So where was the baby’s mother? Lee burned with curiosity, but couldn’t think of a way to ask without seeming as if she were prying. Pearly wouldn’t hesitate just to ask, but Lee couldn’t, so she said nothing.
The silence didn’t feel awkward. They simply rocked and stared out at the dark expanse.
Adam was the first one to speak again. “I was sorry to hear when your grandmother passed away. She was a true lady.”
It had been five years, but Lee still missed her grandmother’s gentle presence in her life. “Thank you. How did you hear?”
“I have the Erie paper mailed to me in New York. I didn’t want to lose my connection to this place. I had some happy memories here.”
“Oh.”
“I saw the article about Singer’s Treasures last month. I didn’t know you were the up-and-coming artist they were talking about until I saw your picture. You won the Jones Award for Art. That was impressive. I almost called to congratulate you.”
“Really?” He’d followed her through the paper? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
As if he sensed her feelings, he said, “It’s not as if I got the paper to monitor you.”
“I never thought that,” she denied.
“You wondered if maybe I was some sort of stalker.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He tsk-tsked.
Really, tsk-tsked, like Pearly Gates would tsktsk someone.
“You sound like an old woman,” she said, teasing him. “Tsk-tsk, deary, and all that.”
“Picking on me already, Singer? As I recall, you were always picking on me.”
“Funny,” she said, “I seem to remember it the other way around.”
“Rather than argue who was the pickee and who was the picker, I’ll say good night. Jessie gets up very early. She hates to miss out on anything by sleeping.”
“Good night,” Lee said.
She watched him walk back to his place. When his cottage door shut, she went back in as well and went to bed. When she finally slept, she dreamed the same dream she’d had regularly since that morning when she was ten.
A dark, shadowy figure of a man leaning down toward her whispering her grandmother’s words, “Magic does exist.”
For the first time in a long time, she wished she could believe it were true.
The room was bright when Lee opened her eyes the next morning.
Way too bright.
And loud.
Normally the only sounds in the morning were the waves and maybe an occasional bird. Today, something was disturbing the usual peace and quiet.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Lee groaned as she crawled out of bed. She’d tossed and turned all night—not because she’d had a repeat nightmare. Instead, every time she did manage to fall asleep, she saw him.
The dark man of her dreams.
It was disturbing.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Her sleep-muddled mind slowly cleared and she realized that the noise was someone pounding at the door.
Pulling on an old robe, she went and opened it. Adam stood, holding his squirmy baby.
“I woke you,” he said. “I’m sorry. Go back to bed.” He turned around, as if he were going to leave.
“Don’t be silly. It’s way past time I was up. Do you want some coffee?”
“I’d love some, but I don’t have time. I have a teleconference.”
“It’s Sunday.”
“I know, but this last month has been crazy. The talk is about two weeks overdue, so I took it when I could. Unfortunately, I foolishly thought I could manage it with Jessie, but she’s bent on exploring the new house. She’s already unrolled all the toilet paper, emptied out the bottom cupboard, and—”
“I get the picture. You want me to watch her while you finish your meeting?”
“I was hoping you might. I mean, I know it’s an imposition. I’d be happy to pay you. It’s just this is important and I have to—”
Part of Lee wanted to say, No…I don’t do babies. But Adam looked slightly desperate, and the toddler was adorable. Blond hair in a wild, Eienstein-ish style, with light blue eyes and a huge smile.
Just because Lee had decided not to have children didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy other people’s.
“Go ahead and go,” she said. “I’m sure I can handle…” She paused. “Jessie, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Jessie.” He handed her the baby.
Lee felt the old familiar stab of pain as she took Jessie in her arms. After all this time, she’d hoped the ache would lessen, but it hadn’t. And she was beginning to suspect it never would.
Adam set a bag on the floor. “There are diapers, some Cheerios, some toys…”
“We’ll figure it out. Just go.”
“Thanks,” he called as he sprinted back across the short bit of yard that separated the two cottages.
“Well,” Lee said, studying the beautiful little girl in her arms. “Maybe I should introduce myself, Miss Jessie. I’m Lee. I knew your daddy way back when. He was Matty then. And though he might think you’re a handful, let me assure you, he was worse.”
The toddler babbled. Lee thought she caught an occasional real word in the mix, but she thought that might be wishful interpretation on her part.
“Want to help me make some coffee?” The next burst of babble seemed to be positive, so Lee assumed Jessie’s answer was a yes.
“Good. I’m absolutely worthless without a jolt of caffeine in the morning.”
Half an hour later, Lee had managed to dress…just barely. In the time it took her to slip a T-shirt over her head, Jessie had run across the hall to the bathroom and unrolled half the toilet-paper roll.
“My grandmother would have said, ‘she’s full of piss and vinegar, that one.’ I never quite figured out what that meant, but having met you, I believe I have an inkling.”
Jessie didn’t seem to take offense. She started shredding the long string of paper into smaller gobs.
“I think it might be better if we found something to entertain you,” Lee said. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”
Jessie cooed her agreement and Lee scooped her up. She was enveloped in the scent of freshly washed baby again. She inhaled deeply and felt tears well in her eyes as an all too familiar pain asserted itself.
She brushed the tears away and tried to ignore all the what-could-have-beens as she concentrated on the what-was.
And what-was today was a beautiful blue sky, a warm spring sun and Jessie, who seemed eager to embrace her new temporary home.
“Come on, Jessie,” Lee said, and they left the cottage.
Adam was pacing. He knew that it wouldn’t help, but he had so much nervous energy.
Where could Lee have taken Jessie?
He shouldn’t have trusted Jessie with her. He’d known Lee years ago, but he had no way of knowing