Will Emily and Tommy find a babysitter for Clarissa? Will Barbara continue to go overboard? And will Anita help Amy in any way?
Thanks for reading my story. We'll be going away on Wednesday, so I don't know whether I'll be able to post any more chapters until the weekend.
Chapter 97.
Tommy waved at Sean as he and Emily left his mother's office with Clarissa. Sean's sister stood next to his desk, and when she saw them, she came over to look at the baby.
"She's beautiful!" Sully said. "Do you remember how funny Moira looked when she was born? All pinched and ugly."
"She was never ugly," Sean defended his niece.
"And now she's a lovely girl," Emily said. A thought occurred to her. "How old is she now, sixteen, seventeen?"
"She'll be seventeen in March," Sully said. "Hard to believe she'll be graduating high school in less than two years."
"She volunteers here, doesn't she?" Tommy asked, thinking along the same lines as his wife. He'd seen Moira in the hospital in her candy-stripers outfit.
"Yes. I guess it's in the blood," Sully said. "She wants to be a medical professional too."
"Would she be able to babysit for Clarissa the night of the fundraiser?" Emily asked. "Of course, if she has a date or something, we'd understand."
"Oh, she's not seeing anyone. I'll ask her and get back to you. That's a week from Saturday, isn't it?" Sully asked for confirmation.
"Yes," Tommy replied.
"Well, we'd better go," Emily said.
"And I think Dr. Cuddy is waiting for me," Sully said. "She wants me to take over a cardiology class for one of the medical school teachers who left suddenly."
"Charley Lerner," Tommy said, nodding in understanding. "We'll talk to you later. Ask Moira to give us a call." He took Em's hand in his and carried Clarissa in her baby carrier with his other hand as they finally walked away. They had at least one more stop to make before they took Clarissa home.
"Hi kids," Marty Wilson greeted them as they entered the hospital's main lab. He'd been sitting at the counter, reading the latest online catalogs of medical equipment.
"Hi Uncle Marty," Tommy said.
"Is my mom back from her meeting?" Emily asked, glancing toward the office door.
"Yes, she just got back. Go on in. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you," Marty told them.
"And even happier to see Clarissa." Tommy grinned. He knew his mother-in-law wouldn't even notice they were there as long as she could hold the baby.
Marty nodded his agreement.
Emily knocked and opened the door. "Hi Mom. We didn't want to leave the hospital without saying 'hello'."
"Oh, hi Sweetie!" Clair said. A big grin appeared on her face as her eyes honed in on her granddaughter. She stood and walked over to take the baby from her carrier. "Hi, Clarissa," she crooned to her. "She gets prettier every day! How'd your appointment with Nelson go?" she asked her daughter.
"Fine. Physically, I'm great," Emily replied.
"I think she'll be happy to get back to work, but hates the thought of leaving Clarissa with anyone," Tommy said.
"I can understand that," Clair said. "Who'd want to leave this little sweetie?"
"I know I'll have to eventually," Em said. "We were just talking to Sully about having Moira babysit her so we can go to the fundraiser next week."
"Well, I'm sure that'll be fine. Moira Chase strikes me as a responsible girl."
Emily nodded. But she still didn't look thrilled with the idea.
"Talk to her, Em," Clair suggested. "And see how she and Clarissa get along."
Emily sighed. "I guess I can do that."
#
At five that afternoon, Anita returned to Jeff's house with two large pizzas and a six-pack of beer. Jeff met her at the door, taking the boxes into the kitchen and getting out plates.
"I didn't know what the kid drinks," Anita apologized to Charley. "I tried calling, but my phone battery must be dead."
"That's OK," Charley said, but his expression indicated that he wasn't happy to see her. "Amy drinks milk and Jeff got some this morning."
Anita couldn't understand why Charley was almost angry that she was back, but she shrugged it off. "How's she doin'?"
"Better," Charley allowed. The antibiotic he'd prescribed was doing its job.
"Let's eat!" Jeff brought plates overflowing with pizza slices to the scarred wood table, and ignored the tension between his brother and his girlfriend. He went back to get the beer and a large pile of napkins.
Charley cut up a slice of pizza for Amy, who came over to sit with the adults at the table.
She hadn't realized how hungry she was. The pizza wasn't as good as the kind they got in New Jersey, but she finished her slice quickly, then sat and watched her father, uncle and Anita each eat a few slices.
"I saw Ned Fuller at the pizza place," Anita said to break the silence. "He was surprised that I was getting two pies. I told him you had company."
"Who's Ned Fuller?" Charley asked.
"He owns the bowling alley in town," Jeff supplied.
Charley smiled until Anita added, "He's also the local sheriff." And Charley went ballistic.
Chapter 98.
"What did you tell him?" Charley demanded, getting in Anita's face.
She stepped back, unsure why he was so angry. "Nothing. Just that Jeff had visitors."
"You didn't tell him who we were?" Charley's wrath was unabated. "Didn't happen to say 'Jeff's brother and his daughter are in town' or mention anything about a sick little girl?" He loomed over Anita, who wasn't particularly petite.
Anita pulled her head back and shook it. "No, I didn't. But why shouldn't I have told Ned or anyone else for that matter? What are you afraid of?"
Charley lifted his right hand as if to strike her, but his brother grabbed his arm.
"Charley's hiding out," Jeff told Anita with a snicker.
"Butt out!" Charley turned on him. "I'm not hiding out."
"Then what do you call it? You obviously don't want anyone to know you're here," his brother said. "What did they accuse you of back in New Jersey? Afraid the authorities will prove they were right?"
"I told you. No one accused me of anything." Charley glared at his brother.
"But they were close, weren't they? Otherwise you wouldn't have left." Too late Jeff saw the stricken look on his little niece's face. "Amy, it's OK. You and your dad can stay here. No one's going to find him here." But he was beginning to wonder whether having Charley around was such a good idea.
Charley was surprised by Jeff's abrupt about-face. One minute he was charging him with doing something wrong, and the next he was trying to soothe Amy. But Jeff was right. Charley hadn't noticed how their argument was affecting his daughter. He tried to calm down. "Look, let's finish our pizza," he said. He looked at Anita. "Sorry I flew off the handle at you. It's been a stressful day," he apologized.
"Yeah," she said, nodding. But she was thinking of all the things Jeff had said, and about Charley's behavior, and wondering if there was something she should do about it.
#
Now that she had a place to live, Barbara needed to furnish it. She could have some of the furniture from the house near Boston shipped to Princeton, but she knew that Liam and Meg would still need most of it, as well as the linens, dishes and cookware. As good an excuse as any to go shopping.
She found the nearest William-Sonoma, and walked inside, a big smile on her face, practically drooling at the displays. Everything was so new and shiny.
A saleswoman approached her and asked, "Can I help you find anything?"
"Well, first of all I'll need a set of china and silverware, a set of pots, table linens, oh, and a coffeemaker, of course." An hour or so later, Barbara left the store with a few bags of the smaller items and arrangements to deliver the rest to her new apartment. She'd spent close to three thousand dollars just on her kitchen.
Next stop, Bed, Bath and Beyond.
#
Soon after Tommy and Emily arrived home with Clarissa, the phone rang.
"Hi, it's Moira Chase," the young female voice said. "My mom said you needed someone to babysit Clarissa a week from Saturday."
"Oh, hi Moira!" Emily said. "Yes. We wanted to go to the fundraiser, but anyone we normally would leave her with is planning on going too."
"She's an infant, isn't she?" Moira asked.
"A little over a month old," Emily said, smiling down at the baby as she spoke. "Would you be able to come over, either tonight or tomorrow, to meet her?"
"Sure. I'd love to," Moira agreed. "I could be there in about half an hour or so."
"That would be perfect. See you then."
It was only twenty-eight minutes later that the doorbell rang. Tommy opened it on the pretty blond teenager he knew only slightly.
"Hi Moira," he said. "Come on in. Emily's just finished changing the baby." He led her to Clarissa's room.
Moira walked over to the crib and peered down into it, smiling at the baby. "She's precious!"
"Have you taken care of babies before?" Emily asked, still a little reluctant to leave the care and feeding of her daughter to anyone else.
"Oh, yes. Part of my job as a candy striper is helping out in the nursery. I love babies! They're all so different."
"Clarissa is really very easy to care for," Tommy said. He was already sold.
Moira sensed that Emily still had qualms, though. "Why don't I come by tomorrow sometime and take care of her for an hour or so? With you nearby, of course. Then you'll feel more comfortable leaving her with me for longer."
"All right," Emily finally agreed. "We'll give it a try tomorrow."
