shoving them into her mouth with a giggle.
?What did you and Helene fight about that night??
Her eyes darted around the room. ?We didn?t fight.?
?I thought there had been a disagreement between you two . . . ??
?Oh right. Someone with a very big mouth said that at our table, right??
She poured more cereal onto Amanda?s highchair tray. Her hand was slightly shaking and the cereal tumbled in droves over the side. She swore under her breath.
I took the moment to unlatch Laurie and burp her, hoping Sara would fill in some gaps. When she didn?t, I said, ?Evelyn said Helene was canceling a construction project your husband was working on and you were very upset by that.?
The box of Cheerios slipped from Sara?s hand and spilled out on the floor. ?No. No, she didn?t cancel. We?re still on. Set to start next week for Bruce.?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
To Do:
1. ?
2. Get manicure.
3. Order turkey.
4. Exercise.
5. Figure out how to make homemade baby food.
The next morning I could barely drag myself out of bed. I had been up at 11:00 P.M., at 1:00 A.M., at 3:00 A.M., and at 6:00 A.M. Jim had hardly seemed to notice.
Thankfully he was brewing coffee.
He sauntered into the bedroom. ?Honey, do you have plans today? I have a meeting with Dirk Jonson.?
Dirk was Jim?s big client. He was the reason I was able to be at home and not back in the corporate world. Had Jim not landed this freelance client, I would be stuck in the nine to five grind, pumping milk every three hours and missing Laurie like crazy.
?I was hoping you could watch Laurie. I have an appointment, too.?
After leaving Sara?s place the day before, I had phoned Bruce and requested a meeting. He?d invited me over around noon.
Jim grabbed a sport coat out of the closet. ?Can you ask your mom? I have to leave in a few minutes.?
I didn?t have to be at Bruce?s until noon so I climbed back into bed. Jim kissed my cheek and disappeared down the hallway. I propped myself on a pillow and dialed Mom.
?What are you up to?? I asked her.
?Oh, darling, I?m almost out the door. Why??
?I wanted to see if you could babysit. Jim just left for a meeting and I have one this afternoon with Helene?s husband. But don?t worry about it. I?ll take Laurie along.?
?Is that safe? Isn?t he a suspect??
?No. You?re thinking of Alan, that?s Margaret?s husband.?
?No, I?m not. I mean the widower. Isn?t the widower always a suspect??
?Hmmm. Well, I suppose . . . no. Come on, Mom, don?t fuel my paranoia. Even if he was guilty of something, he?s not going to try anything at his own house. That would point the finger directly at him, don?t you think??
?I guess you?re right,? Mom said.
?Where are you off to?? I asked.
?Napa. Wine tasting with Albert.? Mom giggled.
?Sounds like fun, but is wine healthy for Galigani??
?Well, it?s not like we?ll be chugalugging!?
?You don?t even drink, Mom.?
?Just a taste, darling. Nothing drastic. We?re taking my car.?
?Be careful,? I said.
At 11 A.M. I bathed Laurie. I?d scrubbed the lint out between her fingers with a Q-tip.
It seemed that no sooner had I removed it than it was back. The only thing I could guess was that she constantly had her hands in her mouth. Maybe the fact that her hands were wet made any blanket or piece of cloth fuzz stick between the little webs in her hands.
I stuck a little rubber ducky in the bath with Laurie. She watched it float around. I let her enjoy the soak and sang ?Row, Row, Row Your Boat? to her.
I toweled her and dressed her, then I basically force-fed her. I knew it was a bit early?our routine was to nurse around noon?but if I wanted to be on time, I had to feed her now. Plus, it would eliminate any awkwardness in
