Olivia’s prediction proved correct. A beautiful little girl was born just after midnight. Olivia cried tears of joy along with Cherise at the first sight of her. Cherise named her baby Angelique, and indeed the infant looked like an angel.
Olivia helped Mrs. Dinglemire get the pair cleaned up and settled. By the time they finished, it was one o’clock in the morning. The midwife then shooed everyone out of the room.
Bone-tired herself, Olivia was all too happy to leave Cherise in the midwife’s capable hands and flop into bed with no worries to hinder her rest. For the first time since Abigail had left, Olivia believed she would truly sleep well.
As her eyes drifted closed, her gaze fell on the picture Sofia had drawn for her, and she floated off to sleep with a smile on her face.
33
On the morning of Meredith’s funeral, Darius trudged downstairs to the kitchen, certain he would need a cup of strong coffee to get him through this day. But no enticing aroma met his nose.
He pushed through the swinging door and stopped short. Mamá was dressed in her going-out clothes, a small hat perched on top of her hair.
“Mamá? Are you going somewhere?”
“I have to take Helena to the emergency department. I’m going next door to wait with her for the taxi.”
“What happened?”
“She fell down the basement stairs. Her arm might be broken.” Mamá snapped her handbag closed. “I’ll do my best to be back in time for you to go to the funeral.”
Darius held back a sigh. Already this day wasn’t going his way. But his mother couldn’t refuse to help her friend, a recent widow who was having trouble coping with life alone.
“You go on,” Darius told her. “And don’t worry about Sofia. I’m sure I can find someone to watch her for an hour.”
Mamá tugged on her gloves. “You can always take Sofia to the church with you if you must.”
True. Sofia knew how to behave in church, having attended the Greek Orthodox service every Sunday since babyhood. But he didn’t want to expose her to this tragedy if he could help it. With her curious mind, she would likely ask all sorts of uncomfortable questions that the Cheesemans didn’t need to hear on this terrible day.
Once it was late enough that people would be up, Darius took out his list of usual babysitters and began calling. Half an hour later, he hung up the telephone with a loud exhale. Every possible person he could think of was busy. Granted, it was last minute, but surely someone was available. He even thought of asking his father to come home to watch her, but he knew Papá would only take Sofia back to the garage while he worked, and that was not a good solution.
Guilt churned in his stomach. He needed to attend this service, needed to make peace with God and with himself for his part in what happened to Meredith. If he hadn’t been so judgmental, if he’d married her as promised, she and her baby would still be alive.
He dragged a hand over his jaw. The only other option he could think of was Olivia. Before he could change his mind, he dialed Ruth Bennington’s number. As he waited, he realized he should have called Olivia sooner to let her know about Meredith, but he hadn’t been thinking straight, still attempting to come to grips with the tragedy.
“Darius. It’s good to hear from you.” Olivia sounded cheerful, if not a bit wary.
A new tug of guilt hit him. He hadn’t talked to her since their kiss in the park. What must she think of him? But he had no time to worry about that now.
“Hello, Olivia. I have some unfortunate news to tell you and a favor to ask.”
“Oh?”
He hated the trepidation in her voice. But could he blame her for being distrustful? He sighed. “I don’t know how to say this. . . .” He paused. “Meredith passed away on Saturday.”
Silence pulsed over the line.
“No.” Her whisper was barely audible. “What happened?”
Darius looked around the kitchen to make sure Sofia wasn’t within earshot. “She went to some back-alley doctor to take care of her . . . situation and developed a terrible infection. She never recovered.”
“Oh, Darius. I’m so sorry.” He could hear the tears in her voice.
His throat constricted. Somehow, her sorrow made the tragedy even harder to bear. “I want to attend the funeral this morning, but my mother had a bit of an emergency come up. I was wondering if I could impose on you to watch Sofia for an hour or two?”
A beat of silence passed, then, “Of course. I’d be happy to.”
“Thank you.” His shoulders sagged. “I’ll be over soon.”
While Olivia waited for Darius to arrive, she paced the parlor floor, battling to control her grief at the loss of such a lovely young woman as well as her anger at the unnecessary waste of a life. She kept picturing Meredith on the day she’d met her, the pretty but nervous girl who had so much ahead of her. What had made her seek such a dangerous solution to her problem instead of finding another maternity home like she’d intended?
If only Olivia had been able to convince Meredith to come to Bennington Place. At least then she and her child would still be alive.
Olivia blinked back her tears, determined to be in control when Darius and Sofia arrived. The little girl didn’t need to know anything about this. And Olivia needed to be strong for Darius. She could only imagine how he must be feeling. After all, he’d been planning to marry the woman not that long ago.
When she heard Darius’s car pull up, Olivia went to greet them at the curb. As he got out, she wasn’t prepared for the haggard lines hugging his face or
