Читать книгу Just Breathe - Honey Perkel - Страница 9

“Are you sitting down, Harriet?” she asked.

“Yes,” I responded. I really wasn’t sitting, but I didn’t see what difference it would make. Why was she calling me? Hadn’t I just spoken to her days before?

“I just got word there’s a six-week-old baby in perfect health, who needs a home. Are you interested?”

Maybe I did need a chair, I suddenly thought. My legs grew weak and shaky. A baby.

“A boy or a girl?” It didn’t make a difference.

“A boy.” Her voice was smiling.

A son. A baby named Brian. Bob and I had chosen the names years before. Elizabeth Ann, for my grandmother and mother, if we had a girl. Brian William for my Uncle Bernie and Bob’s father, if we had a boy.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. With no morning sickness and no labor pains, I was becoming a mother! I’d paid the price in the past few years with all of that. I’d done the work. And the prize was now in sight.

Of course, we had absolutely nothing ready for the nursery. Not even a crib or diapers. My mind began to spin as a myriad of thoughts raced through my head: the Hawaiian barbecue and all its preparations just two days away, the young couple who’d turned away a newborn baby because he had red hair, all my miscarriages and dreams. They had brought me to this moment.

“Of course, we’re interested!” I exclaimed.

Karen laughed. “Nicholas is in foster care. You and Bob will need to drive to Eugene to see him. A caseworker will meet you tomorrow afternoon at one.”

I made scratchy notes on a pad, willing myself to take a deep breath. Breathe, baby, I told myself. My heart raced and my chest pounded as I tried to control my feelings.

I felt a rush of happiness as I replaced the telephone receiver. First I called Bob, then my mom, and finally, I made a mad dash to Laura’s house to tell her the incredible news.

It was a hot afternoon as I hurried across the thick, green lawn and made my way to the back door. As friendly neighbors often do, Laura and I sometimes joked about cutting a hole in the hedge our two properties shared. It would’ve been greatly appreciated at a time like this.

I called out to Laura.

“I’m downstairs!” she yelled back.

I descended the steps into the cool basement below. Laura was sorting remnants of baby items, which hadn’t sold at her recent sale. I told her about the baby, well, screamed it in fact, and we stood there hugging each other. Laughing and crying. Then Laura and I began the busy task of piling up things I’d need. An assortment of clothes. Baby bottles. Even a changing table. And the crib! It was still leaning up against the wall at the bottom of the staircase, just waiting for Brian.