Chapter 13
Delilah sat in the corner of the playroom at Tykes Palace. McKenzie lay on her tummy next to her, gnawing on a plastic teether. In front of her sat Sara, the last of the kids to be picked up today.
”Don”t feel good,” Sara said.
”Don”t worry,” Delilah said. ”One of your daddies will be here soon to pick you up.”
Sara shoved aside the wooden puzzle she had been working on. ”Don”t feel good—”
Delilah didn”t even have time to dodge. Sara”s projectile vomit splattered all over Delilah”s shirt.
Delilah jumped up in surprise and Sara started crying.
”It”s okay, it”s okay,” Delilah said.
”I got—got you all—dirty,” Sara sobbed.
”This?” Delilah said, fighting her own nausea. ”Oh this is so easy to clean up, don”t you worry.”
Inside, her mind was whirling. She had to get out of this shirt as soon as possible. But what would she put on?
Janine, who had been working in the office, came out when she heard Sara sobbing. She pointed Delilah to the bathroom and said, ”There are extra t-shirts in the third drawer down.”
Delilah looked at her gratefully. ”Can I leave McKenzie here?”
Miraculously, there was no vomit anywhere except for on Delilah”s shirt.
”No problem,” Janine said.
”I”m sorry,” Sara wailed.
”It”s okay,” Delilah said again. She forced herself to smile. ”Really.”
Once in the bathroom, she peeled off her shirt, feeling lucky that it was a button up. It meant she wouldn”t have to pull it over her head. Gross. If that had been the case, she probably would”ve gotten a pair of scissors and just cut the thing off. She rinsed it out, then dropped it in one of the plastic bags they had on hand for potty accidents. She wet a paper towel and wiped off her body as best she could. She wanted a shower, was what she wanted.
By the time she came out of the bathroom, Sara was gone.
”Her dad just came. Poor thing,” Janine said. ”She”s really worried that you”re not going to be her friend anymore.”
”Oh, of course I am,” Delilah said. ”What a sweetheart to think of me when she’s sick. You know, I thought it was weird when she didn”t eat all of her crackers and cheese at snack time.”
Janine nodded sagely. ”I always seem to notice those little signs long after the vomit happens. She really looks up to you though. They all do, actually.”
”I really like them too,” Delilah said.
Janine stepped closer. ”What”s this? I didn”t know you had tattoos.”
”Oh,” Delilah said, ”I try to hide them. For work, you know.”
”Probably wise generally,” Janine said, ”but they”re very pretty and you don’t need to hide them here.”
Delilah smiled. ”Thanks. I hate to rush out on you, but I”m supposed to meet somebody for dinner tonight. Thank you for the loaner shirt. I’ll bring it back on Monday.”
”Sounds good,” Janine said. ”That reminds me, here”s your first week’s check.”
After taking the envelope Janine held out, Delilah impulsively gave her a hug.
”I know that”s not very professional, but I”m so grateful. Thank you.”
”You”ve been a blessing to this place,” Janine said. ”Now get that baby and get out of here. Go have a fun dinner tonight. It”s Friday.”
Delilah gathered McKenzie and waved goodbye. Already, her mind was on who Ben wanted her to meet tonight. She hoped she would have a chance to take a shower before they came over. She didn”t want to meet them in a baggy t-shirt while smelling like puke.
McKenzie didn”t cry on the drive to Ben’s, so Delilah sang the whole way. She didn”t know a whole lot of kid songs, never having heard them growing up, but she knew most of the words to ”You are My Sunshine.”
When they pulled into Ben”s driveway, Delilah was dismayed to see another car already there.
As she unlocked McKenzie”s car seat from the base, she said to her, ”I”m sure they will be perfectly understanding that I have a job with puke hazards. It”s a funny story, really. I mean, we all have weird jobs sometimes. I wonder if they’re in security like Ben. Maybe they have some funny stories. Maybe they’ll actually talk to me, instead of sitting across the table in silence like Ben usually does.”
McKenzie gurgled in response and waved a tiny fist in the air.
”That”s right, mama.” Delilah bent and kissed McKenzie”s forehead.
Balancing the carrier and holding the plastic bag with the puke shirt as far from her body and her baby as possible, Delilah made her way up to the house.
Ben opened the door for her, a weird sort of half smile on his face.
”Are you okay?” Delilah asked.
”Fine,” he said in a strangled voice. ”You”re late.”
”Sorry, job hazard.” She handed him McKenzie”s carrier and raised the plastic bag. ”I need to do laundry and take a shower ASAP.”
He leaned forward. ”Please don”t leave me alone with them any longer.”
She wanted to laugh. ”Who is it? Who did you invite that you don”t want to hang out with?”
Before he could respond, suddenly it dawned on her.
”No,” she breathed.
He just nodded. ”They’re in the kitchen.”
She pulled her arm back and slapped him hard on the bicep. He barely flinched.
”How could you? And no warning whatsoever?”
”They”ve been pestering me ever since they found out about McKenzie.”
”You could have told me,” Delilah said. ”You know what? Go entertain them. I”m excited to meet them, but I”m not going to shorten your torture. This is what you get for not giving me any warning. I have been thrown up on today, and I need a shower. Now,” she said, thrusting the plastic bag at him, ”go start some laundry and visit with your parents.”
She stomped to her bedroom, leaving a bewildered Ben in her wake holding McKenzie”s carrier and a pukey shirt.
When Delilah came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, she was showered and wearing fresh clothes. She followed the voices to the kitchen and found Ben standing at the counter, off to the side, while a woman with fine silver hair bounced McKenzie up and down in her arms. A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair stood next to her, and he stared at the baby with open admiration and wonder.
Delilah spoke softly. ”Hi.”
The older couple turned immediately and rushed at her.
”You must be Delilah,” the man said, shaking her hand.
”Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you...”
”I”m Emil, and this is Teresa.”
Delilah held out her hand to Teresa to shake, but Teresa moved past it and pulled Delilah into a weird hug, grabbing her with one arm while still holding McKenzie with her other.
”We are so happy to meet you,” she said, her voice full of emotion. ”When we heard—you can”t even imagine—we just... I don”t know how to say it. We miss Chase so much, and to learn—to learn he has a baby girl...”
”Teresa,” Emil said. ”You said you weren”t going to do this.”
She smacked his arm, much like Delilah had just done to Ben. ”I can”t help it and you know that.”
He nodded, his own eyes glittering with tears. ”I do.”
”Anyway,” Teresa said, ”we brought things.”
”Things?” Delilah asked.
”For you and the baby, silly,” Teresa said. ”What kind of grandparents would we be if we didn”t spoil you two?”
Delilah wasn”t sure what to say. She had never thought of McKenzie as having grandparents. Her mind was, for lack of a better word, blown.
From behind his parents, Ben said, ”Dinner”s ready. I thought we could eat on the back deck.”
”That sounds nice,” Delilah murmured.
Upon stepping out the back door, she couldn”t help her gasp of surprise. The table was set with a bright red cloth. Cheerful red cushions that looked brand new rested on each of the chairs. Two small flower arrangements sat at each end of the table, and at the head was a baby’s highchair. A balloon bouquet had been tied to the back of it, and the mylar balloon in the bunch read Welcome Baby. Off to the side, a second, smaller table had been set up. It was also draped with a red tablecloth, and a pile of wrapped presents sat atop it.
Delilah looked from Ben to his parents and back again. ”What is this all about?”
”They went overboard, like usual,” Ben said.
”It”s hardly overboard to give our granddaughter a proper welcome,” Emil said. ”Ben here didn”t want to invite the entire pride—I mean family.”
”I”m sorry if it”s a bit much,” Teresa said. Then she laughed. ”Ha, that”s a lie. I”m not sorry at all. We”re just so excited to meet you and McKenzie. And I don”t want to make any judgments, but I was thinking that, as a single mom, you could maybe use a few things. For yourself, and for McKenzie.”
Delilah felt much like she had when she had first spoken to Janine on the phone and Janine had told her she could bring McKenzie to work with her. These random acts of kindness were going to be her undoing.
”It is a bit much,” she said, ”but thank you.”
”Let”s eat before the ribs get cold,” Ben said.
”I know she has this nice highchair now,” Teresa said to Delilah, ”but would you mind if I held her while we eat?”
Delilah looked at McKenzie, who looked snug and happy in her grandmother”s arms. ”It”s fine with me if it”s fine with her,” Delilah said.
”You”re gonna have to put the baby down at some point, Mom,” Ben said. ”You can”t eat ribs one-handed.”
Teresa”s amber eyes, the same color as Ben”s, flashed, as if she was thinking of proving him wrong. But she just smiled. ”Maybe you”re right.”
While they ate, they talked. Delilah’s earlier prediction to McKenzie had been spot-on—the people Ben had invited over were a lot more talkative than he was. He sat back in his chair for the most part, watching Delilah and his parents without adding much to the conversation.
”So tell me, what do you two do?” Delilah asked after she had told them all about her job at Tykes Palace.
”We”re retired,” Teresa said, ”but we used to be Guardians—I mean, do private security, like Ben.” She set down her wine glass. ”I think I should stop drinking. My tongue is getting all tangled up.”
Delilah didn”t miss the subtle tension. She wondered if alcoholism could be an issue here. Trying to cover up the awkward moment, she said, ”I don”t mind not drinking with you. I don”t want the alcohol to get into the breastmilk.”
Teresa nodded. ”You”ve been taking really good care of McKenzie.”
”Thanks,” Delilah said, feeling warm inside. Nobody had complimented her mothering before.
When they were finished eating, Delilah helped Ben carry the dirty plates into the house. ”They’re really nice,” she said, nudging him. In a teasing voice she added, ”Where did they go wrong with you?”
”Ha,” he said. Something flashed in his eyes, though. Was it pain?
”I”m only kidding,” Delilah said. ”You”ve got to know you”re a great guy.”
He shook his head. ”I”ll be right back, okay? Can you bring out the cookie plate?”
”Sure thing.”
An aching sadness filled her chest as he left the kitchen. She shouldn”t have joked with him like that—it had obviously touched a nerve. Feeling regretful, she picked up the tray of cookies. They were iced with blue frosting and delicate, pastel flowers. Delilah realized with a start, that this was a baby shower. Nobody had thrown a shower for McKenzie.
This was what she had wanted all along—somebody to care about McKenzie as much as she did. And she had found those people in Chase’s parents.
At the back door, she had to balance the cookie plate on one arm so she could manage the handle. She froze when she heard Teresa”s angry voice.
”I”m not the only one slipping up,” she said. ”You mentioning the pride was no better than me saying Guardians.”
”She barely noticed my slip-up,” he said.
”Let”s just be more careful,” Teresa said, in a softer voice. ”She”s a good mom, with a beautiful baby. I don”t want to frighten her off.”
”McKenzie has Chase’s eyes,” Emil said.
Perplexed, but moved by the emotion in their voices, Delilah made her way onto the deck. ”I have cookies,” she said in a bright voice. ”Teresa, did you make these?”
Teresa turned and smiled. ”I wish I could claim credit, but Ben made those.”
”Wow. Did he decorate them, too?” Delilah asked.
”He did.” Teresa beamed. ”He always did love to tinker around in the kitchen when he was a boy. I”m glad to see he never stopped. And those ribs were incredible.”
Delilah set the cookie platter on the table. Emil was now holding McKenzie, who gazed around her at the darkening sky. It would be McKenzie”s bedtime soon.
Ben came back outside, and Teresa passed around the cookies.
”Now,” Teresa said, “Delilah, do you feel up to opening a few gifts?”
Delilah patted her belly and nodded. ”I think I”ve got enough sugar in me to stay up all night.”
Teresa handed her gift after gift. Blankets, baby clothes, toys. There was even a set of silver dishes with tiny engravings around the edges. Delilah peered closely at them. ”What are these little animals? It”s too dark to see them.”
”They”re mountain lions,” Emil said. ”The dishes were made by a local artist.”
A cougar seemed an odd choice for decorating baby dishes with, when what Delilah usually saw in stores were things like plump elephants, giraffes, and fluffy owls. But she appreciated the uniqueness of something handmade, and she said so.
Teresa and Emil beamed proudly.
When it was fully dark, Teresa and Emil said their goodbyes.
”If you ever need a babysitter, dear,” Teresa said, ”please do call me. Benjamin will give you my phone number. I mean it, call anytime.”
Delilah hugged her, and then Emil. ”Thank you. And thank you for the gifts. I can”t tell you what they mean to me, and what they”ll mean to McKenzie when she”s older.”
Delilah and Ben stood on the front step, Delilah holding McKenzie, and they watched as Ben”s parents got in their car and left.
”Your parents are really nice,” Delilah said.
“Thanks,” Ben said.
A little weird, she added in her head, but nice. She didn”t think she could ask for better grandparents for her daughter.