Daisy frowned. Whatever Margaret had planned hadn’t worked out. It had gotten her killed.
* * *
True to her word, Daisy climbed the steps to the garage apartment around three, ready to help Vi. But Vi and Sammy weren’t there. Had something happened? No sooner had she thought the thought when she heard Vi’s steps on the stairs. She was walking up slowly, carrying Sammy in his car carrier. She wasn’t wearing a coat and she had crib sheets thrown across the carrier.
Daisy rushed to her to take Sammy and his carrier from her clasp.
“I never expected you to be downstairs,” Daisy said, surprised.
“I can’t leave Sammy up here by himself, and I had to do laundry. The diapers don’t fit him quite right and I want to keep his sheets clean for him. He was getting low on onesies too. I wish we could have a stacked washer and dryer up here but there’s just no room.”
“We talked about it when we were planning the apartment,” Daisy reminded her. “Downstairs just seemed to be the best idea.”
“I’m not complaining, Mom, really I’m not. It’s just . . .”
She threw the laundry on the sofa, then scooped Sammy out of his carrier. “The garage isn’t as warm as the apartment. I don’t know if I can keep him down there very long.”
“You could put him in that cute little bunting that Cora Sue gave you.”
“He’s not real thrilled with getting in and out of it.”
“I know how that goes. As he gets older you can make a game of it. Right now, it’s just a matter of wills. As long as he’s dressed, if you throw a blanket over him, that would be sufficient.”
“Would it? Maybe I could put a hat on him.”
“The back of the garage is heated. It had to be so the pipes wouldn’t freeze.”
“But it’s damp. I don’t want to take any chances with him.”
As Vi held Sammy, Daisy could see her daughter’s hand shake.
“Did you eat lunch?”
Vi thought about it. “No. I gave Sammy a bath, then I had to sort the laundry and take care of that.”
“Do you still have some of the tuna fish salad Gram made for you?”
“I do, but that’s kind of heavy if I’m going to take a nap. I’ll just grab a couple of saltines.”
“Vi.”
“I know, Mom. I’ll do better. I will. I’ll feed him and then I’ll nap for a bit.”
Settling into the corner of the sofa, Vi opened her blouse and covered her shoulder with a receiving blanket. Sammy began sucking.
Vi asked, “Are you worried about Jazzi going to Allentown this weekend? She said you’re going to take her and Portia will bring her home.”
“That’s right. And if I’m worried, I’m trying not to let her see. I don’t want to dim her excitement.”
Daisy went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Eva had given Foster and Vi a supply as a wedding present. She chose a blackberry rooibos.
“Tea?” she asked Vi as she filled the red kettle.
“Sure. That would be nice. It would be my cup for the day.”
Daisy had just turned on the burner when her cell phone played its tuba sound.
Sammy started and began fussing.
“I’m so sorry. I forgot to put it on vibrate.” She answered it quickly as Vi settled her son once more. It was Jonas. “Hi,” she said, happy to hear his voice.
“Are you at the tea garden?”
“No, I’m at Vi’s.”
“I see,” he said. “I was calling to see if you wanted to go to dinner tonight.”
“I don’t know what time Foster will be home. I plan to stay so we could try a bottle again with the baby. On my way here, I purchased a few new bottles with nipples that Sammy might take.”
“So you’ll be tied up for the evening?”
“No. I just don’t know when I’ll be free.”
There was a short silence. “Do you want company while you’re babysitting? I could stick around while you and Foster try your experiment. Then we could take Jazzi for something to eat somewhere, maybe drive to York and eat at her favorite burger joint.”
With a sigh, Daisy lowered her voice as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “All that’s a far cry from us having dinner together.”
“I know your grandchild and your daughters come first. Maybe this weekend we can have dinner alone.”
“Jonas, you must tell me the truth. Does my limited time bother you?”
He only hesitated a moment. “It doesn’t bother me as long as you include me with whatever you’re doing. It’s been a long time since I had a family or palled around with one.”
“You do have a family with us, Jonas. So let me ask Vi what she thinks of our plans.”
Daisy related to Vi what she and Jonas had in mind.
Vi said quickly, “I don’t mind Jonas being here. He makes me feel safe. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I’m still not used to being alone here, and especially not alone with Sammy.”
Before Daisy could say a word, Jonas did. “I heard that. Maybe sometime I could talk to Vi about what would make her feel more secure in her apartment when she’s there with Sammy.”
“That would be wonderful. Anything to relieve stress.”
“Is she still feeling overwhelmed?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“I know you can’t talk about it with her sitting there, but we can talk if she manages to take a nap. Did Glenda stop in at the tea garden yet?”
“She did. We can talk about that too. I didn’t get a whole lot out of her, but I did learn more about Margaret. She and Glenda met at an acting workshop.”
“Mom, he’s asleep,” Vi whispered.
“Jonas, I have to go. How soon can you get here?”
“How soon do you want me there?”
“As soon as your car can make it from there to here.”
He laughed. “I’ll see you soon.”
Daisy considered what Jonas had said . . . that he wanted to be included. And she would do that as much as she could. But no matter
