by Natalie Ann
When Joey returned, fully dressed, she asked him, “What does Mr. Colecki do?”
“He’s a nurse in the ER at Palomar,” Joey said.
“Ah! I thought I recognized the name.”
“Right! Because your husband is chief over there.”
“They organized a fun run together last year. Anyway, that was nice of her to drop in on you like that. I think.”
“It was okay, Fran. I promise. She’s just trying to help out.”
“Hmmm. Okay, whatever you say, Joey. Anyway, what can I do to help?”
“Really? I’ll take you up on it. All of her baby things need to be put away if you’re in the mood to do that. We didn’t get a chance to do much last night because of the impromptu party. My family doesn’t always think these things through.”
“I thought it was very nice,” Fran said. “Coming from a family of three, it was most welcoming. And I really appreciate it that you thought to call us over.”
“Of course. Anyway, you have her sleeping already? Wow, I’ll remember this. So yes, if you want to help me in the bedroom…”
She followed him back to the master bedroom, and they spent the next half hour organizing baby things.
“I see what she needs,” Fran said, her finger on her chin. “I’ll run out now and pick up a few things. Can I get you anything else while I’m out?”
“I’ll give you a list, actually. I’ll be right back.”
While he went hunting for paper and pencil, Fran got on the phone and sent her daughter a text.
All’s well. The nurse left right after I arrived. We organized the baby’s things, and I’m going to run out and shop for Joey. Talk later?
He came back with his list. “It’s just a few things that I know will make Candy happy if she sees them.”
Fran read the list: newborn diapers, Similac formula, Diet Pepsi, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips. “Do you really want the chips in the house?” Fran asked with a sneer.
“I do. They’re for me, anyway,” he lied.
“Don’t enable her, Joey,” Fran said, aware that she might be crossing a line of disloyalty to her daughter.
“I’m not and she’s fine, Fran. She’s pregnant and is still careful. Plus she’s healthy. Her weight has never been an issue with me. Never. I love her body, if you must know.” He snickered, hoping it hit its mark.
“Well, that’s good because, well, just because.” She swallowed the snarky comment she was about to spew, sure that Candy would pack on the pounds in the coming months.
“It’ll be okay,” he said, wishing she’d leave for the store. “I’m going to work out in the garage. I’ll take the monitor with me.”
The comments Fran made were her usual as the controlling mother, and he felt sorry for his wife. If Fran made such a huge deal about a bag of taco chips, what must it have been like for Candy growing up? He’d seen pictures of her as a child, and she had been a chubby, adorable little girl.
“You might think I’m being mean,” Fran said, following him. “But I know Candy. She’s always battled with her weight. Even as a baby. When she was two, she weighed fifty pounds!”
Joey spun around and glared at Fran. “What are you saying? That she climbed up into the refrigerator and fixed her own food? Or did someone shove it in her mouth to shut her up? Instead of giving her the attention she wanted, you just kept feeding her and feeding her until she was the size of a five-year-old?”
Stunned that he’d crossed her, Fran’s hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. “Joey! That’s an awful thing to say. I did feed her, but she cried for food. I was a stay-at-home mom, you know. I didn’t go out drinking with my girlfriends like some of my neighbors.”
That was a slap at Roberta. Now his turn to be stunned, Joey didn’t know what to say to her. If he reprimanded her for the comment, it would end badly. He could feel the anger bubbling up. The smart thing would be to end the conversation. Just ignore her. If he insulted her so that she left mad, Candy would never forgive him.
Instead, he turned around and headed to the garage.
“Look, I’m sorry I’m harping about this,” she said, unrelenting. “I just don’t want her to gain all that weight back that she worked so hard to lose before the wedding.”
“Fran, with all due respect, lay off Candy, okay? You’re not the food police. After you’re done with her, it takes me a couple of days to build up her self-confidence again.”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” she cried.
“If you repeat it, I’m telling her what you said.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Are you shopping for me or not?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ll go, but I’m only getting the baby items. I saw what Candy ate last night. That was enough food to choke a pig. Who brought all that garbage here? A sheet cake? A giant pan of spaghetti? It was enough for thirty people!”
“Fran, my family brought the food, and there were a housefull of people here. Chill out. Bob ate his share, if we’re taking notes.”
“And he was up all night with acid indigestion.”
“I’m going into the garage now,” he said, holding up the monitor.
She turned on her heel and marched off. Standing in the garage next to a weight machine, the wheels began to turn in Joey’s head. Why did she even show up? Then he remembered Candy had called him, and he’d told her Sherrie was there. Did she get Fran to intercede?
Forgetting about the Bowflex, he went back into the house to call Candy.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Your mother was just here,” he said. “It got a little heated, actually. I thought I’d better warn you in case she calls and says I was rude.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry, Joey. What happened?”
“Before I get into that, did you send her over here to spy on Sherrie?”
Taking her by surprise, the comment made her wonder if Fran had blabbed. Deny it until proven otherwise. “No, did she say I did?”
“No, nothing like that. She asked if she could run to the store for me, and I gave her a list of baby stuff and then added tortilla chips. That did not go over well.”
“Yep, old Fran, the food cop. Don’t let it get to you, okay? I need to run but will talk to you soon.”
“Love you,” he said.
“Kiss, kiss.”
She smiled at the phone and ended the call before calling her mother.
“I’m at Vons,” Fran said. “What brand of diaper do you want?”
“I don’t care. Thank you for shopping, Mom, but don’t make trouble for me, okay?”
“Oh, did his hunkiness call you? I didn’t mention in my text that when I got there, he didn’t have a shirt on, did I?”
“Mom, Joey never wears a shirt. He was probably in bed when that nurse stopped by.”
“You must be concerned, or you wouldn’t have asked me to go over there.”
“I’m very concerned,” Candy said. “I don’t trust her.”
“You know I think Daddy set up the health fair with her husband. I recognize the name. Colecki.”
“Interesting. Anyway, thank you for shopping for me, and be nice to Joey.”
“Okay, I’ll try. He’s a smart-ass down deep inside.”
“Only when you’re around, Mom.”
She hung up from the call, and when she turned around, she almost smacked into Terry Bono.
“Didn’t you ever hear about personal space?” she asked, backing away from him.
“Have coffee with me.”
“Terry, no. Don’t ask me again. You’re walking a fine line with me and you know it.”
“I’m sorry. Give me another chance. I just want to be friends.”
“Forget it. It’s too late for that. Now step aside.”
He listened to her and moved away, worried that she’d file a complaint. One of the nurse managers had given him a warning that morning to leave Candy alone, or else she’d report him to his attending. Evidently, his treatment
of Candy had become fodder for hospital gossip. Candy had more important things to do, however, than waste a second complaining about Terry Bono. Ignoring him had become second nature.
What she was worried about was Sherri Colecki. She didn’t want her hanging around Joey when Candy wasn’t home. Drumming up the courage to confront Joey that evening would occupy her thoughts when she wasn’t examining babies at the hospital. Thinking about Joey also took the edge off the sadness some of the babies evoked. Each one had a story to tell; they were born with problems, or contracted them after birth, or acquired them from their caregivers or from accidents or preventable circumstances. She knew one thing for sure, as overwhelming as their problems were, treating infants, neonatology, would become her specialty.
Some of the things she saw during this rotation, birth defects especially, frightened the hell out of her, the worry for her own unborn microscopic human amplified with each newborn encounter. Priorities took shape, and baby Saint was at the top, followed by a close second, its father, and on down, and Terry Bono didn’t even make the cut.
That night she drove through the empty driveway to the garage. Joey was lifting weights inside, and it was his smiling face she saw first when the door opened.
“Wow, what a gorgeous sight to see first,” she called out, climbing out of the car.
“Let me finish this set,” he grunted, and she stopped to watch his abdominal muscles and his arms and his shoulders and everything else respond to each movement.
“No rush, as long as I can watch.”
When he was done, he grabbed a towel and wiped off his face, leaning forward to kiss her hello. “Don’t get too close.”
“My mother said you were lifting earlier,” she said, hoping to get him to talk more about the visit.
“I didn’t get to finish because someone woke up.”
He pointed to a storage shelf, and she saw the baby, awake in her seat, gnawing on her hands.
“Ha! I didn’t even see her there!” She went right over to Annie. “Are you hungry?”
“She might be. She’s only had a bottle every hour since lunch. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s not something wrong with her.”
“She’s probably having a growth spurt. I’d better wash up before I touch her.” Setting her bags down, she reached for the seat. “Come on, princess. I might have missed you a little bit today.”
“Aw, that’s so nice,” Joey said. “Do you like her?”
“I think I do.”
He picked up her bags and followed her inside.
“I’ll get a shower now,” she said. “Then I’ll feed her and give you a break. I have to look over my notes, but I can do that later. I’m not as tired today as I’ve been. I hope I’m moving out of that stage.”
“That’s great!”
“Yeah, it was horrible. I’ll be right out.”
Everything looked good in the house. Joey didn’t do a lot on his days off. Before they were married, he’d hung around with his family or run errands with his dad if he was off, too. Now that he had his own house and Annie, he’d kept busy puttering.
She saw a bag of tortilla chips on the counter. So Fran had come through. Back in the bedroom, the alcove/nursery was organized, evidence that Fran had helped him after all.
In the bathroom, she stripped and got into the shower before the water had warmed, the cold stream waking her up. She stuck her head under it, putting her face into the spray.
“Can I join you?”
“Yikes, you scared me. Sure, come in.”
He held her by the shoulder and looked her up and down, smiling. “You know what this means, right?”
“I think so,” she said, playing dumb, squinting up at the ceiling. “Does it involve this?” She reached down and caressed him, smiling up at him with her eyes shut.
“That, and this.” He bent down to kiss her breasts. “I might not be able to wait.”
“We can do it here,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Let’s do it here.”
The water had warmed up, and running over their bodies, it made everything wet and wonderful, and he slid right into her, moaning. “That feels so good.”
They were finished and lathering up when she heard the baby. “She waited for us to make love.”
“Ha! I think we were just lucky,” Joey said.
“I’ll get her,” she replied, getting out first.
When Joey came out, she had her hair up in a towel, wearing a terrycloth robe and sitting in the rocker, feeding the baby.
“Wow, what a sight,” Joey said. “You take my breath away.”
“Aw, that’s so nice.”
“What do you want for dinner?”
“Let’s eat leftovers from last night.”
“There’s lasagna,” he said. “And salad and garlic bread.”
“Joey, tell me about Sherrie being here today.”
He pulled on sweatpants and sat on the edge of the bed.
“My mother tells me when she got here, you weren’t wearing a shirt.”
“You know how I am.”
“I do know that, and I told her. But when you’re in the house alone with another woman, I’m not comfortable with that. I’m not comfortable with her being here unless I’m home.”
She sensed he felt backed into a corner, and she didn’t care at that point. “If you’re lonely, get your mother or one of your brothers over here.”
“What am I supposed to do if she comes to the door again?”
“Don’t let her in. If you can’t tell her, I will. I don’t want her around you. If I’m being unreasonable, too bad. If you’re upset about it, you’d better figure out why.”
“She doesn’t mean anything to me,” Joey finally said.
“In that case, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to never talk to her again unless I’m around.”
Her phone beeped and she picked it up. It was from her mother. Daddy says Ronnie Colecki told him he’s getting a divorce.
“Okay! Now we’re getting somewhere. This is a text from my mother telling me that Sherrie and her husband are getting a divorce. I’m not as dumb as I look.”
Joey stood up and started to pace. “I never said you were dumb,” he snapped. “Stop putting yourself down.”
The baby had finished the bottle and was sleeping in her arms. A sense of relief washed over her. She’d allowed her husband to bring this little baby into their lives in spite of the timing being awful. She was a good wife. It wasn’t appropriate for Sherrie Colecki to hang around. But Candy knew that Joey had taken it as far as he was willing to go. Tomorrow, she’d take matters into her own hands and confront Sherrie.
“Okay, we’re done talking about it,” Candy said. “After we eat, I’ll take over here so you can have your me time. Ha! Like they talk about on women’s television.”
“I don’t need that. I’ll stay in here with you.”
“Let’s eat and then you can decide. You might need some straight brain-wave time while I read over my notes.”
He held his hand out for her. “To my father’s lasagna,” he said. “A spiritual experience awaits.”
“Yes, it most certainly does.”
The next day, she left Joey in bed feeding Annie, who had ostensibly slept through the night again, eating at midnight and waking up at five. She had a little more time and made a lunch of the last of the salad from the party. At the hospital, she followed Terry around with the rest of the students, making rounds, talking to parents and nurses.
Then in the ICU, she saw Sherrie, who stiffened up when she saw Candy. That was not the greeting she’d expected from Sherrie, who’d always run to her, gushing. Figuring she’d probably gotten the brush-off from Joey, she’d investigate.
When they were done the round in the unit, she approached Sherrie. “What’s going on?”
“I talked to Joey, and he told me what you said. That’s pretty selfish of you, actually.”
Confused by that, she didn’t add
ress it. Instead, she stated facts. “My father is chief of surgery over at Palomar. Ronnie told him you were getting a divorce. If you want to check up on the baby, make an appointment when both of us are home. Don’t go to my home again without an invitation.”
She waited, and Sherrie didn’t respond, glaring at her. “I’ll call CPS if you continue to interfere, Sherrie.”
“I’m not going there again. Joey already warned me.”
Grinning, Candy walked away, letting her have the last word.
Chapter Eight
The next few days were a little dicey with both Candy and Joey at work, but they’d discovered Baby Habitat one mile from their house, highly recommended by their neighbors who relied on them for childcare.
On the days Joey worked, Candy discovered it only took fifteen extra minutes to get the baby to daycare if she took extra care at night preparing. She’d packed the diaper bag with everything, including bottles, and stuck the entire thing in the fridge, so all she had to do was grab it before they left the house.
Only one night had been dicey when Annie decided at midnight it was party time. Candy quickly learned that if she was fed and dry, she was fine left in her crib so Candy could get some sleep.
Nanette Clark, a social worker from CPS, had become friends with the Saints during the first week they’d had Annie in their care. Then at the beginning of the second week, their nightmare began.
Joey was home for his four-day stretch. That night at seven, they were into their routine when they got a group text from Nanette.
Can I come up? I’m out in front.
“Oh God.”
“Don’t get upset, not yet anyway,” Joey said, leading the way to the front door, with Annie in his arms.
Looking grim, Nanette was on the porch with an unfamiliar man. “This is my partner, Frank Hogan. Can we come in?”
They stood aside to let them get by. “She looks so content.”
“She’s amazing,” Candy said. “I was here alone with her this weekend because Joey was at the firehouse, and we had fun together.”
“Candy, Joey, I’m so sorry to have to tell you this. The judge reversed his custody order and is reinstating Kathy Miller’s parental rights.”
