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“Of course! Any time.”
“Would Fridays be okay? I’ll pay Emma whatever the going rate is for babysitters nowadays.”
“I could babysit?” Hannah smiled, hoping it hid her feelings, but Olivia’s eyes were puzzled. “I miss that baby stage, and you wouldn’t have to pay me.”
“No, that’s silly. I’ll pay you and Emma for your time.” Olivia smiled, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “I can’t believe she’s already turning thirteen.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind having her party here?” She calculated the price of pizza and cake in her head, now without her employee discount.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited, and so is Rosie!” Olivia laughed as she set down a ceramic bowl of potato salad. “She can’t wait to have a whole group of little girls riding horses.”
Hannah wondered if she should tell Emma to just invite two girls instead of four, but the invitations had gone out a week ago. She couldn’t ask her to change things, now.
“Jess!” Olivia called from behind the refrigerator door. “How long until the brisket’s ready?”
“Fifteen!” Jesse called back.
“Oh, there’s Annie,” Olivia pointed to the newly arrived truck, and two boys running toward the house.
“Hannah!” Maggie said, coming down the back stairs. “I didn’t know you’d arrived.”
The matriarch of the Boudreau family wore a flowing dress with long johns underneath, slippers on her feet, her hair pulled back in a low braid. She gave Hannah a hug. “I’m so glad you came.”
“Hannah and Emma are going to be babysitting for us on Friday nights,” Olivia said.
“That’s a wonderful idea.” Maggie peeked into the living room. “I bet there’s going to be another teacher in the family.”
The idea of Emma becoming a teacher made Hannah’s heart swell. She had always wanted to be a teacher. School had been her saving grace, her safe haven from the chaos that was her home. The idea of Emma living out her dream, made losing her own dreams worth it. She’d loved school so much. How badly she wished she could go back and do it all over again. Not that she regretted having Emma. No, Emma was the best thing that ever happened to her, but she’d love to go back and learn.
It was why she didn’t quit when she got pregnant. She’d had to start earning something, and she couldn’t find a full-time job working nights. So, she started night school to earn her GED, and worked during the day. That’s where she’d met Georgie, who’d been teaching her first class in Prairie Valley.
Emma took off for the barn with the other “cousins”, and Hannah held baby Mae in her arms. Thank God for babies. She could almost forget how bad things were at that moment.
“Emma’s chicken is even fatter, if you can believe that,” Rosie said as she came in the door.
“What’s for dinner?” Ryan asked. “Hey everyone.”
“Probably one of Nana’s casseroles,” Rosie mumbled, leaning over to kiss Olivia on the cheek.
Maggie was infamous for her hotdish dinners, especially her tuna and potato chip concoction. Hannah loved anything Maggie made. Staying with the Boudreaus had been a blessing. Before Georgie came into her life, she had been lost and broken. Now, she might have lost her job, but she was still blessed.
“Dinner’s ready!” Olivia yelled out the door, and Hannah could see the kids running out of the barn just as Georgie and Sam pulled up.
“Let’s go wash up.” Hannah scooped up the baby and carried her to the bathroom.
She sat Mae on the counter and turned on the faucet, pumping soap into her hands. She had started singing the “ABCs”, accompanied by baby cooing, when she heard a new male voice in the kitchen.
A neighbor had probably come to join them for dinner. The family table was often overflowing with friends as well as family.
“Okay, now it’s time to wipe our hands.” She handed Emma a towel, patting her hands dry, catching a glimpse of her reflection. Dark circles discolored the skin around her eyes, and the new crinkles of crows’ feet seemed prominent in the harsh fluorescent light, making her look older. Much older.
What was she going to do? Well, she guessed she’d start looking for another job while Emma was in school. She could probably get something at the diner. Or maybe at the bank? Were they hiring tellers? She was good with numbers.
Mae flung her body around and squirmed to get down out of Hannah’s arms. Olivia was going to have her hands full with this one.
“Come on, let’s go see Mommy.” She spoke in a cheery voice, bouncing the baby high on her hip. “Trot, trot, to Boston. Trot, trot, to Lynn.”
Then she turned the corner, and saw Jake Malloy standing in the middle of the Boudreau kitchen, carrying on a conversation with Georgie and Maggie. The moment he saw her, the smile was wiped from his face, and he stopped talking.
