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I heard him sigh over the phone. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am, Laura. But I totally understand. I’m sorry about Ryan, too. You two made a perfect couple, at least on the screen.”
“He’s by far the most boring man I have ever encountered.”
“But he sure is handsome.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a replacement for next season. Jennifer, the receptionist, would be perfect.”
“I actually have someone else in mind. Sally Clark, the researcher. She wants to do it. We’ll see what her screen test looks like. So, no worries, okay? Keep us informed, though, about this baby thing. Pam will have a fit when I tell her. How long do you think you’ll have her?”
“I’m signing up to be a foster parent so I can keep her until her family is found. Which brings up another topic. Will you support me until I can get a childcare thing set up and can start my other job?”
“Of course. You’re all set. And I’ll intervene with the job at the medical center.”
“Dad, thank you so much. I have a few more calls to make, so I’ll say goodnight.”
“Call your mother,” he advised.
“I will. She’s next on my list.”
Crystal wasn’t happy. She was livid that I’d quit working for Randy, but I knew it was because she was afraid he’d cut me off financially. I had no intention of allowing that to happen. Over the months I’d been in New York, he’d been generous in the extreme, and I’d taken every cent he’d offered me and stashed it in an interest-earning account.
In the end, she accepted that she wasn’t going to change my mind about being a foster parent, even though she didn’t like it. We hung up agreeing to disagree.
It was too late to call my former roommates in Chicago. Then I remembered that my medical student roommate Alison was visiting her parents in San Diego. It wasn’t yet nine there.
“I was just going to call you,” Alison said, her familiar voice comforting. “What’s going on?”
I told her about taking the train home, the baby being dumped on the road, and that now I was a foster mother.
“Laura, I’m so surprised. This seems like it’s right up your alley. I mean, it’s criminal justice at its best. You’re taking care of a foundling.”
“I never even thought of it that way. My nurturing side is coming out.”
“Oh, dear. After living with you for five years, I’m pretty sure you don’t have a nurturing side.”
She was teasing me, and I burst out in laughter, the baby shifting around in my arms. “Oops, I have to learn not to be too loud around her.”
“So, tell me about Ryan, Laura. I’m so disappointed. You were going to finally have a boyfriend.”
“Not Ryan, I wasn’t. I never even accepted a lunch date from the guy because he’s a whoremonger. Do you need to know more than that? He was seeing one of the partners, too.”
I told her the story about Ryan and Sandra and the scarf.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. You just never know about a guy these days. Do you still have to work with him?”
“I made it to the end of the shoots. All thirteen episodes, and then I quit. My dad said he’ll support me until I find something else, and that means my original job, security at the medical center.”
“Well, if I remember correctly, that was the job you wanted, although why, none of us could figure out. You should be an actress or a model.”
“Alison, that’s such bullshit. You’re beautiful, and do people say that to you? ‘Instead of being a surgeon, model underwear.’ How insulting.”
“Oh, you’ll survive. What I’m interested in right now is this baby.”
I looked down at the little sleeping face. “Me, too. She’s so sweet. Every second that passes, I bond with her more.”
“Be careful, sweetheart. You are in line to get your heart broken. Isn’t the whole point of fostering so the child can someday be reunited with the family?”
“Yeah, something like that. I’m curious about her background, though. What if that scumbag who dropped her to the ground is her father? Why do we want to reunite her with someone like that?”
