Make Way For Babies!

Yes, well…

She hurried down the corridor to the nursery. Rachel Arquette was on duty. The nurse was pretty, young, single…and pregnant. She wasn’t saying a word about the father. Although Ally had heard the gossip going around, she didn’t believe for an instant it could be Dennis Reid, who was chief of staff at the clinic. He was old enough to be Rachel’s father, for Pete’s sake.

“Rachel, hi,” Ally said upon reaching the desk. “How are the twins?”

Rachel put away the folder she’d been reading. Although she smiled, her eyes had a certain harried look. Ally had always felt a kinship with the quiet nurse…maybe as one lost soul to another?

She pushed the thought aside as another nurse bustled out of the nursery. Ally smiled in relief at seeing Nell Hastings on duty.

Nell had taken care of the twins at the birthing. She was a delight to work with—calm in an emergency, soothing and kind in her dealings with nervous mothers and fathers, and simply wonderful with newborns.

“Well, here’s our mom,” Nell said cheerfully. “Hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

Her eyes twinkled with humor. Nell was such a contrast to her older sister, Blanche, who was one of the town’s two main gossips.

“Are the twins ready to go?” Ally asked with more poise than she felt.

“Yep, fed, burped and changed. The little angels are sleeping. Finally,” Nell added with a chuckle.

Ally’s heart lurched. “Did they have a restless night?”

“A tad,” Rachel spoke up. “They’ll be okay.”

“I’ll help you out to the car,” Nell volunteered. “Are you parked at the front?”

“Yes. I signed all the papers before coming up.”

“The office called up clearance.” Nell bustled off. “Let’s get the babies. You have any questions?”

“Not that I can think of.”

Ally took one baby, her hands shaking just a tiny bit, while Nell carried the other. At the car, the nurse strapped them into the infant seats with the skill of long practice. The darlings slept right through the process.

“Well, thanks,” Ally said.

Nell patted her back. “Sleep when they do, if you can. Tuck them against you if they get to crying. They’re used to sleeping in cramped quarters.” Her smile was reassuring.

“Right.”

Ally drove off at five miles per hour, suddenly afraid that someone was going to hit her car and injure the twins, afraid she wouldn’t see them in time, afraid she wouldn’t notice a red light and would run through it….

Her knuckles were white all the way to the cottage. She parked at home with a sigh of relief, as if she’d completed a major and dangerous feat.

Unbuckling Nicholas, she carried him into the house and gently tucked him into a bassinet, then returned for Hannah. Both slept peacefully throughout the transition. Ally checked that the baby monitor was on, then tiptoed out of the nursery and into the kitchen.

Well, there was nothing to this, she decided four hours later, checking the sleeping twins for the umpteenth time. She’d been worried for nothing. She could relax.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. She closed the nursery door and dashed lightly into the living room. Her eyes widened when she recognized Spence outside the door.

“Hi,” she said, opening up and letting him in. “What are you doing in this neighborhood?”

Stupid question. His mother lived a quarter mile up the road. He was on his way there, most likely. He was dressed in blue shorts and a polo shirt. She noticed that his arms and legs were very tan. She imagined him playing golf or tennis with all the attractive single women at the apartment complex.

“Providing dinner,” he explained. “I didn’t know if you would remember to eat, this being your first night with the twins. I brought over sandwiches—beef tongue, sliced eggs, kosher dills and hot mustard with a touch of garlic.”

Ally hid a smile. Spence prided himself on his gourmet touch with sandwiches. His friends thought his combinations were weird. Spence cheerfully ignored their comments.

“Oh, thanks. That was thoughtful of you. The twins are sleeping, so everything is fine.”

“Great. Got a cold beer? It’s a furnace out today.”

Ally stared after him while he walked in, closed the door and kicked off his sneakers. He headed for the kitchen. She followed, her mind in a whirl.

“I don’t have any beer. Have you been playing tennis?” she asked, placing the bag of food on the table.

Another stupid question. It was none of her business.

“No, helping Johnny put in a drip system over at his place. Claire wants to do a native plant garden. Your aunt knew a lot about that stuff. I told Claire you could give her some advice on what to plant.”

He helped himself to a can of soda and rubbed the icy container over his forehead before popping it open and taking a long drink.

“Well, I know a little,” she admitted. “My aunt let me help her pick out plants. How are Claire and Johnny doing with their new baby? Lucy—isn’t that her name?”

“Yes. They’re doing okay. Johnny says she’s sleeping all night now. You want a root beer?”

When she nodded, he plucked one from the fridge, nudged the door shut with his hip and settled at the table.

“I’m starved,” he continued. “Don’t bother with a plate for me. I won’t need one.” He dug in.

Ally put two paper plates on the table anyway and took a seat across from him. She felt funny with him there. It was the first time they’d been alone since…since…high-school graduation night.

Heat rushed to her face for no reason. That ill-advised episode was behind them. She would be wise to forget it had ever happened, just as he had.

She took a sip of root beer, then unwrapped the other sandwich, touched again by his thoughtfulness. The inexplicable tenderness she’d experienced toward him at the hospital returned.

From the baby monitor, she heard soft noises, as if one of the twins was restless. She tensed, but neither cried. They were certainly sleeping a long time.

She wanted to comment on this, but Spence had made it clear with his brief responses to her questions about the other couple that he wasn’t interested in discussing babies and such. The silence stretched between them. He didn’t seem to notice.

Irritation pricked at her. She knew it was perfectly irrational, but his hearty appetite and indifference to conversation made her angry. She was jumpy with the sleeping children in the house. It would have been nice to discuss this natural state caused by being a new parent. Once, she wouldn’t have hesitated to pour her heart out to him.

But not now.

After eating the meal, she tossed her used plate in the trash and sipped the root beer. Spence polished off his food in short order.

“Ahh,” he murmured. “I might make it through the night. Got any dessert?”

“There’s sherbet in the freezer, cookies in the pantry.” She frowned as he rummaged through her shelves.