I’m Alix. You let me up.”

“Alix brought us a baby,” Carol said, tears glistening in her eyes.

Doug looked from one to the other. Like her, he didn’t seem to know how to react. But thankfully, he gathered his wits in record time. “I think we’d better all sit down and talk about this.”

“It’s legal,” Alix assured them. “I got Laurel to write everything out on a piece of paper.” She dug into her pocket and passed the folded sheet to Doug. “Laurel needs to go to the hospital and once she does the police will be notified, but I figured you could deal with that. Possession is nine-tenths of the law, isn’t it? And you’ve got the baby now.”

“Maybe we should put on a pot of coffee,” Carol suggested. Her mind was spinning and it was difficult to grasp what was going on. All she knew was that she was standing here holding a newborn baby.

“I’ll start the coffee,” Doug said. Carol nodded gratefully. She looked down at the sleeping infant and her heart contracted painfully. To think that his mother had been willing to toss him in a Dumpster like a piece of garbage! How anyone could even imagine such a thing was beyond her comprehension.

“He doesn’t have any clothes,” Alix said. “I washed him off and wrapped him in the blanket but I didn’t have a diaper.”

“I’ll dress him,” Carol said. This seemed more like a dream than reality. She carried him into the nursery, placing him on the dresser and carefully removing the blanket. With one hand on the infant, she reached down for a disposable diaper.

That very morning, in just a few hours, she was supposed to empty these drawers so the department store could take everything away. Thank God that hadn’t happened yet! She gently cleaned his bottom and secured the diaper. The tiny T-shirt came next. When she’d finished, she bundled him in the thick, soft folds of a flannel receiving blanket.

He made a small mewling sound and she picked up a baby bottle, clean and sterilized, ready for formula. She dared not allow herself to think this was her child, her son. Alix had come to her for help and Carol was the logical person to contact.

“Exactly how old is he?” she asked when she returned to the living room.

Alix glanced at her wrist, but apparently hadn’t remembered to put on her watch. “About an hour.”

“How’d you get here?”

“Jordan. He dropped me off, and now he’s on his way back to the apartment to take Laurel to the hospital.”

With Alix following her, Carol joined Doug in the kitchen, and they waited for the coffee to drip into the pot. “He needs to be fed,” Carol announced as though she were an authority on the subject of newborns. Without asking, she handed the baby to Doug, then found a can of formula in one of the cupboards.

She filled the four-ounce bottle and set it inside the microwave just long enough to warm it. After shaking the formula on her wrist to test the temperature, she picked up the baby. He took immediately to the nipple, nestling in her arms as if…as if she was his mother.

“Okay. Time to talk,” Doug said. He gestured Carol and Alix into the living room and carried in the coffee tray. Carol sat in the recliner, touching the baby’s tiny wisps of hair. She almost burst into tears when the infant wrapped his hand around her little finger.
He’s mine,
she wanted to cry out. She felt both a profound, soul-deep satisfaction—and greater fear than she’d ever experienced.

“I brought him into the world,” Alix said proudly. “Laurel doesn’t want him and I told her I knew someone who’d love him.” She paused, clearly waiting for Carol to respond.

“This
can’t
be legal,” Doug said, answering for her, sounding uncertain and confused. “I’ve never heard of anything like this….”

“You have the baby, don’t you?” Alix said. “He’s yours now.”

“I know, but…”

“She signed a paper saying she didn’t want him.” For the first time, Alix looked unsure of what she’d done. “I thought
you’d
want him.”

“I do,” Carol cried. Doug had concerns and so did she, but this baby filled her arms, filled the emptiness inside her. God help her, she wasn’t letting him go! She refused to give in to the fear that she might lose this child, too. “Doug?” She turned to her husband, her eyes entreating him to do whatever was necessary.

Doug leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands.

“Do you want this baby or not?” Carol demanded. “Because I do. I’ll take him, no questions asked. I’ll love him, I’ll raise him, but I need to know that you will, too.”

Her husband met her eyes, and Carol saw his apprehension. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to keep him, Carol. Like I said, this
can’t
be legal. A woman can’t just give her baby to complete strangers.”

Carol didn’t care what it cost, what sacrifices were required, she was willing to fight to make this child her own. Just when she’d given up all hope, a miracle had happened. She was going to accept that miracle, whatever it took.

“First thing we do is talk to an attorney.” It was clear that Doug had reached a decision. “As Alix said, with Laurel in the hospital, the police will be notified. We have to make it look like she intended for us to adopt him from the very beginning.”

Carol saw in him a resolve that made her want to weep with joy. “We have a son,” she whispered through her tears.

“Not yet, we don’t,” Doug said, “but we will soon enough.” Taking charge now, he stood. “Give me a few minutes to dress and make a couple of phone calls. Then, Alix, you’re coming with me.”

He disappeared into the bedroom.

Carol put the baby bottle aside and held the infant against her shoulder. “How can I thank you?” she said as she patted his back.

Alix pointed at the tray, which held the coffeepot and three mugs. “I could really use a cup of that coffee. Do you mind if I help myself?”

“Of course…sorry.”

“Do you want one?”

Carol shook her head as Alix poured a mug of coffee and added cream. “I can’t believe I didn’t know,” she murmured. She took a sip of her coffee. “About Laurel,” she said, obviously caught up in her own thoughts. “It just never occurred to me that she could be pregnant.”

Carol’s hand rubbed the infant’s back protectively. With her he would be secure and loved and very much wanted.

“Laurel was overweight before, and then she just seemed to be getting fatter.”

“What about the father?”

“A used-car salesman. He rented XXX-rated videos. I was never keen on him, but he was kind of good-looking, I guess.”

“And Laurel?”

Alix shrugged. “She’s all right, I guess. Just mixed up and angry at the world. I thought that once the baby was born she’d change her mind, but she didn’t.”

Doug appeared then. “To which hospital did your friend take the mother?”

“Swedish,” Alix told him. “Do you still want me to come with you?”

Doug nodded. “I called Larry,” he said, mentioning the name of a good family friend. Larry was an attorney who worked for the insurance company that employed Doug. “He said I should go to the mother and call him from the hospital.”

“What should I do?” Carol wanted to know.

“For now, stay here. Look after the baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“All right.” Carol didn’t know how long she’d have the opportunity to nurture and guard this child, but she intended to treasure each moment.

Minutes later, Doug and Alix hurried out the door. Carol moved into the nursery, this room she’d decorated with such anticipation and care. Each item, each piece of furniture, had been an affirmation of hope and joy…and had become a symbol of her pain.

Sinking down in the cushioned rocker, she cradled the sleeping infant and sang him a lullaby. His entry into the world had been abrupt and frightening, but he was safe now. And he’d always be safe if she and Doug could possibly arrange it.

Carol lost all track of time as she cradled the baby, rocking gently back and forth. She might’ve been there an hour, possibly two. It didn’t matter. The happiness that stole over her was complete.

The baby woke, cried huskily and after Carol had changed his diaper, she fed him a second bottle. He returned to sleep and she settled him in the crib, then stood over him, one hand pressed to his tiny back.

Doug came home shortly after eight but without Alix. When he found Carol in the nursery—the first place he looked—he stood beside her, his gaze on the sleeping baby. Then he drew Carol into his arms, and hugged her so close she could hardly breathe.

“What happened?” she asked.

His eyes were bright with unshed tears and his voice trembled. “We have to take him to the hospital and have him checked out, but it looks like we have a son. Laurel was more than agreeable to letting us adopt him. She insisted to the authorities that it’d been her plan all along.”

Tears flooded her eyes as they clung to each other, weeping with happiness.
A baby
. A miracle of life, a gift that had come from the most unlikely of places at the most unbelievable of times.

She’d known from the first day she’d walked into the yarn store. The fact that they were knitting baby blankets had been a sign from God—and He had kept His promise.

JACQUELINE DONOVAN The Next Year

J
acqueline could hardly contain her excitement as she drove toward Paul and Tammie Lee’s house. She’d been on a cruise with Reese for the last three weeks and was badly in need of what she called a “grandbaby fix.” Little Amelia was almost walking now and Jacqueline considered her granddaughter the cutest, smartest baby in the entire universe. Not that she was biased or anything…

First she’d collect the requisite hugs and kisses from Amelia, and then her next stop would be Lydia’s store. She’d found the loveliest yarn in a tiny shop in one of the Greek islands during their Mediterranean cruise, and she was eager to show it to her.

Tammie Lee was watering the flower beds and Amelia, balanced against her hip, waved her chubby arms at a passing butterfly when Jacqueline pulled into the driveway. The back seat was loaded with gifts she and Reese had purchased on their trip, but none of that was important just now. The sooner she held her granddaughter, the better.

“Amelia, Amelia, Grandma’s home.” Jacqueline slid out of her car and held her arms open to her baby girl.

Amelia squealed with delight and reached for Jacqueline. It didn’t matter that the child was teething and slobber ran freely down her chin and onto her designer bib. All Jacqueline cared about was holding this beautiful baby once again.

“Welcome home,” Tammie Lee said with a wide smile. She bent down to turn off the water and dragged the hose back to the side of the house. “What time did you and Dad get in last night?”

“Late.” Had it been a decent hour, Jacqueline would’ve raced over to kiss Amelia good-night, but Reese had convinced her everyone would be asleep.

“I’m still adjusting to the time change,” she said, hugging her daughter-in-law. The love she felt for Tammie Lee was genuine now. Jacqueline had gradually grown close to her. Tammie Lee’s natural, unforced kindness, her generosity and willingness to assume the best, had transformed Jacqueline’s rigid view of life, and in the process brought the entire family together. Her practical wisdom had opened Jacqueline’s eyes to what she was doing to Reese and to herself. Without Tammie Lee, Jacqueline wondered how long her marriage could possibly have lasted.

“We missed you both something fierce,” Tammie Lee said, taking Amelia from Jacqueline as she led the way into the house. The nine-month-old was on a mission to explore every cupboard and corner she could find.

Tammie Lee headed into the kitchen, where she settled Amelia in her high chair and brought out a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses.

Amelia banged her fists against the tray and gurgled in apparent approval. From the beginning she’d been a happy, cheerful child, just like her mother. Jacqueline walked over to the cookie jar for a graham cracker and broke it into manageable chunks. Amelia immediately grabbed one, gleefully shoving it into her mouth and gumming it with such an expression of delight, it might have been the world’s finest delicacy.

“It’s so good to be home.” Jacqueline sighed as she accepted the glass of tea, complete with a sprig of mint.

“Sit down, and tell me all about exploring the Greek Isles,” Tammie Lee insisted. “I declare, this is the most romantic trip I’ve ever heard of. I just hope Paul and I are as much in love thirty-three years down the road as you and Dad. It sounded just like a honeymoon.”

Her daughter-in-law was closer to the truth than she’d ever know. Jacqueline’s marriage was vastly different since the night she’d confronted Reese about his Tuesday-night-mistress-who-wasn’t. From that moment on, everything had changed for the better. The very next day he’d moved back into the master bedroom with her. Together they explored the delights of married love and gradually, over the next few months, they’d worked on rebuilding what they’d been so ready to destroy.

“I just hope Paul’s as romantic as his father,” Jacqueline murmured, playing with Amelia. “Oh, I swear she’s grown so much these last three weeks.”

Accepting her right to be the center of attention, Amelia Jacqueline Donovan grinned a toothy radiant smile, her cheeks smeared with mushed-up graham cracker.

“You’re such a cutie pie,” Jacqueline cooed. The love she felt for this child was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Amelia and her mother had changed Jacqueline’s life in ways she could never have predicted.

Thirty minutes later, Jacqueline had emptied the back seat of her car. She hugged Tammie Lee goodbye and covered Amelia’s now-clean face with grandma kisses, then reluctantly drove off.

She went to A Good Yarn next. Luck was with her, and she slid into a vacant parking spot directly in front of the store. The Blossom Street renovation project was completed now. The brick apartment building where Alix had once lived had been turned into swanky, updated condominiums; they sold for prices that shocked even Jacqueline. Alix, however, liked her new home better, as well she should, seeing that she was living in the guest house formerly occupied by Martha, who had retired. Who would’ve believed when they first met that Alix would become as close as family?

“Jacqueline,” Lydia cried as the bell chimed above the door. “Welcome back! How was the cruise?”

“Fabulous. Reese and I loved every minute of it.” She opened the shopping bag and pulled out a skein of the Greek yarn, a wool-cashmere blend in a soft shade of mauve with flecks of white. “Look what I found.”

Lydia examined the yarn, weaving it between her fingers, then letting it run through her fingers. She handed it to Margaret. “Feel this,” she said. “It’s incredible.”

“I bought enough to knit a sweater. I didn’t have a clue how much I’d need, so I bought everything they had. You can have whatever I’ve got left over.”

After Margaret had exclaimed over the yarn, Lydia handled it again. “Where did you ever find this?”

“On an island. I can’t remember the name right now. Reese went with me from store to store in my search for yarn. His memory’s better than mine—I’ll ask him.”

“Reese helped you search for yarn?” Lydia shook her head laughingly. “Most husbands would consider that above and beyond the call of duty.”

“We do everything together these days,” Jacqueline confessed and although she would’ve objected had anyone pointed it out, she blushed. This trip with Reese was the second honeymoon every couple should have at least once in their marriage.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you—”

“Happier,” Jacqueline finished for her. She’d heard that over and over again from family and friends. She had no intention of denying it; she
was
happy.

“Actually, I was going to say you’re looking tanned,” Lydia said with a mischievous smile.

Jacqueline extended both her arms. “Oh, that. Reese had me out on every golf course in the Mediterranean.” She grinned. “I’ve got a wicked slice if I do say so myself, and I’m a formidable putter.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to scoot. I’m meeting Reese at the country club in an hour—we’re having drinks with some old friends. I need to run over to the house first.”

“It’s so good to have you back,” Lydia said, hugging her. “Will you be here on Friday?”

“Of course!” Jacqueline waved away her question as if the answer should be understood. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

With that she was off, eager to join her husband—the man she loved.