Gloria's Legacy

by Robin Alexander

  “I’d stick it on my boob, but mine make rum not milk, and that’s just not good for the baby.”

  “Stick on your mouth then,” Adrienne said with a smirk.

  “Is that your way of telling me to shut up?” I pressed the phalange thing to my face. “Luke, I am—”

  Adrienne burst out laughing and flipped the switch. That machine…made for something as soft as a breast grabbed my bottom lip, folded and sucked until my eyes crossed. I was so stunned that I failed to react when it relaxed for a second, then clamped down again. Adrienne’s eyes went round as she started yelling, “shit, shit, shit,” and slapped at the switch.

  “Hayden Marie, what the hell are you doing?”

  I looked up at Mom and Elaine with the pump affixed to my face.

  “Are you insane?” My mother walked over to the bed.

  “It tried to eat my face,” I said with a gasp. “Is my lip still there?”

  Adrienne, my love, my heart, collapsed onto the bed in a hysterical fit of laughter.

  “We thought Adrienne was hurting,” Elaine said as she stifled a laugh. “I’m sorry we barged in without knocking.”

  “This is for Adrienne and the baby.” Mom snatched the pump thing out of my hands. Adrienne and I looked at each other like two scolded children fighting the urge to laugh.

  “Better check it, Mom,” I said seriously. “I think it may’ve sucked out the milk I had for breakfast.”

  Mom ignored me and focused on Adrienne. “You never try anything out on the highest setting. This really is something helpful, and it will allow Hayden to feed and bond with the baby, too.”

  Mom was good. She had Adrienne at the word bond.

  “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll try it.”

  “The key is to relax, and I imagine that you won’t be able to do that with us watching you.” Mom handed Adrienne the two pumps. “Elaine and I will leave you alone. If you need anything, send Hayden to get us.”

  After they left, Adrienne looked at me. “I need a minute to relax.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back.” Quietly, I slipped into the nursery and grabbed the onesie we’d had Kaia dressed in earlier. When I returned to the bedroom, Adrienne was massaging her breasts.

  “It’s supposed to help the milk production,” she said, “and no, you can’t help.”

  Dejected and rejected, I sat on the edge of the bed and watched. Adrienne exhaled a slow breath and switched on the pump. I watched in nervous anticipation as she slowly pressed the cups to her breasts. “Is it okay? Does it hurt?”

  She winced. “Do you have short-term memory?”

  My lip was still throbbing. “Dumb question. I’m not seeing any liquid in there.”

  “We’ll give it a few more minutes,” Adrienne said with a grunt.

  “You’re supposed to think of the baby. The book said it would help if you smelled her.” I thrust the onesie under her nose, and she looked at me like I was insane. Forty-five minutes later, Adrienne produced an ounce.

  “Damn, no wonder Kaia’s fussy.” I held up the container and looked at the fluid inside. “Are you dehydrated?”

  “My boobs hurt, everything below my belly button hurts, and I’m exhausted.” Adrienne yawned. “Let me get some sleep and you can milk me in the morning.”

  *******

  Morning came early for Adrienne. Kaia awoke a little after one. She’d already drained the bottle in a previous feeding and was demanding more. I watched out of one eye since it was the only one I could keep open as Adrienne nursed Kaia. The baby would fall asleep, and Adrienne would pull her away from her breast. The second that happened, Kaia woke and demanded to be put right back. This went on for what seemed like hours. We were no sooner asleep when the process had to be repeated.

  “Why are you up?” my mother asked when I staggered into the kitchen at nine the next morning…or same morning. I was so weary, I wasn’t sure if a week had passed.

  I rubbed my eyes and followed the smell of coffee until I found the pot. “I wanted to know if there was an update from Colie.”

  “No word yet.” Elaine took me by the arm and led me to the table. “I’ll make your coffee. What do you take in it?”

  “Three sugars, two creams.”

  “Hayden Marie.” My mother looked repulsed.

  “They’re big cups, Mom. I’m really having a teaspoon and a half with one cream per cup if you consider the size.” I looked over at Dad, who was lying on the couch. Kaia was sleeping comfortably on his chest. She looked like a peanut in contrast to his big body.

  “Where’s Kristen?” I asked when I noticed she wasn’t around.

  “Still asleep,” Elaine said. “We stayed up pretty late, then the pill your mother gave her kicked in. I imagine she’ll sleep in today. Did Adrienne get any rest last night?” Elaine set my coffee on the table.

  “Not much. When I got out of bed, she didn’t move. I had to check to see if she was still breathing.”

  “She had a long day yesterday, poor darling.” Mom reached over and patted me on the arm. “You really should skip the coffee and go back to bed. There’s no guests to tend to.”

  Kaia vetoed that notion. I pushed my coffee aside and walked over to Dad, who was trying to console the tiny breast milk junkie. “Look here, boobaholic,” I said in a baby voice as I picked her up, “you’re draining your mommy dry. How about a biscuit instead?”

  She stopped crying and looked at me as though she was considering it, then she scrunched up her face and let out a wail that sent me directly to Adrienne.

  Adrienne sat up bleary-eyed when I came into the room and smiled the minute she set eyes on our baby. “Come here, baby girl,” she cooed as she took Kaia into her arms.

  I watched them in wonder. Kaia quieted except for a few growls as she nursed. I was fairly certain she was expressing her displeasure at how long it took me to get her to food. Adrienne ran her palm softly over the top of Kaia’s head and murmured a response to each little growl.

  “I offered her biscuits, and she promptly told me where I could stuff them. I think she may already be full of attitude.”

  “Just like her mother.” Adrienne grinned. She stopped stroking Kaia long enough to point to her forehead. “Kiss me here. I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  “I don’t care.” I leaned in and kissed her lips.

  “I missed you.”

  I patted the bed. “I was here beside you all night.”

  “I know. There’s so much going on in our lives right now. I just feel anchored when I’m with you, safe.”

  “All this commotion will be over soon, and it’ll just be us. The three of us will settle into a routine, and everything will feel normal again.” I grinned at Kaia’s tiny toes and toyed with one. “If Kristen is interested in staying on here, would you object?”

  Adrienne melted. “I would love that. I’d like to have Elaine, well, Mom, stay on, too, but she has responsibilities back home.”

  I’d gotten so used to Elaine being around that it hadn’t struck me that she’d be going home.

  “I don’t want to talk about either of them leaving right now. Let’s just enjoy their company until the time comes.” Adrienne released a sigh and stroked the arm of Kaia, who had fallen asleep with a nipple in her mouth.

  “I hate to bring up an ugly subject, but are you hearing anything from Stinslin?”

  Adrienne shook her head. “Neither Mom nor I can hear Stinslin, at least not enough to know where he’s hiding. This island is small, and he’ll be caught soon whether we hear him or not.”

  “Kristen might be able to sketch when she wakes up,” I said hopefully. “That is, if she can function. Mom’s pills are brutal.”

  There was a soft knock on the door. A second later, it opened, and Iris stepped in with a breakfast tray. “I thought momma might be hungry.”

  “Oh, momma is.” I eyed the cinnamon roll and bacon.

  Iris shot me a look as she set the tray on Adrienne’s bedsid
e table. “You can go into the kitchen, girl.”

  “All that talk about me being a parent, too. All the crap I took about not considering myself pregnant when Adrienne was, but yet I’m not the momma now? I washed a goat for you, Iris, and this is how you treat me?”

  “Dat’s your goat, missy.” Iris waved a finger at me. “He ate up all my hibiscus. And when your company leaves, you need to come get your cat who has moved into my house and pooped in my potted plants.”

  I stretched out on the bed with a sigh. “Ah, Saber. I can always count on him to do the dirty work. Did his kids follow him over?”

  “Oh, yes,” Iris said with a scowl. “They’ve been doing their fertilizing in what is left of my flower beds.”

  Adrienne sighed happily after taking a bite of her cinnamon roll. “This is just like old times. I eat the goodies while you two trade barbs. And look, Kaia’s sleeping right through it all.”

  Iris and I looked at the baby and smiled. “Have you heard anything from Colie?”

  Iris shook her head and took a seat on the bed. She grabbed the TV remote and switched it on to the weather. “It’s getting dark outside. I need to take one last look around before the rains come.”

  “I’ll do it. You take a break.”

  Iris smiled back at me. “I was hoping you would volunteer. You’re running low on soda.”

  “For you, love.” Adrienne handed me the other half of her roll. “I shouldn’t eat any more of this.”

  In two bites, the rest of the roll was gone. I shot Iris a grin, though my cheeks were stuffed.

  “Just so you know, girlie, Gibbs licked that side of the roll.”

  *******

  “It’s been so long since we’ve done this.”

  Adrienne relaxed against me. The feel of her slick skin against mine made my heart flutter. “Take advantage of it while you can because Kaia, the hollow leg, will wake again soon and demand her fifth breakfast.”

  “Whose idea was it to install this giant tub anyway?”

  “I believe it was yours, my love,” I said with a smile.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m brilliant, and I’m so, so sleepy.”

  I washed her back, arms, and neck. Everything else was sore and off-limits, but I didn’t mind. Just the intimate connection of taking a bath together was enough to carry me for a while. I kissed the side of her cheek. “Thank you.”

  “For what? You just did half of the washing,” Adrienne said with a chuckle.

  “For our baby. I just never dreamed she would be so amazing or that I’d love her so much.” The catch in my voice made Adrienne sit up and look at me.

  “I should be thanking you. I know you agreed to start a family because I wanted it so much.”

  “I didn’t think I was ready, I didn’t know what to expect.” I felt my eyes welling with tears, so I cupped my hands and splashed water on my face. “Now I’m…I’ve never been so happy except for the day I met you.”

  Slowly, Adrienne turned sideways in the tub and caressed my face as a tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Look at us, we’re total mush balls,” I said with a laugh. “And now, I have to get out of this tub and look at our offspring. She’s not even talking, and she has complete control over me.”

  *******

  Adrienne stood wrapped in my arms as we watched Kaia sleep. I could’ve stood there for hours, but I felt Adrienne lean farther into me, and I knew she was about to drop like a sack of rocks. I led her back to our bedroom and tucked her in with a kiss. “I hope you get to sleep for a little while before the little one wakes up.”

  Adrienne reached over and took my hand. “Stay close today, okay?”

  “Of course. As much as I can.”

  Adrienne was asleep before I left our bedroom to make last-minute rounds before the storm. Dad offered to go along with me and make sure all the hatches were battened down, but I asked him to stay behind and watch over my girls. I knew Colie had people very close to the house. I saw many of them as I took the trail to the bar, but I wanted to be alone. Frankly, I was talked out. I loved my family and was growing to love Adrienne’s, but their presence had become overwhelming, especially with all of them virtually in my armpits.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  I went to the bar first and looked in the dining room, which was piled with furniture since it was one of the most stable structures at the inn. The weatherproof tables and chairs in the bar had been lashed down, and I figured they would be fine. According to the last weather report I heard, we could expect some wind but mostly rain. I doubted seriously that anything was going to fly off.

  Next on my to-do list were the cottages. I inspected each one. Anything that could be damaged by rain if the roof was blown off had been removed. I visited the one Adrienne and I had known as home last. A melancholy wave of homesickness washed over me as I stepped inside. I imagined that I heard the echo of Adrienne’s laughter or her sigh when we’d made love countless times there. I smiled as I thought about her, and I wanted to go home to all the chaos and hold her in my arms.

  Dark clouds had gathered overhead while I made my rounds, and as I stepped out of our old cottage, the rain began to seriously fall. I was two steps into the trail home when I remembered we were out of soda at the house. I turned and sprinted to the bar, and just as I arrived, a car pulled directly in front. Wiper blades swished back and forth obscuring the driver, but a familiar female voice called to me.

  As I warily approached, I recognized BJ. I almost turned and walked off without hearing what she had to say, but the worried expression on her face drew me closer. “What are you still doing here and why are you out in this weather?” I asked as the rain pelted me.

  “Get in, Hayden.” BJ’s eyes were huge as she regarded me. “Get in,” she repeated as I stood there staring at her. A shiny silver cylinder protruded from the back of her neck. I followed it to the hand that held the weapon. “Please, Hayden.”

  I walked slowly around the front of the car wondering if I ran if Stinslin would shoot her. With sickening resignation in the pit of my stomach, I knew he would, then he’d come for me. Adrienne’s face as she looked up at me that morning flashed through my mind. “Stay close,” she had said. My hand shook as I reached for the door handle, and I thought of Kaia and how snuggly she felt in my arms that morning. I prayed that when I left them, I wasn’t saying goodbye for the last time.

  “Close the door,” BJ said shakily as I sat.

  I did as she directed and turned to look at Stinslin. He was grinning from ear to ear.

  The shiny barrel of the gun moved from BJ’s neck and was pointed directly at my face. “Where is she?” he asked.

  “If you blow my head off, you’ll never know.” My voice quavered when I spoke, and it was obvious to everyone in the car that I was scared shitless.

  Stinslin moved the gun back to BJ’s head. “But if I blow hers off, it won’t matter. Maybe then you’ll understand just how serious I am.”

  BJ released an explosive shuddering breath but said nothing.

  I steeled myself and looked Stinslin in the eye. “She’s been under your nose the whole time. Whit’s been keeping her at The Cove. But here’s the deal. He won’t give her to you, so you need me. I won’t give you jack shit if you shoot BJ.”

  Stinslin tapped BJ on the jaw with the gun. “Drive.” He turned his cold gaze back to me. “If she’s not there, I’ll gut you while you’re still alive.”

  “She’ll be there.” My mind was racing a million miles an hour to formulate a plan. We could go to The Cove and I could get Whit to call for help, but that would leave BJ at Stinslin’s mercy. Stinslin must’ve been thinking along the same lines.

  “When we get close, you call her. Tell her to come outside, meet you at the car.”

  I chanced a look at Stinslin. I knew it was futile to try to talk our way out of the situation, but I couldn’t help but try. “Why do you want her anyway?”

  “She’s the reason the police are looking for me
.”

  “Then quit stalking her,” I said, playing dumb. “She doesn’t want to be with you and you’re blowing this all out of proportion with that gun.”

  “Just shut up and turn around,” he said as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

  Stinslin was scared, I’d decided. Despite his tough guy routine, he was shaking like a leaf. I tried to weigh my options. I could surprise him and go for the gun, but there was a fifty-fifty chance that one of us in the front seat would be shot. My brain went into panic mode, and I couldn’t formulate a plausible plan. So I tried diplomacy. “You’re an asshole.”

  The car swerved as BJ whipped her head around to look at me. “Are you insane? Don’t taunt a man with a gun.”

  All the coiled-up tension that the banana trees couldn’t take erupted out of me like a volcano, and I was on a roll. “No! I’m not insane, I’m pissed off. This is my home.” I pounded my chest in fury. “And it seems like every psychopath on the planet is drawn here. I’m not one to believe in karma, but I’d like to know what the hell I’ve done in my life to become a refuge for nutcases!” I looked over my shoulder and glared at Stinslin. Like BJ, he looked at me incredulously.

  “If you’d embezzled funds from a bank or one of the oil companies that has been draining us all dry with smiles on their faces, I might’ve given you a pat on the back. But no, you—” My roll went too far.

  Stinslin sat up a little straighter and aimed the gun at my face. “Finish that sentence.”

  “Smooth, little girl, real smooth. Now you’ve signed our death warrants.” BJ’s face became even paler.

  “He has a gun pointed at our heads, BJ. Do you think he’s gonna drop us off with a handshake when he gets what he wants?”

  “Did you see them?” Stinslin demanded.

  “Didn’t you just tell me to shut up?”

  Stinslin put the barrel of the gun to my forehead. His voice was low and cold. “I asked you a question.”

  “What does it matter? You’re not going to let either of us out of this alive.”

  His nostrils flared as he exhaled. “You’re trying to distract me. Pull that cell phone out of your shirt pocket and call Kristen. Tell her to meet you around back near the Dumpsters. Tell her you need all the sketches, it’s important.”