AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Just then, the baby let out a screech that hurt my ears. “Oops, I think she’s getting impatient for a feeding. And I need to put in an order for formula.”
“Where do you get it at this hour?”
“There’s a Target in Kips Bay. They deliver. I’d better feed her before she gets worked up.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow it is. Bye for now.”
Relief flooded over me when I ended the call. I hurried to the fridge and got a bottle for her. It didn’t occur to me to heat it up. I had ten minutes to order formula before the store closed. Feeding her with one hand, I used the other to quickly order online infant diapers and some wipes, and a container of formula powder that said it was dairy-free, since I’d heard of babies being allergic to milk. I was operating by the seat of my pants because I had no way of knowing if it was the correct stuff for her.
After she ate, I took her back to the bedroom and burped her and wrapped her up, sticking her between two pillows so she would fall off the bed. I had no idea if she could roll yet. I didn’t even know how old she was.
The buzzer rang again, and it was the nurse from CPS. She was a no-nonsense woman who had me strip the baby down.
“She’s a new one. Look here, her belly button is still pink, like the cord hasn’t been off long.”
“I wondered.”
“You’re doing a great job,” the nurse said, like she could read the anxiety in my face. “All this little sweetheart needs is a quiet place like this to rest, and to be kept dry and fed.”
She packed up her bags, handed me a sample bag of baby diapers, wipes, lotion, and premixed formula in bottles, and left.
I emptied the bag again to do an inventory of what I had. There were extra pajamas packed but no blankets. A couple of super-soft fleece blankets my mother had given me would work. The bottom drawer of my dresser was empty, so I took it out and laid it on the bed. Lined with a blanket folded in quarters, it made a good, safe sleeping place for her. She’d sleep right next to me.
While I worked, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and noticed that I looked haggard, still in my business clothes with ripped-up stockings and no shoes. I liked the shoes I had kicked off in the street, too. I hoped someone deserving picked them up, because they had cost over two hundred dollars.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s try out your bed so I can get into the shower.”
I laid her on her back after Googling how babies should sleep. She was out cold. Just to be safe, I locked the door to my bedroom. New fears popped up now that I was responsible for a little life. The shower felt amazing. With my head finally clear, I remembered I needed to make a few phone calls.
After I slipped on flannel sleep pants and a ratty UC T-shirt, I unlocked the bedroom door, picked up the sleeping baby, and went out to the kitchen. I barricaded her with cushions on the couch in the den so I could have my hands free to prepare food. Thirsty and starving, I fixed myself a poor man’s charcuterie board with grapes, crackers, Cheez Whiz, and a glass of wine.
I grabbed my phone, keeping one eye on the princess. The first call was to my dad. Now that the show was a wrap—twelve episodes in the can with one extra, and a huge audience—I was free of obligations to Lang, Smith and Romney, but mostly Randy Braddock. I loved my father, but I could see that he was hell bent on controlling me, and I had to nip it in the bud. I wanted to be free to pursue my original goal, and that was in the field of criminal justice. I just wanted him for a father, not an employer.
He answered on the first ring, as always.
“You’ll never guess what happened tonight,” I said.
“First, can I say I’m ready to fire Ryan for letting you take the subway home on a Friday night? I heard all about it from the production staff.”
“It’s okay. I’m sick of Ryan and his bullshit, frankly. I’ve been driving in or taking the train for the past few months. And something amazing happened because I wasn’t driving for a change.”
“What was it?”
I told him the story of leaving Grand Central and what had transpired within the few blocks home.
“Thank God you were there, Laura. Can you imagine if he sped off, leaving the baby on the ground? Someone could have driven over her. It’s really a miracle you were there.”
“I agree.”
“Do they know who she belongs to?”
“Not yet. Someone from CPS is coming here tomorrow to take pictures and fingerprints.”
“Wait! She’s still with you?”
“She’s right next to me, sucking on her binky. Dad, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m finished with Saving New York. I felt so relieved tonight when Jerry yelled out ‘That’s a wrap’ that I almost cried.”
