Christmas with Daddy

“Okay.” Bridget pulled out the cover sheet of the report she’d prepared. “Let’s start with Tara’s life path number. I see your daughter as having an overabundance of nine energy in her life. This would make her somewhat naive for her age, highly emotional and unrealistic.”

Annabel nodded vehemently. “So true. Can you tell me what might be on her mind right now?”

“I see her feeling isolated and not necessarily comfortable sharing her feelings.”

Annabel shielded her eyes for a moment, then sighed. “That’s an understatement. In the past year she’s become so withdrawn. It’s all I can do to get her to the dinner table for a meal. As soon as she’s finished eating, she scurries back to her room.”

“Yet what she longs for most right now is probably love.”

Tears shimmered in Annabel’s eyes. “I have plenty of that for her. But she doesn’t let me in.”

“It’s partly her age, but partly who she is. Tara’s looking for love, Annabel, but I don’t think it’s from her parents. I don’t even think it’s from her peers.”

As Bridget read through the rest of her analysis, Annabel seemed to become increasingly restless. Finally Bridget had to stop. “Is something wrong?”

“No. It’s just that I’m so worried about my daughter right now. And what you’re saying…I’m afraid it isn’t very reassuring.”

“Is there something specific you’d like to talk about?”

“Yes. But I can’t. I promised my husband.” She stopped to gather her composure. “Bridget, are you free later this week? I may need to talk to you again.”

“Of course.” Much as she wanted to help right now, Bridget didn’t press for more information. This was Annabel’s life, Annabel’s child. When the time was right, Annabel would let her know what was going on. Perhaps Tara was involved with a boy her parents considered inappropriate. Given her profile, maybe someone older. Certainly the signs pointed in that direction.

ACCORDING TO Jessica’s schedule, Mandy went to bed at eight o’clock. Tonight, however, Mandy seemed to have other ideas.

Nick had followed Jessica’s instructions to the letter, feeding Mandy dinner, giving her a bath, putting on her sleepers, then finally offering a bedtime bottle before laying her into the crib in the spare room.

Mandy had slept in that crib before she and Jessica had moved out.

But tonight, every time he tried to settle her there, she started to cry. Was she missing her mother and her familiar bedroom? Nick had no idea. As ten o’clock approached and Mandy’s blue eyes remained wide open and alert, he started to feel desperate.

Whenever he picked her up, she’d start to relax. Her breathing would slow and her eyes would droop. But put her down in the crib? No way.

“Daddy can’t hold you all night long, honey. Daddy needs to go to work tomorrow.”

Mandy just stared at him.

Nick paced for another half hour. Finally, when he was certain Mandy was sound asleep, he eased her into her bed. Yes! She was still sleeping. He covered her with the flannel blankets, then tiptoed for the door…

Before he’d made it to the hall, Mandy was crying again. He pressed his head to the door frame and froze in place. Maybe if he gave her a few minutes…

But she only cried harder and, after five minutes, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay, baby, it’s okay.” He rescued her from the crib and held her to his chest. Immediately she calmed.

It was almost eleven now and he was more tired than usual for some reason. He needed to hit the sack. Maybe one of his brothers could help. They’d both been through this before.

Nick grabbed the phone and hit Gavin’s speed dial number. His brother sounded as if he’d been sleeping.

“Sorry to call so late, but I’m desperate.” He explained the situation. “Do you think she’s sick or something?”

“If she’s eating okay and it doesn’t feel like she’s running a fever, probably not.” Gavin yawned audibly, then added, “Most babies like routine. It’s probably going to take Mandy a while to get used to sleeping at your place again. If I was you, I’d expect a few restless nights.”

“That’s it? That’s the best you can offer me?”

“Just make her feel safe, bro. Comfort her. Hold her close and sing to her.”

“I’ve been doing that, man.” And it wasn’t working. He’d thought his brother would be more helpful than that.

Around midnight, Mandy started fussing, even when he was holding her, even when he tried singing one of the songs on her lullaby CD.

Nothing he said, or did, seemed to soothe her. He tried warming another bottle. She wanted nothing to do with it. Her fussing turned into sobbing.

Finally, when it was almost one in the morning, Nick decided to try the one thing that hadn’t let him down so far. He bundled his daughter into her snowsuit, strapped her into the stroller, swaddled a bunch of blankets around her, then wheeled her outside.

Mandy instantly grew quiet.

The winter night was magical. Snow fell softly, the crystals glittering like suspended diamonds under the streetlamps. His boots and the tires of the stroller crunched as he moved forward. Street traffic was minimal and in the silence he could hear the steady inhale, exhale of his breath.

Nick pushed the stroller up and down the block. Thankfully he didn’t see anyone he knew. They’d think he was nuts.

He thought he was nuts.

Yawning again, he retraced his route, waiting for Mandy to fall asleep. It didn’t take long to happen. The next time he checked, her cherry lips were parted ever so slightly and her eyes were closed.

He went up and down the block two more times to be certain, then rolled the stroller back inside his town house. Quietly he removed his jacket and boots, then looked down at his sleeping daughter.

She looked so peaceful. He felt a bone-deep sense of satisfaction until he realized he had a problem.

How the hell was he supposed to move her from the stroller to her crib? He just knew that as soon as he tried, she’d wake up and start crying again.

After a moment’s consideration, he wheeled the stroller into his bedroom. Staring down at her, he wondered if she was going to get too warm with all those blankets, plus the snowsuit. He removed a few blankets, unzipped her snowsuit and removed her mittens.

What else should he do?

Frankly, he had no idea.

He collapsed on his bed and fell asleep himself.

USUALLY NICK AWOKE to the six-o’clock news on the local radio station. Not this morning though.

An obnoxious sound had him cramming his pillow around his head and over his ears. Why the hell didn’t those people do something about their kid?

And then it hit him.

The crying was from his kid.

His eyes opened and he jerked upright. Blankets were rustling in the stroller. Once he’d flipped on the bedside lamp, he could see Mandy’s face, red and angry. She flailed her little fists at the sight of him, as if to say, Don’t just stand there. Do something, Daddy!