Life Happens (3 page)

For a moment Elle looked as if she’d just been caught doing something bad. But her attitude returned, shoring up her chin. “She’s mine.”

Suzette claimed the most powerful sentences contained just two words.
She’s mine
was proof enough for Mya. Since she didn’t trust herself to speak, all she could do was watch as Elle put the seat ahead and squeezed into the back. Seconds later, she eased out again, the baby in her arms.

“Surprise.”

Mya reeled, which was undoubtedly Elle’s intention.

The baby stopped trying to drag her bonnet over her head, and stared at Mya as if the hat problem was her fault. Mya hadn’t spent much time around babies, so she couldn’t say how old the child was. Her cheeks were round, her eyes blue. What Mya could see of her wispy hair was
blond. She wore pink overalls and tennis shoes, one lace trailing. The little Harley-Davidson T-shirt seemed at odds with the delicate bonnet.

“She’s had an earache,” Elle said.

Later, Mya would marvel at how in tune Elle was with what Mya was thinking, but now she said the only thing that came into her mind. “She’s beautiful. I sensed you were hiding something.”

Elle made no comment, leaving Mya to wonder what else the girl was hiding.

“What’s her name?”

“Kaylie. She’s almost ten months old.”

Hearing her name, the baby looked up at her mother, who smiled at her. Instantly, Kaylie’s chubby little face spread into an adoring grin.

“Kaylie what?” Mya asked around the sudden lump in her throat.

“Kaylie Renee Fletcher. I was going to name her Harley, but in the end, I couldn’t. Couldn’t picture an old lady named Harley. I figure if she doesn’t like Kaylie when she’s thirty, she can shorten it to Kay.”

The “old” reference wasn’t lost on Mya. “And her middle name?”

“Renee was my mom’s name. It’s my middle name, too.”

Mya absorbed every last implication, from the quiet reverence in Elle’s voice, to her use of the past tense. “Where did you grow up?” she asked.

Elle’s eyes narrowed.

And Mya said, “Yours isn’t a Down Easterner’s accent.”

“My parents moved to Pennsylvania when I was about Kaylie’s age.” Suddenly, Elle didn’t seem to know where to look.

The girl inspired a curious urgency in Mya, a sense that time was spinning too fast. She wanted to ask her a hundred questions about where Elle had been and what kind of life she’d had, but she settled for asking only one. “Are you going to stay in Portland for a while?”

“I’m thinking about it. It’s not like we have anyplace better to be.”

“Kaylie could come with us to grab that pizza.”

“She already ate.” With that, Elle returned the baby to the car seat. Before she was through, she loosened the ribbon beneath Kaylie’s chin. Immediately, the baby stopped fussing and began the arduous task of trying to remove the bonnet.

Elle left without saying goodbye. After she drove away in her noisy little car, Mya got in her shiny, midsize model and drove away, too.

Time, she thought as she stopped at the light, was an amazing thing. Sometimes an hour seemed to last forever, and then one day you discovered that an entire lifetime has passed. Elle was young and still believed thirty was old. Mya had spent the last nineteen years trying
not
to remember how it felt to be that young.

Jeffrey was scribbling on a chart when Mya arrived at the hospital. He smiled when he saw her. It did little to relieve the knot in her stomach. Motioning to a small lounge, he held up five fingers. She knew from experience that although his intentions were good, he would be at least ten minutes, probably fifteen.

The staff lounge was deserted. Decorated in shades of purple and gray, the room was aesthetically pleasing enough, if one liked hospitals. They happened to terrify Mya.

Perhaps she should have waited for Jeffrey at his condo. Conveniently located a few blocks from the hospital, his place had high ceilings and tall windows that made the most of their southern exposure. For all the building’s wonderful character, the furnishings were early bachelor pad. She’d told him that nobody had a water bed anymore. With a shrug, he’d given her free rein to change the decor as soon as she moved in. Mya wanted them to live in her house after the wedding.

One hurdle at a time.

Claire was right. People who were engaged needed to be honest with each other. She had to tell Jeff about Elle.

She paced, leafed through a magazine, then paced again. Her mind wandered, and she found herself wondering where the labor and delivery rooms were in this hos
pital. They’d been on the second floor in the hospital up in Brunswick, where she’d—

The sound of laughter drew Mya around. The young nurse entering the lounge stopped laughing when she saw Mya.

“Tammy,” Jeffrey said behind her, “Would you mind using the other lounge?”

Although
Tammy
left, it was apparent to Mya that she did mind.

Jeffrey paused just inside the door, right after he smiled. And Mya wondered what he saw in her. He obviously had plenty of opportunities. Why her?

“Still trying to figure me out?” he asked. “I told you. Men are simple. Sex and supper pretty much covers our needs.”

“So you say. Do you realize I’ve never seen you angry?”

“Why would I be angry? You’re here. Life just got better.”

“You’re very smooth, Doctor.” When he grinned, she was reminded of the first time she’d seen him in this very hospital. The man looked good in scrubs, no doubt about that. She wished she melted at the sight of him.

Where had that come from? What was wrong with her? She was afraid she knew the answer.

“You want to see smooth?” he asked. “Come here.”

She remained where she was. “I have something to tell you.”

He went to her and kissed her. “It must be important to bring you here.”

“It is.”

“If you don’t want to keep my cats at your house, I can move them back to my place.”

“And here I was getting used to all the cat hair.”

“God, you’re gorgeous.”

“You always call me gorgeous when you’re trying to get me out of my blouse.”

“I like the way you think.”

She grasped his wrist when he reached for her top button.

“I’m teasing, Mya. What is it?”

“Perhaps we should sit down.”

He studied her in a manner that caused her to understand why he was so well liked and respected and appreciated in E.R. “In my experience,” he said, “there are three things a woman might say when she looks at a man the way you’re looking at me.
One,
she’s married.
Two,
she’s gay.
And C,
she was once a man.”

Mya couldn’t help smiling a little. “Prepare to add one more possibility.”

She’d suggested they be seated, yet he was the one who drew her to a vinyl sofa on the other side of the room. “Okay,” he said when he’d taken the adjacent chair. “What is it?”

She’d practiced her speech during the drive over. Un
fortunately, there was no way to soften the bluntness of what she had to say. Forcing her gaze on his, she said, “I had a baby.”

His eyes widened, but he didn’t flinch.

“When I was seventeen. I held her once, and then handed her to the social worker.” She kept her voice even, her memories locked up. “I never heard from her again.”

He continued to watch her closely.

“Until last night.”

“She called?” he asked.

“No. She came by.”

“So she looked you up. That’s common, isn’t it?” Jeffrey said. “They’re curious. Justifiably so.”

Mya fought an unholy desire to stomp on his foot. “Elle doesn’t strike me as the curious type.”

“Elle?”

“Eleanor. There’s more.” Mya tucked her short hair behind her ears. She missed her long hair, missed the weight of it and the warmth of it. More stable now, she said, “She has a ten-month-old baby girl named Kaylie. I know this must come as a shock.”

For what seemed like forever, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall behind her. Finally, Jeff spoke. “What’s shocking is that all these months I’ve been sleeping with a grandmother.”

Now, she did nudge him.

“Honey, the sounds you make when we’re making love give the word new meaning.”

She jumped to her feet. And as he had dozens of times before, he went to her and put his arms around her. “This doesn’t change the way I feel about you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He slid his hands down her back, drawing her against him. “You’re beautiful. You’re smart. You’re sexy as hell. Something that happened to you when you were a kid doesn’t change any of that.”

“It wasn’t something that happened to me. I wasn’t run over by an 18-wheeler or struck by lightning. It was something I did, a portion of my life I lived.”

“Potato, po-tah-to.”

“Now you sound like Claire.”

“That hurts. My parents want to meet you.”

She blinked. “They do?”

“I think you’d better find out what Eleanor’s after. She probably just wants to know her medical history, now that she has a kid of her own. No sense getting bent out of shape until we know what we’re dealing with, right?”

Bent out of shape?

For some reason, Mya couldn’t get comfortable in his arms. She couldn’t find that safe place, that warm sense of being home. He kissed a path along her neck. Normally, she responded to the sensation. Tonight, she wondered what he would look like
bent out of shape
and thoroughly ticked off. She reminded herself of the anger-
management classes she’d taken, and the self-help books she’d read. Jeffrey was sane and rational, and this was how sane and rational people dealt with life’s issues. Sanely and rationally.

“Jeff.” She stepped out of his arms. “Someone could come in.”

He released a long sigh, but he followed her toward the door. “What are you going to do?”

Until that moment, she hadn’t a clue. Bending down for her purse and jacket, she said, “I’m going to pick up a pizza.” The statement was delivered in a tone of voice that encouraged him to go ahead and make something of it.

He didn’t, of course.

As she left the building, Mya wondered what Dr. Phil would say about the fact that she was disappointed. In the pit of her stomach she knew it wasn’t sane or rational.

Maybe she hadn’t come so far after all.

E
lle entered Brynn’s through the front door the following morning. Mya was busy with a customer who kept commenting on her hair. Elle didn’t know what that was all about, but she hiked Kaylie higher on her hip and waited. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long. Mya rang up the sale, placed the purchases in a lime-green bag, then followed the customer to the front of the store. The fact that the woman looked wealthy didn’t keep her from staring openly at Elle.

The moment the door closed, Elle said, “The rumors will be flying now.”

Mya’s eyebrows rose a fraction, but her voice was level as she said, “I can handle rumors. How was the pizza?”

“I’m not a charity case. Is everyone who comes in here full of herself?”

Mya’s gaze was direct, her pause palpable. “Evidently.”

The woman didn’t take much crap. To Elle’s annoyance, she respected that. She didn’t know why she was dishing it out in the first place. She’d been surprised when
she’d heard the knock on her door last night. “Pizza delivery for Elle Fletcher.”

She’d opened the door but not the chain, and saw a boy who was probably still in high school start to smile. Wearing a baseball cap and a jacket bearing the pizza store’s logo, he held the flat box out to her.

“I didn’t order any pizza.”

He’d fumbled in his pocket for the order pad then checked the address. Pizza delivery guys were always nerds. It was probably in the job description.

“It’s bought and paid for,” he’d said. “My job was to deliver it.” A nerd with a bad attitude, he put the pizza on the step and left without another word.

She may have been belligerent and too broke to give him a tip, but she wasn’t stupid. She’d taken it inside. While Kaylie used a crust for a teething ring, Elle sank her teeth into a thick slice of lukewarm pizza loaded with cheese, mushrooms, onions and pepperoni. She’d wolfed down three pieces before she thought about the example she was setting. Hopefully, Kaylie was too little to pick up bad table manners. The thought seared the back of her mind, bringing a sense of dread and sadness she refused to give in to.

“The only reason it tastes so good is because I haven’t sprung for pizza in a while,” she’d told Kaylie as she started on her fourth slice. “That doesn’t mean it’s the best pizza in the universe.”

Kaylie drooled solemnly from the middle of the bed. Elle had gone to sleep with a full stomach. And then she’d finished the pizza for breakfast while she fed Kaylie her oatmeal.

She knew she should thank Mya. Instead, she eased Kaylie out of reach of a rack of sunglasses and said, “What did you do? Follow me?”

“If you’re asking how I knew where to have the pizza delivered, I called the nearby motels and asked to speak to you.”

“I should sue them for breach of confidentiality. That’s a big thing these days.”

“Lawsuits or confidentiality?”

“You tell me.” For some strange reason, Elle was glad Mya could hold her own with her. Not many people could. Elle didn’t know why she was dishing it out in the first place. She looked Mya up and down. Her skirt had an uneven hem, her top a knit number with pink and green stripes. There were bangles on her wrists and dangles in her ears. Elle found herself looking at the diamond ring on Mya’s left hand. “What do you think the Minute Man is going to do when he finds out about me?”

“His name is Jeffrey. And I told him last night.”

Elle blinked, and Kaylie strained to get down. She’d been fussing a lot lately. Mya seemed to be having a hard time taking her eyes off her.

“Ever since she learned to crawl, it’s all she wants to do.
I haven’t been letting her crawl around much in our motel room.”

“How long have you two been on the road?”

“We left Pennsylvania a week ago, but we’ve pretty much been on our own since before she was born.”

Kaylie was getting worked up. Elle tried moving her to her other hip, but it didn’t help. When Kaylie got something in her head, there was no changing her mind.

Elle saw Mya reach her hand toward them, but it took a few seconds to notice the key held between her thumb and forefinger. “What’s that for?”

“You can let her crawl on the floor at my house.”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll make off with the good silver?”

Kaylie was crying in earnest now, so they practically had to yell.

“I don’t believe you drove all the way to Maine to rip me off.”

Their gazes locked.

It was the perfect opening, but Elle couldn’t bring herself to take it, so instead she said, “What would we do all day?”

“Do whatever you want. Play with the cats.”

“I don’t like cats.”

For some reason, that made Mya smile. It took everything Elle had to tear her gaze away.

Mya continued to hold out the key. Relying on instinct, Elle took it and turned quickly, only to stop. Kay
lie quieted, and in a meek voice Elle barely recognized as her own, she said, “Thank you.”

And then she got the hell out of there.

The bell had stopped jangling before Mya remembered to breathe. She had no idea what that had been about, and yet she’d won that round. The fact that Elle hadn’t put up more of a fight made her uneasy.

Elle inspired a curious urgency in her. It was similar to the way she used to feel the last week before school started when she’d been a child, when the sun was still scorching and the days still felt endless, but she knew the end lurked like an alligator under the bed. Back then, she’d never wanted school to start, not because she didn’t like school, but because she hated endings. She used to cram every summer experience into that last week, from ice-cream cones, to lobster bakes on the beach, to catching fireflies in Mason jars.

She felt that same sense of urgency now. She wanted to get to know Elle. She wanted to flip the Closed sign in the window and spend the day at home. With her daughter. She didn’t know whether to be shocked about that or worried. Somehow she doubted Elle would appreciate being smothered. Mya knew the feeling. For years, she’d backed away whenever her mother tried to hover.

Oh, no. Her mother. Claire and Jeffrey knew about Elle. She had to tell her mom.

In Elle’s words, the house was rocking.

Mya didn’t remember the last time it had been this noisy in her living room. The television was on, Claire and Suzette were engaged in a heated debate over the president’s foreign policy, Jeffrey was refereeing, and Elle was changing the baby.

“Mom,” Mya said into the phone. “Would you listen?”

“What’s all that noise?”

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What are all these cars doing in front of your place?” Millicent asked.

“You’re on my street?”

“Are you having a party?”

Mya had to plug one ear in order to hear. “Mom, don’t come inside yet.”

“Just a sec. I need two hands to park.”

“Mom, wait. Listen.”

Static. Great, she’d laid the phone down.

“Mom?”

Silence.

“Mother!”

The line went dead mere seconds before Millicent burst into the house, smiling all around. “Why, it is a party.” She beamed at Jeffrey, and didn’t seem to notice that everyone except Kaylie had quieted. Talking to anyone who was listening, she said, “Who does Mya know who has a baby?”

Her gaze found Elle, and her mouth dropped open.

Suzette closed the door. And Claire caught the oversize red purse before it hit the floor.

Somebody turned down the television, and Millicent traipsed forward, stopping a few feet in front of Elle, who looked shy suddenly.

Mya said, “Mom, as I was trying to tell you—”

“It’s you,” Millicent said.

Looking from Elle to her mother, Mya said, “This is Elle Fletcher and Kaylie. Elle, this is—”

“I’m your grandma. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you properly.” Millicent’s voice shook with emotion. “And this is Kaylie, you said? Hi, sweet thing!” Ducking down slightly in order to be at the baby’s eye level, she said, “It looks like somebody’s having a bad day.”

Jeffrey said, “I checked her over. I think she’s cutting teeth.”

Millicent straightened again, patting Elle’s arm. In a whisper loud enough to penetrate steel, she said, “Teething’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

She let Jeffrey take her coat. Speaking to Mya on the way to retrieve her purse from Claire, she said, “A little forewarning would have been nice.”

The chaos resumed while Mya was still holding the phone.

“The last time I kissed a girl goodbye on the front porch, I was in the tenth grade.”

Mya had to tip her head back in order to look into Jeff’s eyes. “At least this brings back fond memories.”

“Not that fond. Any idea how long Eleanor plans to stay with you?”

He called Elle by her full name. Not five minutes ago, Elle had referred to him as Minute Man, and Mya was pretty sure he’d overheard. Either he didn’t mind, or he wasn’t letting on. It was hard to tell with him.

Mya’s mind was spinning. Claire and Suzette were two of the best friends Mya could ask for. Both had come over as soon as she’d called to tell them her daughter was here. Keeping the conversation lively, Suzette had gone off on one of her favorite tangents, insisting there was a reason all this was happening in Mya’s life at precisely this time. Evidently, it all had to do with Mercury conjoining Uranus, and not one but two black holes. Or did she say Pluto was retrograde and the moon was in Taurus? Which didn’t explain anything to Mya. She didn’t even know why she was thinking about Suzette, except that Suzette had been even livelier than usual tonight, sharing a plethora of knowledge of everything trivial all evening.

“Did you know,” she’d asked Jeffrey, “that rubber bands last longer when refrigerated?”

While poor Jeff was still struggling to find the relevance in that fascinating information, Elle had reached into her pocket and brought out a rubber band she’d found on the floor. Handing it to Suzette, she’d said, “Better put this in the fridge so we’re prepared for the imminent shortage.”

Suzette wasn’t amused, but Claire, Millicent and Mya couldn’t help laughing. Jeffrey had looked at them as if they’d lost their minds. Maybe they had. Or maybe the moon really was responsible.

“Mya?”

What?
she thought, feeling irritable suddenly.

Oh. His question. “I get the feeling Elle isn’t planning to stay in Maine for long,” she said. “I’m surprised she accepted my invitation at all.”

Jeff squeezed her hand. Although she knew he would have preferred a different scenario for his night off, he’d been a good sport, all things considered. He really was a nice guy. Loneliness twisted and turned inside her. There was no reason for this. The man who wanted to marry her was standing right here. Closing her eyes, she felt guilty and selfish, two of her least favorite emotions.

“Tired?” Jeff asked.

“I guess.”

“It’s been a rough few days. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. Instead of leaving, he
transferred the contents of his right hand to hers. “My contribution to the cause.”

Mya found herself staring at more rubber bands, and surprised herself by laughing. Watching him walk away, she thought that maybe, just maybe, everything would be all right.

The moment Mya stepped inside, three generations of Donahue females stared at her. Millicent was perched in the rocking chair, Kaylie on her lap. Elle sat cross-legged on the floor where she’d been trying to coax the white cat out of hiding.

Hanging up her jacket, Mya asked, “Any luck?”

Elle shrugged in a manner Mya was coming to recognize. “This cat’s come the farthest. The other two haven’t ventured out from under your bed since Kaylie discovered their tails before lunch. The Minute Man looked a little put out.”

Mya didn’t waste her breath telling Elle that all three cats had names, and so did Jeffrey. “He was just surprised, that’s all.”

The rocking chair creaked as Millicent offered Kaylie her bottle. “You’re going to have to do a little pampering to keep him happy, Mya, if you know what I mean.”

“There are greater tragedies than going without sex, Mom.”

“For God’s sakes, don’t let him hear you say that,” her mother said without looking up.

“Don’t you know anything about men?” Elle asked.

It was so nice to see that her mother and daughter had bonded.

Everyone was relieved that Kaylie didn’t have an ear infection. Unfortunately, she was still fussy. Mya felt a little like chewing glass, herself.

“There, there, sweet thing.” Millicent patted the baby’s back as she rose.

“She’s not deaf, Mom.”

“Now you’re an expert?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Here. You take her.”

Before Mya could protest, her mother dumped the baby into her arms. Mya had no choice but to hold her.

“Relax,” her mother said. “You’re stiff as a board. Babies are like dogs. They sense when you’re nervous.”

Mya glanced at Elle. “You don’t mind that comparison?”

Shrugging, Elle said, “It looks like Kaylie thinks you’re doing okay.”

Miraculously, it was true. Pink cheeked, her eyelashes matted from her tears, the baby stared solemnly up at Mya as if trying to figure out something important. But she didn’t look particularly worried. Mya was nervous enough for both of them. “You know, kid,” she said, “you’re heavier than you look.”

“How much did she weigh at birth?” Millicent asked.

“Six-and-a-half pounds. It seemed like a lot at the time. How much did I weigh?”

Millicent looked to Mya to answer.

In a quiet voice, Mya said, “You weighed six pounds, fourteen ounces.” There was absolutely no reason for her throat to close up, and yet it did.

The room was silent. While everyone was trying to decide where to look, Kaylie figured out what it was she’d been pondering, and tried to stick her finger up Mya’s nose.

She was quick. But Mya was quicker.

“Good dodge,” Elle said. “She’s had a thing for noses lately.”

“When Mya was two, I had to take her to the emergency room because she put a button up her nose,” Millicent said, very matter-of-fact. “I guess it’s not surprising she’s marrying a doctor. Isn’t he as close to perfect as a man can get?”