Separating Riches (10 page)

Chapter Nine

Baby on Board — Norma Shelby
, Chris Blackstone-Livingston,
and
Melinda Blackstone-Livingston

I always love having breakfast with my girls. Usually Chris was wide awake and raring to go, and Melinda was half asleep and grumpy. It was so endearing to watch the two of them together, eager to support one another, even as they learned each other’s likes and dislikes. Melinda tended to have a lose tongue first thing in the mornings and would mix up the meanings of certain words. On one particular morning, my kitten, Pluto, rubbed up against her leg and Melinda picked her up, asking Chris if she wanted to hold a little pussy. I choked on my sausage, and Chris laughed hilariously. As I recall, Chris then handed the kitten over to me and took Melinda’s hand. They ran back upstairs and I didn’t see them again until lunchtime. As a precaution, I made sure the kittens were in their playroom during lunch.

This morning was much the same as the other mornings. George, Kate and I were up early, eating our breakfast in the dining room, George reading the latest book reviews in the newspaper, Kate working on her little computer, while I read the cartoons, especially
Little Orphan Annie
, a cartoon that I’ve followed off and on since I was eight. George looked at his watch and then excused himself. He said he was meeting someone and would be gone most of the day. I didn’t need him to tell me who he was meeting, I could tell by the way he checked himself in the mirror several times before he left.
Oh, to be young again now that love is in the air.

Chris bounded down the stairs, shouted goodbye to George, and went straight for the buffet table. A few minutes later, Melinda came straggling in and plopped down in a seat next to me. Charlotte had a soda ready for her.

“Where’s George off to?” Chris asked, picking up a fresh baked croissant.

“I believe he has a date with a young man he met at City Hall,” I replied. George had met many men that day, I just didn’t know which one of them he was seeing today.

“Good for him. He rarely gets out of the house unless it’s with one of us,” Chris stated.

“Kate had finished her breakfast already and said you could find her in her office if you needed her,” I said.
Poor thing, I guess she’s just too afraid to work in the living room while the girls are at home.

“Are you awake yet, Melinda?” I asked.

“I think so,” she replied, gulping down half of her drink in one swallow.

“Good, because I would like to talk to you girls about something important.”

“Am I in trouble?” Melinda asked, before taking another drink.

“No, dear. Should you be?” I questioned halfheartedly.

“Yeah, should you be?” Chris asked playfully.

“No, and no. It’s just that I so often am, I was going to apologize just in case,” Melinda wisecracked, and then walked over to the breakfast food.

I waited for both of them to fill their plates and join me at the table before I said anything. Charlotte refilled my coffee cup and Melinda’s soft drink. Finally everyone was at the table again.

“All right, Norma. You have our undivided attention. What’s wrong?” Melinda asked, spearing her scrambled eggs until her fork couldn’t hold anymore.

“Nothing’s wrong, dear. I just wanted to share an idea I had about Kate.”

Chris stopped her fork halfway to her mouth and asked, “Kate? Is she all right?”

“Yes, perfectly fine,” I said, and then added a caveat. “And I’m sorry, I promised that I wouldn’t share her concerns with anyone. I can assure you though, that her distress has nothing to do with either of you.”

“I knew she would open up to you, Norma.” Chris smiled and patted my hand.

“Yeah, everyone needs a grandmamma like you, Norma,” Melinda added.

“Thank you, girls. Now, I have an idea, but I want to preface what I am about to suggest by assuring you that if you are not in favor of the idea, it will go no further than this room.”

“I will just be in the kitchen, if you need me,” Charlotte interrupted.

“Oh. Thank you, Charlotte,” I said. She was so quiet that I had forgotten she was even in the room.

Charlotte nodded, and left, closing the doors behind her.

I took a sip of coffee to stall, and steady my nerves. I had been thinking about this since my talk with Kate and believed I knew how to approach the subject with Melinda and Chris. Now suddenly, I was nervous about it. My sweet girls were very generous, more so than anyone else I had ever known, but what I was going to ask them went beyond generosity, especially for Melinda.

“Most young ladies your age would never consider bringing an old lady into their home to live, and I want to assure you that I know just how lucky I am.”

“We’re the lucky ones, Norma,” Chris said.

Melinda added, “Yeah, lucky that you put up with us.”

“Girls, you took me from a dilapidated old building and set me up in a mansion where I live rent free, and all my meals are provided for me. I will never be able to repay you for your generous hearts.”

“Norma,” Chris said, looking at Melinda and then back at me. “To repay us is to say that our love was for sale. It’s not and it never could be.”

“You’re stuck with us,” Melinda added. “Might as well get used to it.”

I had not intended for this conversation to be about me, and yet my heart was full and my eyes filled with warm tears. “Thank you, my girls. I am overwhelmed,” I said, and wiped a tear away with my napkin. “But I meant only to use myself as a comparison for Kate. You were right, Melinda, she does need a grandmother to guide her, and perhaps, two employers with a generous heart. Kate needs a loving environment to raise her baby in. If she had that kind of support, she wouldn’t be afraid to be with the child. She’d be able to find the confidence she needs to be a mother.”

I watched the girls’ eyes closely for their reaction. Chris’ eyes softened, while Melinda’s grew large with fear.

Chris spoke first. “Norma, are you asking that Kate move in with us when we get back to Memphis?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Her and the baby?” Melinda stammered.

“Yes, dear,” I repeated.

“Oh, my, God. That’s a wonderful idea, Norma,” Chris affirmed.

“Oh, my, God. That’s a terrifying idea, Norma,” Melinda countered. “Couldn’t we just hire a nanny and set her up in a house somewhere?”

Chris replied with a much better response than I had, which was nothing. “She needs to be here, with people who love and respect her. I don’t know her background, but something tells me that she’s not feeling the love at home. We can help her, Melinda.”

“A baby, Chris.” Melinda’s voice trembled. “Who among us can take care of a baby that’s not even a year old yet? I know I sure as hell can’t.”

“How do you know until you try, honey?”

“Chris, I never even had a pet until you got Blackie.”

“And when I moved in, you ended up with two pets, Melinda,” I offered. “I’ve seen you play with the kittens, they adore you. And in answer to your question, I’ve had a child, and I still remember what it was like.”

“And it will only be for a year or two, right, Norma?” Chris asked.

“It will only be for as long as either of you wish. Even a few months will help her be more self-reliant.”

Melinda shook her head, and I could see she was under real stress. I had no idea she was that afraid of babies. I was amazed at how similar she and Kate were when it came to infants.

I shook my head. “Melinda, I’m sorry. Please don’t feel you have to do this. As you said, perhaps it would be best to set Kate up with a nanny.”

“Sweetheart, look at me,” Chris said, as she turned to meet Melinda’s eyes. “Things have changed, honey. Don’t you see, you are off the hook. You no longer have to be the one to get pregnant in order to carry on your family’s last name. Thanks to the Supreme Court, we are legally married now and I have legally taken your last name, which means that our children will carry both our names. I want to give birth to our children, Melinda. I’ve thought about that since the first time I saw you... well, maybe the second time.”

Melinda looked stunned at first, and then relief washed over her face, and then finally, she laughed. “I don’t have to be the one with a belly out to here?” she asked, her hands encircling her stomach. “I won’t have to walk around on swollen ankles and upchuck my breakfast for nine months?”

I laughed, but Chris didn’t. Not at first, anyway.

“No,
you
don’t. But you do have to stick by me, no matter how fat and ugly I get.”

“Oh, baby, that’s a promise,” Melinda said, kissing her lightly on the lips.

“And of course,” Chris laughed mischievously, “since I will have done the hard part, pushing a baby out of my vagina, you have to do the midnight diaper changes.”

Melinda scrunched her face into a frowned, but then she smiled. “Okay, baby, you’ve got a deal.”

Chris clapped her hands together. “So, then would you agree that having Kate’s baby in the house would be good training for when we’re ready to have children?”

“Yes, as long as we’re not ready to have babies anytime soon,” Melinda replied.

“Oh, I agree. I’m too selfish right now to want to share you with a teething baby,” Chris confessed.

“You realize that Kate’s baby is teething now?” I cautioned.

“That’s okay, Norma. If the baby gets cranky, we’ll just hand him over to you,” Melinda jested. At least I hope it was a joke.

“So then, you’ll allow Kate to move into the mansion?” I asked.

Melinda and Chris looked at each other and then back at me. They laughed and said yes in unison.

“Oh, my girls,” I gushed, something I rarely do. “This is such a magnanimous gift, and I know it will make all the difference in that girl’s life.”

Road to Berkeley — Melinda Blackstone-Livingston
,
and
Chris Blackstone-Livingston

Chris and I were in the SUV, heading to the University of California at Berkeley for the meeting with the scholarship winner. In my younger days, when I drove like a maniac, it would have taken less than thirty minutes to get there. Now that I’m married and sober, it’ll take nearly twice as long, depending on traffic of course. And it won’t be nearly as fun. But that’s okay, I’m ready to let that go now.

“Are you really okay with Kate moving in with us, Melinda?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, it’s cool. I don’t know how much help I can be to her, though. I’m not touching that baby again,” I replied determinedly. I had held Kate’s baby for five seconds and was terrified the whole time that I would either drop him, or he would suddenly attach himself to my face and suck the air out of my lungs, like in a bad science fiction movie. Chris laughed and I wondered if she heard my thoughts.

“All right, you won’t have to lift a finger. Norma and I will help change diapers, bathe, and feed the baby. Personally, I can’t wait.”

“Why not just hire a nanny to do all that?” I asked, thinking that a nanny would take care of everything.

“Because, Kate needs to learn how to care for the baby. That’s the whole reason for her moving in, if she will agree to move in, that is.”

“She’d be a fool not to,” I replied.

“I think we should set her up in one of the guest bedrooms. They’re larger than the staff rooms and she’ll need the extra space for the crib, and changing area.”

“The only guest bedroom that size is on the same floor as our bedroom… no, no, no. Don’t even think it, Chris.”

“But honey,” Chris whined.

“Nope, nothing doing. Chris, I cannot make love to you with a baby next door. It’s just too creepy.”

Chris laughed. “All right, but keep in mind that when I have our baby, she will sleep in our room for a couple of years, until she’s ready for a toddler’s bed, and maybe even after that.”

“Damn! Do you mean that we won’t have sex for two or three years after the baby’s born?”

“Oh, God, no. We can have sex, and plenty of it. Just not in front of the baby,” Chris assured me.

“Thank God! You had me worried there for a moment. So, want to pull over and have sex now?”

“You are incorrigible,” she replied.

“So, is that a yes?”

She looked at me, a smile stretched across her face. “No, that’s not a yes. Not before the meeting anyway. Ask me again after we’ve met with Emily, okay?”

“I only hope that I’ll make it that long,” I teased, shifting my thighs to relieve the already mounting pressure. “And to expedite things, why don’t you have your little chat with Emily while I do some research on John’s expulsion from college? I still don’t remember everything that happened that day, and maybe someone there can fill in the blanks.”

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan,” she replied. “Why don’t you take some of those media kits with you? They’ll make a good ice breaker.”

“Me? Need an ice breaker? Talking with someone has never been a problem for me.”