Chapter 7 #3
Well, that’s a pretty fucking stupid question, isn’t it?
I wouldn’t have kept a baby left by someone I’d never heard of , Blue wanted to say, then remembered how many women he’d fucked and never asked their name.
Theoretically, it was more than possible.
But if they’d fucked him that way, they’d probably done it with other guys too, so how would they know he was the father?
Then Blue realized his thoughts were running away with him and said, “Of course. We dated for a while. I did the math and the birthdate would’ve put her conception right in the middle of the time we dated.
Oh, and there’s a copy of that for you too,” he said and handed her the copy of the note, retrieving the original.
“We’ll want a handwriting sample from you,” she said, never looking up.
Blue screwed up his face. “Why?”
“To compare with the note. To make sure you didn’t write it yourself,” she said in explanation, and Blue almost laughed, but this was no laughing matter.
She was serious. They would actually entertain the idea that he’d written it himself to steal a baby.
Glen hadn’t warned him about that, but he couldn’t see why it would hurt anything.
He’d probably read that note a hundred times, and her handwriting looked nothing like his.
“I don’t think that will be a problem. I’ll be glad to do that,” Blue told her.
She handed him a white legal pad and a pen. “Here. Write what the note says.”
Blue looked at the note, then wrote each sentence.
He really didn’t have to. He knew the words by heart because he’d read it so many times, but he looked anyway just to make sure he got it right.
When he was finished, he tried to hand it back, but she said, “Sign and date it at the bottom, please.” With that done, he gave it back. “Now, would you mind if I look around?”
“No, ma’am. Go right ahead.” Then he remembered what Glen had said and added, “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
He waited while she wandered around the whole house.
He could hear her opening drawers in the baby’s room, then opening the closet door.
It took everything he had to stay in his seat when he heard her opening his dresser drawers, but he sat there and tried to think about other things, like what he’d do later, or how long it would take to clean out his truck.
He could hear her in the bathroom too, poking through his medicine cabinet.
Thank god he’d cleaned that out. He’d had pain pills in there that were ten years old, from when he’d dislocated his shoulder, and they should’ve been thrown away years before.
In a few minutes that seemed more like days, she was back. “Mr.Wallace,” she began. Oh, shit, here it comes , Blue thought. “Did you know there’s a spider in your bedroom window?”
Seriously? Blue wanted to scream. “No, ma’am. It must’ve just come in this morning. It wasn’t there yesterday. I’ll take care of it,” he said and grabbed a piece of paper towel.
“Good. I hate spiders,” she said, and Blue almost laughed.
If that was the worst thing she could come up with, he was doing pretty good.
He pinched the spider in the towel, then threw it in the trash.
When he stepped back into the living room, Ms.Parker looked over the top of her glasses at him.
“You left the child unattended while you did that.”
Calm down. Don’t say anything stupid , Blue told himself. “You were in the room. I wouldn’t call that unattended.”
Before she had a chance to say anything, Indigo puckered up and let out a wail.
Spectacular , now she’s going to tune up.
That’s all I need, her screaming while this woman is here.
Unbuckling the straps on her seat, Blue picked up the infant and she stopped screaming immediately, reducing the racket to whimpering.
He felt of her diaper between her legs and said, “She’s wet.
I should probably change her, if you don’t mind. ”
“I’d like to watch you, if you don’t mind,” Ms.Parker countered.
Blue shrugged. “Sure. No problem. I’ll just take her to the changing table in her room.
It’s easier there.” With the whimpering baby on his hip, Blue headed into the nursery.
Everything was there in front of him, well within reach without ever having to move away from her, so Blue handed her a little plastic rattle and unsnapped the bottom of her onesie.
He noticed Ms.Parker was watching intently.
I bet she’s looking for signs of diaper rash , he told himself.
He finished the diapering, picked Indigo up, and held her up in front of his face.
The raspberry he blew on her belly made her laugh, and he laughed too.
“You’re such a good girl, pretty little thing!
” he told her and kissed her forehead. He could’ve sworn he saw Ms.Parker smile, but he was pretty sure he was mistaken.
The woman didn’t have a smile in her. “Would you like to go back out to the living room and have a seat?” he asked her.
“Yes, please.” Once they were seated again, Indigo still in his lap, Ms.Parker said, “So you lost your job. Have you filed for unemployment?”
“It was just yesterday, ma’am. I haven’t really had a chance yet.”
“So how do you plan to make a living? Do you have another source of income?”
“I’ll be looking for a job later today. I play in a band on the weekends, and that brings in a little. I’m already getting SNAP and WIC, but I’m going to go back and have them adjust my reported income. I don’t care about myself. All I care about is that Indigo has what she needs.”
“I see,” she said, never looking up from her notepad. “And where does this band play?”
“Mostly little bars and dives around town,” Blue said, knowing it didn’t sound very good, but Glen had told him to be honest. He wasn’t going to tell her exact locations unless she specifically asked.
“And who watches the baby while you’re playing at the, um, bars?” she asked, spitting out the word almost like it was something nasty in her mouth.
“My next-door neighbor, AnneBlack. She’s a nurse,” he told her.
“So tell me about this neighbor. What makes you think she’s qualified to watch an infant?”
That’s the dumbest question anybody ever asked me , Blue thought, almost chuckling to himself. “Well, she’s got two kids, a thirteen-year-old girl and an eight-year-old son. Polly and Toady. They’re really good kids.”
“I see. So what exactly is your relationship with this neighbor ,” she asked, and Blue knew exactly what she was trying to ask him.
He’d rehearsed it several times and his delivery was flawless when he said, “We’ve become good friends.
We have mutual respect for each other and enjoy each other’s company.
And I love being around her kids. They’re good kids, and smart too.
We do things together and go places together.
I’m lucky to have her next door,” he tacked on the end.
He hadn’t rehearsed that, but it had just come to him, and it was sure as hell true.
Then he decided to just wing it and hoped he wasn’t about to make a huge mistake. “Could I tell you something?”
Ms.Parker stopped her writing and looked up at him. “Please.”
“Well, I just wanted to say… When she turned up on my doorstep, I really didn’t know what to do.
But in the time she’s been here, I’ve done things I never thought I’d do and learned things about myself that have made me a better person.
I’m a better person because of Indigo. She’s forced me to think about someone other than myself.
She makes me want to do better, not just for myself but for her too. ”
All she said was, “I see.” I’m talking to you from my heart and all you can say is, “I see?” Blue wanted to scream. “Has she seen a physician?”
Blue straightened his back. “Yes, ma’am. She has. The doctor’s office did some digging and managed to find her previous records. Her mother hadn’t bothered with her immunizations, so I’m having that taken care of now.”
To his surprise, she looked up and smiled. “Good! That’s very good. What did they say about her health?”
“They said she seems perfectly healthy, thank god.”
“Would you mind giving us permission to look at her records?” the woman asked.
Glen had already told him what to say. “Ma’am, I’d like to, but my attorney has advised me against that. He said if you wanted those, you should subpoena them.”
The glare she gave him was frosty. “Oh? Who’s your attorney?”
And Blue was ready. He reached into the pocket of his tee shirt and handed her Glen’s business card. “If you need anything, Mr.Baker will be happy to talk to you.”
With a huff she asked, “How’d you afford someone that well-known?”
Blue shrugged and fought to keep from laughing. “What can I say? I have friends.”
She shook her head and stared down at her legal pad again. “You must have. By the way, how did you afford all the nice baby items? New? That was expensive.”
Now she was just being nosy, and Blue didn’t like that. It took everything he had to calmly say, “Friends. They gave me a baby shower. Nice things. I was really grateful.”
“You seem to have a lot of friends, Mr.Wallace,” she said, planting both hands on her legal pad.
“I’m a likable guy, Ms.Parker. I work hard, try to do a good job at the things I do, and try to keep a decent place,” he said, remembering how he’d mowed the grass on Saturday.
“Hmmm. Yes. I have to say, this is not what I was expecting,” she said, gazing around the room.
Suck that, Galloway! Blue wanted to cheer. The old fucker hadn’t managed to ruin everything after all. “I’m not sure what you were expecting, but I hope I exceeded your expectations,” Blue told her.