Mulberry Park

by Judy Duarte

  He could offer to babysit, he supposed, although he wasn’t comfortable doing so. He glanced at his watch. It was already after nine, and he hadn’t heard a peep out of the kids. Maybe they were asleep, which would make it a whole lot easier. Of course, with Walter’s luck, the kids would sense something was wrong and wake up. Then he’d be hard-pressed to know what to do with them.

  “You know,” he said, “you might want to get a hold of that cousin of yours. If she leaves now, she’ll get here just after midnight.”

  “I’d better call my obstetrician first.”

  “Of course.” Why hadn’t Walter suggested that?

  She picked up the phone and dialed the number by rote. While she waited, she covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “A triage nurse will take the call.”

  Okay. Whatever. At least a medical professional would be in charge from here on out.

  Apparently the nurse answered, because Maria began to recite her name and the fact the baby was more than five weeks early.

  “My water just broke,” she added, “and I’ve been having irregular contractions.”

  She listened intently for a moment, which meant the nurse was giving her some direction—thank goodness.

  After she hung up the phone, Walter asked, “Would you like me to watch the kids until your cousin gets here?”

  “No, I think I’ll ask my neighbor to come over. She’s eighty-four and doesn’t get around too well, but she’s responsible. And she’ll do all right if the kids are asleep. The only one who might give her any trouble is Sara, but fortunately, she’s always been a sound sleeper and shouldn’t even stir until morning.” Maria glanced at the stairway that undoubtedly led to the bedrooms, then returned her gaze to Walter. “But would you mind driving me to the hospital?”

  Who? Him?

  There she went looking at him with those big brown peepers again.

  “I’d sure appreciate it.”

  Aw, man. He’d been afraid she was going to ask him to do something like that. What if she was one of those women who delivered in the car on the side of the road?

  Walter glanced at his wristwatch again, noting just a couple of minutes had passed. And the hospital was only nine or ten miles away. Surely, it would take a lot longer than that for her to deliver the baby.

  “Well?” she asked. “What do you say?”

  Walter cleared his throat. “Sure. I don’t mind driving you.” He did, of course. But who else was going to help her out? “How soon can you be ready to go?”

  “I’ll pack some things. Then once Ellie gets here, we can leave.”

  As Maria headed for the stairs, her water dribbled again, leaving a wet trail.

  Walter cleaned it up using the soiled towel he’d left on the floor.

  Before she reached the landing, he asked, “Where do you put the dirty laundry?”

  “I try to keep it done up all the time. Just drop the towel in the washer. If you go into the kitchen, you’ll see the doorway that leads to the service porch. You can’t miss it.”

  She was right. He found it.

  Moments later, a soft knock sounded at the front door, and Walter answered. An elderly woman, stooped with osteoporosis, stood on the porch wearing slippers and a pale blue housecoat. Her gray hair sported spongy pink curlers on top.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Walter Klinefelter, a friend of Maria’s. You must be her neighbor.”

  “Yes. I’m Eleanor Rucker, but call me Ellie. Everyone else does.”

  He stepped aside, and she slowly shuffled into the living room, a tote bag clutched at her side.

  “Where’s Maria?” she asked.

  “Packing.”

  “Poor thing.” Ellie clucked her tongue. “It’s a shame she has to go through this all by herself.”

  “She has a cousin coming from L.A.”

  “Yes, I know. To watch the children.” Eleanor took a seat on the sofa, setting the beige bag on the cushion beside her. “But she’s been through so much this past year—death, divorce. This pregnancy. It just doesn’t seem fair for her to suffer through childbirth alone.”

  Walter quit expecting things to be fair a long time ago, but he held his tongue.

  About that time, Maria entered the living room carrying an overnight bag in one hand and a pale green towel in the other.

  Walter nodded at the cloth. “I already got the mess cleaned up for you.”

  “I know, but this is for me to sit on in the truck.”

  Great. Walter hadn’t thought about that. Not that he was fussy about his pickup. But it just reminded him of the possibilities that could occur in the next fifteen minutes.

  “Thanks for coming over,” Maria told the neighbor.

  “You’re lucky I’m still here. There’ll be a FOR SALE sign in front of my house before you know it.”

  Maria strode to the elderly woman and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I am fortunate that you’re still here, Ellie. You’ve been a wonderful neighbor. It’s a real comfort knowing you’re just a few steps away.” Then Maria turned to Walter. “I’m sure glad you stopped by tonight.”

  He supposed she was, but he didn’t feel especially noble. All he wanted to do was get her to the hospital, where someone knew which end was up.

  “I called Rita while I was in the bedroom,” Maria said. “She’s leaving now, but it will take her a few hours to get here.”

  “That’s okay.” Ellie patted her tote bag. “I brought some reading material.”

  Maria walked to a bookshelf near the television, removed a videotape and put it into the player. “Just in case Sara wakes up, and I really doubt she will, she loves this cartoon. If you’ll sit beside her on the sofa, she’ll watch it over and over. All you have to do is turn the TV on and press Play on the remote.”

  “All right,” Ellie said. “That’s easy enough. Now you go on. And don’t worry about a thing.”

  Yeah, right, Walter thought. He figured Maria had plenty to worry about. But he wouldn’t mention that. “Ellie’s right. We probably ought to get going.”

  Maria agreed, but before she could take a step, her breath caught and she nearly doubled over—another pain gripping her.

  Walter stood by, frozen and completely helpless.

  A minute or two later, Maria blew out a long, staggering breath, then straightened. “That was a bad one. Maybe we’d better get out of here.”

  As Walter escorted her outside, he wondered what the chances were of her giving birth before they got to the hospital. Slim to none, he hoped.

  But then again, what were the odds that he would wind up escorting two different women to Pacifica General within days of each other?

  No wonder he felt like the butt of some big, celestial practical joke.

  Maria had expected Walter to drop her off at the hospital, then go about his business. Instead, he’d parked and gone inside with her. She had to admit that she was glad he had and told him as much.

  Maybe that’s why he’d hung out while she’d registered, saying he’d become an old hand at this.

  She’d had a couple of contractions during the wait for the clerk, a tall young man with spiky red hair and a splash of freckles, to input her information in the computer, which seemed to be processing incredibly slowly. The clerk studied the computer screen intently, yet was typing with hunt-and-peck strokes.

  “Can’t you see she’s in pain?” Walter asked.

  “Yes, sir. If you’ll just wait a moment, I’ll get one of the other clerks to help me. I’ve only been working here for two days.”

  Walter stiffened as though he wanted to voice a complaint, yet kept still.

  “Uh-oh.” Maria braced herself for another contraction, this one harder and more vicious than the others. As the tearing pain eased, she glanced at Walter, who was watching her with apprehension. She appreciated the fact that he’d stuck by her side for so long, but when she opened her mouth to tell him so, tears welled in her eyes and emotion clo
gged her throat before any words could form.

  “Hey.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be all right.”

  She wanted to believe him. She really did. But it was all so overwhelming, and she wasn’t just talking about the pain.

  “I’m sorry,” she managed to say.

  “Don’t think anything of it.”

  “I’m really glad you’re here, but I realize this can’t be much fun for you. So I understand if you want to go.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Walter asked.

  “I’ll be all right.” A tear slid down her cheek, followed by a second and a third. “Really.”

  He studied her face, as though looking for evidence of the lie and spotting it dead center.

  The clerk returned with an older woman at his side. “Did you preregister?” the woman asked.

  Maria nodded. “My doctor gave me forms to fill out, and I sent them in last week.”

  “That’s what I thought.” The woman sat in the clerk’s seat, then clicked on the keyboard. “Name?”

  “Maria Rodriguez.”

  “You’re in here already.” She pointed out something to the newbie clerk, then called for an orderly. “We’ll get you upstairs to Maternity. They’re expecting you.”

  When a dark-haired man in blue scrubs offered Maria a wheelchair, she carefully got to her feet, then took a seat.

  “Come this way,” the orderly told Walter.

  Maria expected him to balk, and although he didn’t immediately jump, he did tag along.

  “I’ll just wait and make sure they decide to keep you,” he said.

  Three hours later, Walter was still sitting at her bedside. And she was in no hurry to see him leave.

  The last time the nurse had checked, Maria was four centimeters dilated and the baby’s head was right where it was supposed to be.

  She was in active labor, and the contractions were coming hard and strong. The last one was incredibly rough, and when it had passed, Walter reached over and pushed the red button that would call the nurse.

  “What are you doing?” Maria asked.

  “Getting you some relief from this torture.”

  The nurse, a petite blonde in her late forties, responded to the call. “Can I help you?”

  Walter stood. “She’s in terrible pain. Can’t you give her something for it?”

  “We can give her an epidural, but her paperwork stated that she didn’t want one.”

  “It’s not covered by my insurance plan,” Maria said, as another contraction began to rip her apart.

  “Don’t worry about the cost. If it’ll help and you want it, I’ll pay for it.” Walter reached into his pocket, pulled out a small roll of bills held together by a red rubber band and flashed it at the nurse. “I may not have enough cash on me, but I’ve got a credit card.”

  “You can settle up with the hospital when she’s discharged,” the nurse said. “In the meantime, I’ll call in an anesthesiologist.”

  When she left the room, her shoes squeaking upon the tile floor, Walter turned to Maria and waited until the last pain had subsided.

  “Will they knock you out?” he asked.

  “No. I’ll be awake.”

  “If it were me, I think I’d rather take a blow to the head with a baseball bat than suffer those pains. Are you sure you don’t want them to put you to sleep until it’s all over? I’ll be happy to pay if it’s an additional charge.”

  “Even if I wanted to be put out, they don’t want the baby to be drugged when he comes into the world. And since he’s coming early, he’ll have enough to struggle with.”

  “Oh.” Walter took his seat. “Poor little guy.”

  Maria had to agree. “You know, I’ve really been stressed about being pregnant. And now that the baby is almost here…”

  “Being single with three kids to support would be stressful for anyone. But don’t worry. You’re a good mother. I’ve seen you at the park. And not just with your own little ones. You’re good to Trevor and Analisa, too.”

  She blew out a sigh. “It’s not that I don’t love my children or care about their friends. It’s just that I’ve…” It was tough to admit. And she wasn’t sure if she could. “It’s just that there were times, months ago, when I wouldn’t have cared if I’d miscarried. Isn’t that terrible? And I’m afraid the baby will somehow know that.”

  “I wouldn’t worry. His brain can’t be developed enough to know anything other than hunger or pain.”

  “I hope you’re right. But he was unplanned, and I may lose my house because of the financial burden having another baby has created. I hate his father for doing this to me and I just can’t seem to find it in my heart to love this poor helpless baby who didn’t ask to be born.” She glanced at Walter, wondering what he thought of her now that she’d told him the awful truth, the secret that darkened her heart.

  He merely stared at the monitor. “Get ready. Here we go again.”

  Oh, no. Not another one. As the pain gripped her, she couldn’t have said more if she’d wanted to, and she struggled not to cry out and chase Walter away.

  When the contraction finally ended and she was granted an all-too-brief reprieve, she decided to keep the rest of her thoughts and feelings to herself. Walter didn’t need to know about the guilt she carried, the fear she had that this unfortunate child would grow up feeling unloved and unwanted. That he’d eventually become a hoodlum or worse. And that it would be her fault if he did.

  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of doom and despair that plagued her.

  “So what’s his name?” Walter asked.

  The question shouldn’t have blindsided her, but it did. “I don’t know. Isn’t that sad? It’s like a part of me wants to pretend this isn’t happening.”

  “I hate to be the one to blow the whistle on your fantasy…” He half-chuckled, then leaned back in his seat, threading his fingers together and resting his hands on his belly. “You know, under the circumstances, I think this little fellow deserves a strong name, something he can grow into and live up to.”

  He was right, of course. “What do you suggest?”

  “Well, let me think on it some.”

  After several more contractions, the anesthesiologist walked in, promising the pain would soon be a thing of the past. Maria just hoped that, along with the epidural, the doctor would inject a flood of maternal hormones into her, something that would make everything fall into place and ensure that she would love her baby once she held him in her arms.

  The anesthesiologist had introduced himself, but she’d been so wrapped up in her pain and her pitiful situation, that she couldn’t remember his name. It didn’t matter, she supposed. He lapsed into a short speech about the possible complications, but at this point, Maria didn’t care.

  Walter, on the other hand, appeared pale and hesitant.

  Someone—the short, blond nurse?—pulled the screen, and Walter, as he’d done whenever Maria had been examined, stepped behind it to allow her privacy. Each time he’d gotten to his feet, she’d expected him to excuse himself and leave her to have the baby alone. But he’d waited—bless his heart.

  Before long, Maria, who’d been curled up like a rolypoly to receive the shot in her spine, was allowed to ease back onto the bed. And as the pain finally lifted, the doctor left and Walter returned to his seat.

  “You have no idea how much I appreciate you,” Maria told Walter. “And to repay your kindness, I’ll fix you dinner every night for a year.”

  He chuckled. “Be careful, now. You’re all doped up, so you might want to think that over. I’m not a very good cook and would probably take you up on that offer.”

  Maria studied the kindly old man seated at her bedside, noting that the blue of his eyes softened the craggy lines of his face. “Maybe you ought to volunteer to work here, Walter. You’d be a real blessing to someone going through this kind of thing alone.”

  “No way. I hate hospit
als.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  He didn’t return her smile. Instead, he stared at the fetal monitor.

  “You feeling that?” he asked.

  “Just some pressure. No pain.”

  “Amazing. I guess we should have asked for that epidural sooner, huh?”

  We. A grin tickled her lips. Who would have thought that the old man at the park would have stepped in to be her labor coach?

  “Thanks for being here, Walter. I was prepared to do this on my own, but it’s nice having someone with me.”

  “Mind if I ask where your husband is? It doesn’t seem right that he isn’t being supportive. After all, it’s his baby, too.”

  “My husband couldn’t be here, even if he wanted to.”

  “Why not?”

  “Two reasons. First of all, I wouldn’t allow him in this room. And secondly because he’s in prison.”

  Other than a deepening of the furrowed lines in his brow, Walter didn’t react immediately. Finally, he turned to her. “What’d he do?”

  Besides being a liar and a cheating husband?

  “He killed someone.”

  Chapter 14

  “He killed someone?”

  Walter hadn’t exactly asked for details, but his brow twitched, and Maria knew he was curious, so she explained. “He was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but it should have been murder. A man died because of his actions.”

  For some reason, Maria felt compelled to tell Walter the whole sordid mess. And why shouldn’t she? She wasn’t going anywhere. And apparently, neither was Walter.

  “His name is Ray Huddleston, and I met him one summer in Los Angeles while visiting my cousin, Rita. He was a hunk and the heartthrob of every girl in the neighborhood. So when he chose me, I was…flattered. And after a whirlwind courtship that lasted less than two months, he asked me to marry him.” She fingered the edge of the sheet that covered the bulk of her belly, then turned her head, saw that Walter was listening intently. “Tía Sofía, the aunt who raised me, warned me to stay away from him, but I was in love.”