Maybe Baby by Elaine Fox

Author:Elaine Fox
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

her lips. “You know what? That, Jack Shepard, tells

me everything I wanted to know.”

Chapter 10

Jack met Delaney at the carriage house the fol-

lowing evening to take her to his aunt’s. Delaney

had just gotten home from running a bunch of er-

rands, and neither she nor Emily were in a good

mood after dealing with parking lots and shopping

centers, not to mention Route 1, but Jack was. He

practically filled the house with light and energy

when Delaney opened the door to his knock.

“Ready to go? Where’s Emily?” he asked, look-

ing around the front hall. In his hands was a small,

fuzzy, pale blue elephant.

Delaney was wiping her hands on a dish towel

and feeling trepidation about the whole endeavor.

“We’re almost ready. We’ve had an exhausting af-

ternoon. I’m not sure Emily’s going to be the most

charming baby in the world. Maybe we should

wait to introduce her to your aunt.”

188

Elaine Fox

Jack shook his head. “Naw. Aunt Linda’s seen it

all. She can calm even the crankiest baby. Trust me.”

Delaney raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Besides, I got her this.” He held up the elephant

by one leg, and it rattled softly. “This ought to cheer

her up.”

The look on his face was so optimistic and cheer-

ful Delaney had to smile.

“Oh, well, if that’ll do it, thank God you’ve

brought it. I’ve been needing it for months.”

“You mock me,” he said.

Emily gave a short, frustrated cry, and he looked

up the stairs.

“You just watch, Mom.” He bounded up the

stairs.

Delaney heard him enter Emily’s room saying

something in a croony kind of voice. Emily either

cried louder or continued crying and it just

sounded louder because the door was open. Either

way, the elephant’s magic seemed to be lost on her.

Leaning one hand on the downstairs railing, De-

laney smiled. The croony voice continued. She

could hear the faint rattle of the toy. Emily’s wails

grew longer.

“You all right up there, Jack?” she called, biting

back a laugh.

Emily was hungry, Delaney knew. That’s why

she’d been in the kitchen, fixing a bottle. Still, it

amused her to let Jack try to console her. Amused

her in a deep, comfortable way. Someone else was

up there undergoing the same frustration Delaney

had all day, sparing her from more of it.

Maybe Baby

189

Emily wasn’t normally fussy, but the days she

was Delaney thought she’d lose her mind. Dealing

with an inconsolable baby was like being in a tun-

nel from which she couldn’t emerge. She’d reach

her wit’s end and feel as if she were going to be liv-

ing that day for the rest of her life. Emily was

never going to calm down, the crying was never

going to stop, and Delaney would simply expire

from aggravation.

Now, with someone else taking the brunt of it,

she could view it as the temporary frustration that

it was. And she felt herself breathing easier with

the perspective.

She went back to the kitchen and took the bottle

from the microwave. After testing the temperature

on her wrist, she stood looking out the window a

moment.

This must be what it’s like to have a husband, she

thought, allowing herself the rumination like a for-

bidden piece of chocolate. Someone to share the

load with. And the joys, she conceded. She imag-

ined him

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