by Judy Baer
“Molly, dear, I didn’t raise all you children and live with your father’s family without getting some people smarts. I know a good match when I see it. Now go home, both of you.”
“What about cleaning up? Clay can go. I’ll stay to help.”
“Nonsense. Your father is going to help me.” She twinkled. “It’s the least he can do for inviting that crowd to our house.” She waved us off. “Scoot. The two of you.”
And we did, before Mother could change her mind.
“Can I give you a ride home?” Clay asked.
“I’ve got my own—” I glanced down the street. “Where’s my car?”
Before Clay could answer, the front door of the house swung open again.
“Molly,” my mother said, “Caboose borrowed your car. He said you should get a ride home. Geri can stay here until morning. Do you want your father to…”
“I’ll take her,” Clay said quickly.
Mom nodded and closed the door.
“The insanity never ends.” I sighed. “I’m sorry about this.”
“I’m not.”
I tried not to put too much interpretation into those two words, but I couldn’t help myself.
He wants to be with me! He’s going to ease up on his stance at the hospital because of this. We can start to see each other…. Something more permanent… Aunt Siobhan wants a doctor in the family….
I rode in a haze of fantasy all the way to my house.
“Here we are.”
I reached for the door handle before realizing that Clay was making no move to leave the car. I put my hand back in my lap.
“Maybe you don’t want to answer this,” he began, frowning. “If you don’t, just tell me it’s none of my business. What’s the deal with you and Tony?”
I stared at him. “What does Tony have to do with anything?”
“You two are obviously…you know.” He squirmed as if the leather car seat was shrinking beneath his girth.
“No, I don’t think I do. What are you talking about?”
“Love sonnets? Kisses? His being overprotective every time I’m around? He’s a better guard dog than Hildy. He’s got a Keep Away sign posted on you that’s a mile high.”
That’s how Clay saw it?
“He’s one of my best friends in the world, that’s all. He’s asked me to marry him for so long that it’s a constantly running joke. Tony’s biggest concern for me is that he doesn’t want to see me get hurt.”
“Why is he so edgy around me?”
I felt a flush bleeding through my body. “Maybe he thinks you’re…dangerous.”
“You mean he believes that you might be susceptible to my latent, highly inconspicuous charm?”
My heart did a flip at the expression in those expressive blue eyes. “Apparently so. Your charms aren’t that inconspicuous.” I paused. “Or else he’s afraid you’ll chase me out of Bradshaw or sour me on being a doula, or both.”
He pondered this bit of information but kept his conclusions to himself. “I’ll walk you in.” Clay rounded the door to my side, and as always—except in the birthing room—he was a perfect gentleman.
Hildy gave a single welcoming woof, having already put the sound of Clay’s car under Friendly in her mental data bank.
Suddenly I was fantasizing about what it could be like for Clay and me. He’d thought Tony and I were romantically linked. He cared that we might be!
I floated into the house without touching the ground.
When I fell asleep, I was sheltered in the billowy bliss of cloud nine, my dreams sweet with the idea of harmony between Clay and myself.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dreams may come true. Nightmares certainly do.
I floated through Sunday in a rosy haze, unable to believe what had happened between Clay and me on Saturday night. He’d been everything I’d hoped when he let down his dour shell and revealed the man he could be—funny, perceptive, charming, gracious, patient and altogether delightful.
Aunt Siobhan left a voice message for me while I was at church that underscored the success of the previous evening. “Molly, that’s a wonderful young man you brought to your parents’ last night. I hope to see more of him. Much more of him.” Having Aunt Siobhan endorse Clay was a stamp of approval equal to that of Clay asking my father for my hand in marriage.
I spent most of the afternoon polishing nails, mine and Geri’s, trying new looks for my hair and experimenting with the items in my makeup bag that I rarely use. I’m not typically so self-indulgent, but last night with Clay had made me feel more playful than I had in a long, long time.
It wasn’t until Emily Hancock called that I realized my future might not be as rosy as I was imagining.
“Hi, Molly, how are you?”
“The real question is how are you and your baby?”
Emily giggled like a teenager. “I cannot tell you how ecstatic we are or how much fun we are having. We have a new lease on life.” She hesitated before adding, “This child has brought my husband and me closer to each other in so many ways. We’re like newlyweds, Molly.”
“And how are your friends and family?”
She burst out laughing. “Envious! My friends are here every day to hold the baby. They’ve all noticed a change in us and are amazed by it.”
“So they don’t think you’re crazy anymore?”
“Crazy in love with my baby and my husband. But I should get to the real reason I called. You, of course, know that my husband, Charles, is on the board at Bradshaw Medical and…”
“He is?” I was shocked. “I had no idea.”
“I never told you? I thought I had.”
“So that’s why you said you’d met Everett Bradshaw and his wife.” And were able to be so blunt with Clay.
“Yes. We’ve been to their home several times over the years. A lovely couple. That’s why I’m calling. I’ve been raving to Charles about you, and now that he’s met you, he’s a fan of yours, as well. He thinks you should be getting the word out about the women who work as doulas.”
“I’m doing my best.”
“I know that, but my husband thinks on a grand scale and he’s come up with a wonderful plan.”
My stomach wasn’t so sure about a wonderful plan for doulas. “What is that?” I ventured.
“Some time ago, a documentary maker approached the board about doing a documentary at Bradshaw. Apparently someone had written to them and suggested it.”
Tony’s bit of gossip had been correct.
I’d hoped they’d ignored my letter or forgotten all about it, but no such luck.
“My husband has become involved with the documentary video company.”
“Great.” I tried to sound cheerful but was imploding within.
“They are a great company and very excited that Charles and the board have now expressed interest in the doula idea again.”
I felt the guillotine beginning to move toward my scrawny neck.
“Isn’t it great? What fabulous exposure you’ll get.”
“Yes, of course, but how…”
“That’s the best part!” Emily sounded exceedingly pleased with herself. “The video company’s next project was put off—something about a junta in the country they were going to visit. Instead, they are fast-tracking the doula idea.”
“F-fast track?” I stuttered.
“Yes. Charles suggested they use you as one of the doulas in the video. Do you have any clients who will be delivering at Bradshaw in the near future?”
“Just one. Her name is Penny and she’s a patient of Dr. Reynolds.” My last patient at Bradshaw, thanks to his irascibility.
“Do you think she’d be willing to be involved in the taping? My husband is spearheading this and the board is one hundred percent behind it. You didn’t tell me that someone had given a donation to the hospital to support a doula program there! In your name, no less. That’s going to be a part of the story, too.”
“Emily, I don’t
think this is a good idea.” My stomach had gone gymnastic on me and was doing Olympian flip-flops.
“It’s a great idea.”
“Dr. Reynolds won’t hear of it, you know. He’s not a supporter of my profession—or anything that ‘crowds’ his birthing rooms.”
“He doesn’t have the last word at the hospital.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I said, thinking of the way everyone tiptoed around him. Until I’d seen the tender side of him, I’d tiptoed, too.
“His grandfather Everett has the final say, and he thinks it’s a wonderful idea.”
I felt my knees buckle.
“Charles called Everett with the idea and got his full support. Like I said, this is on the fast track. The video company wants to interview the three of us, Charles, you and me, and if they can get permission from your client, follow her through her delivery day.”
I thought about my client Penny Higgins and her husband, Pete, and my heart sank. Penny and Pete are both grade-school teachers—good ones. They believe in education with a fervent passion. What’s more, they are the kind of people who are game for new adventures. Of course they’d agree to being filmed. It would be just up their alley—fun, educational, different—they’d love it.
And Clay will kill me. Everyone who is anyone will have ganged up against him, and it will be entirely my fault. My rosy bubble burst and I landed with a thud.
“I can’t be involved, Emily. There are circumstances you don’t know about.”
“Of course you can. Everett wants you involved. He loves the story. Besides, if he throws his support behind the idea it will be big, not just for you but for all doulas. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
I sat down on the floor right where I was, unable to negotiate myself to a chair. Now I had to choose between pleasing Everett Bradshaw and his grandson? There was no good way out of this except, perhaps, a long trip to Portugal.
“I’ve got to go, Molly, the baby is hungry. I just had to let you know the exciting news. The video team is on top of everything so they will be contacting you shortly. In fact, they’ve already got a name for the documentary. Doula Day, isn’t that cute? The day they film, Bradshaw Medical will be swarming with doulas. They’re planning to set up interviews in the boardroom.”
I heard Emily’s baby making small noises in the background. “I have to go. I just wanted to give you the good news myself. Bye.”
I held the phone long after the line went dead. Doula Day.
I touched my finger to my lips where Clay’s kiss still burned. Emily might as well have taken a hammer to a pane of glass and shattered it with a single stroke. Regrettably, that thin pane of glass is my life.
“Doula Day? Couldn’t they have thought of something snappier than that?” Lissy complained as she sat at my table eating sardines out of a can. “How about Molly’s Mothers?”
“Or Delightful Doulas Dance to Dr. Reynolds’s Tune,” Tony added sarcastically. “What does he think of this?”
Frankly, I haven’t dared to ask.
“I haven’t seen you at the hospital all week, Molly,” Tony continued. He slathered mustard on little smoky sausages and popped them into his mouth.
“My client hasn’t gone into labor yet. Frankly, I’m beginning to hope that when she does, she gives birth in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Then I’d never have to show my face there again.”
“Everybody is excited by this except you,” Lissy said. “It’s going to be great.”
“Everybody but me and Dr. Reynolds.”
Tony winced. “He has been a little…on edge…lately.”
“Did he call you after the night of your family’s party?” Lissy asked. “I was sure he would.”
“He didn’t have time before hearing about the Doula Day fiasco. Any slight interest he might have had in me no doubt went out the window.” To be replaced by fear and loathing.
“Too bad. Your family loved him.” Lissy slid a sardine onto a cracker.
I think I was starting to, as well.
Not that it mattered now. Whatever it is that drives Clay is far stronger than any warm feelings he might develop for me. Even Noah, who had called me a time or two on the phone to tell me about his day at school and to discuss Hildy, hasn’t contacted me. His father has no doubt put me on the do-not-call list. I am being shunned.
“He just makes me so mad!” I blurted. “He’s so stubborn and pigheaded….”
Geranium, who was acting as Tony’s footrest, lifted her head.
“Sorry, girl.”
“It will be over soon,” Tony consoled. “Then we can all get on with our lives.” He put his hand over mine. “You can marry me and we’ll live happily ever after.”
“How is Wanda these days?” I asked with saccharine sweetness.
“She’s eased up, and it scares me.”
“Why? You should be glad.”
“I think she’s changing her strategy, and I’m getting worried. A silent Wanda is far more sinister than a noisy one. Now, if you and I were to get engaged…”
“Then I’d have to be scared of Wanda.”
“If you won’t marry me, I’ll have to come up with another escape plan,” Tony warned. He eyed our friend. “Maybe Lissy would marry me.”
Lissy nearly choked on her fish.
“If she weren’t in love with your brother Hugh, that is.”
“We are not…”
“Are, too. And you both know it and are just too afraid to admit it.”
Lissy’s jaw set stubbornly. “I’m not going first. Hugh has to tell me he loves me before I’ll tell him anything of the sort.”
“And Hugh’s been hurt too many times to go first.”
“Unrequited love,” Tony said. “‘And never the twain shall meet.’ Rudyard Kipling.”
“Eat your sausages,” Lissy ordered. “If Hugh actually cared for me he’d leap tall buildings for me.”
“In a single bound,” Tony added.
“He’s got a lot to overcome,” I said. “He’s very vulnerable right now. You have to understand.”
“You and Clay have a lot to overcome, too,” Lissy said slyly.
“That’s different. Hugh’s been hurt. Clay is just inflexible, obstinate, mulish…”
“There you go, insulting animals again.”
“How do you know he hasn’t been hurt?” Tony asked. “His strong feelings had to have come from somewhere.”
“Ego,” I shot back. “He wants to be king of the hill. It’s about power with him.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” Tony said softly.
The phone rang just as I was going to bed. It was Emily. I could hear the baby making small sounds in the background.
“Hi. Is everything okay?”
“It is so ‘okay’ that I can hardly stand it, Molly. I love motherhood.”
“I’m glad you aren’t calling with a crisis.”
“Just the opposite, in fact. Charles would like to talk to you.”
Before I could ask her why, she handed the phone to her husband. Charles and I had not spent a lot of time together prior to the birth. What could he want to say to me?
He didn’t waste any time on small talk. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. I’ve been thinking of you ever since our baby was born, about what you did for my wife and for the peace of mind it gave me knowing you were available to her.”
“Thank you, I—”
“Emily’s talked about your idea of a doula program and I just wanted you to know that if you go ahead with it, I’ll support you one hundred percent.”
I felt a door opening. Granted, it was only a tiny crack, but now I know that one member of Bradshaw’s board is willing to disagree with Clay about Doula Central.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
No matter how much I’d hoped Penny and Pete Higgins’s baby would be born anywhere but at the hospital, far from the eyes of Clay Reynolds, it was not to be.
Wo
rse yet, Pete called the documentary people before he called me to tell me his wife was in labor.
“Molly, this is Pete. Penny’s contractions have started.”
“How far are they apart?”
“We have plenty of time. Dr. Reynolds said it could go on for a while. Good thing, too.”
I didn’t think I’d heard him right. Most people can’t wait for labor to be done.
“I’ve already called the documentary crew to tell them the baby is coming and they’re on their way over here to follow us to the hospital. They want to make sure you’re here when they start filming. The show is about you, after all.”
“About doulas,” I said, “not me in particular.”
“Don’t be modest, Molly, this is all about you. Penny and I are elated that we get to be a part of it.”
Why me? I’m the last person who wants to call attention to herself, particularly when the act will infuriate Clay. Doomed. That one beautiful evening we had together has become the single jewel in a very tarnished crown.
“Molly?” Pete sounded concerned.
I pulled myself together. “I’ll be right over.”
“Great. You should get here at the same time as the video guys.”
There was still the chance that this would be a very quick labor and delivery, I told myself as I gathered what I needed, fed my pets and drove away from my house. That dream was dashed when I arrived at the Higginses’home. Penny answered the door looking exceedingly pregnant but in no distress.
“I thought you were in labor,” I said as I entered.
“Pete’s a little trigger-happy. I’m having an occasional pain, but if these guys don’t quit taping for a while, they’ll run out of film.” She looked at me sympathetically. “It’s you they’re after, of course, so be prepared for questions.”
I walked into the living room and straight into the lens of a camera that was not to leave me until long after Pete and Penny’s baby was born.
“The doula is here,” someone yelled.
“My name is Molly.”
“Okay, whatever,” a man with a clipboard said. “Just go about your business but occasionally turn to the camera and explain what you’re doing.”
“But I am totally focused on my client,” I protested. “I’m not going to take time out to turn to the camera and…”
