204 Rosewood Lane - Debbie Macomber [104]
“Nothing in particular. What do you have in mind?”
“Can you meet me at the Pot Belly Deli?”
“Sure.”
Kelly had the luxury of being a stay-at-home mother. Paul and Kelly had waited years for this baby and were determined to make whatever sacrifices were necessary. That option—staying with her baby—wasn’t available to Maryellen. She’d have to find quality day care and wasn’t sure where to even start.
Just before noon, Kelly arrived at the gallery, pushing Tyler in his stroller. At nine months, the little boy sat upright, waving his chubby hands, cooing happily and directing the world from his seat.
“Let’s grab some soup from the deli and eat down by the waterfront,” Kelly suggested. It was a lovely spring day after a week of rain, and the fresh air would do them all good.
“Sounds like a great idea,” Maryellen told her. Practical, too, since it would be easier to amuse Tyler at the park than in a crowded restaurant.
Maryellen phoned in their order and her sister trekked down to grab a picnic table. Several other people had the same idea, but she’d secured a table for them by the time Maryellen got there.
Sitting across from her sister, Maryellen opened her container of chicken rice soup and stirred it with a plastic spoon. Cantankerous seagulls circled overhead, squawking for a handout, but Maryellen and Kelly ignored them.
“I wanted to ask you a few things about being pregnant,” she told her sister. “If you don’t mind.”
“Fire away.” Kelly licked the back of her spoon, looking childlike and mature at the same time. She removed the plastic wrap from her oyster crackers and gave them one by one to her eager son, who instantly stuffed them in his mouth.
Maryellen didn’t know what to ask first. For years she’d watched her friends marry and raise children. They all seemed so relaxed about it. So natural. She felt none of that. While excited and exhilarated about the prospect of motherhood, she shared none of their confidence. Kelly had waited years for a baby; surely she understood.
“Were you…afraid?” Maryellen asked.
“Terrified,” Kelly admitted. “I read every book I could get my hands on.”
“Me, too.” Her mother had raided the library shelves and given Maryellen a constant supply of the most recent books regarding pregnancy and birth.
“What happened when you brought Tyler home from the hospital?”
Kelly laughed and shook her head. “Go on to the next question.”
“Why?”
“Because Paul and I couldn’t agree on anything.”
Maryellen reached for a small cracker and chewed it. “I won’t have that problem.”
“Exactly. How are you doing for clothes? I have the cutest maternity tops. Would you like to borrow some?”
Maryellen nodded.
“I’ll bring them over this weekend.”
“That would be great.” Maryellen’s heart warmed toward her sister.
“What about day care? You need to start thinking about that, especially with being single and all.”
That was, of course, another pressing concern. She had to think seriously about interviewing prospects and checking out centers.
“Listen,” Kelly said, leaning her elbow on the picnic table. “I could do it for the first couple of years.”
Maryellen was speechless. When she could talk again, she whispered, “You’d do that?”
“I need to check with Paul first, of course, but I don’t see why not. Another baby couldn’t possibly be that much extra work and I’m home, anyway. I’d like to help you, Maryellen. What are sisters for?”
Maryellen’s eyes filled with tears. This offer was completely unexpected. She looked away, not wanting her sister to know that she was fighting back emotion.
“You know what I realized the other day?” Maryellen asked when she was certain she could keep the tears out of her voice. “I was sitting in my kitchen, reading a magazine Mom recommended, and it dawned on me that…I was happy.”
Kelly reached for her hand. “I see it in you, too. I feel it.”
“I want this baby so much.” She pressed her palm against her midriff and closed her eyes. Lowering her head, she whispered, “I wanted my first baby, too.”
Her words were met with stunned silence.