Helen nodded. “Let me talk to her. Are the kids okay across the hall for now?”
Dana Sue nodded. “You know Frances. She’s completely unflappable. Apparently the kids stay with her a lot when Karen has to run an errand or something. At her age, she can’t keep them all the time, but she obviously adores them. She’s like a grandmother. I don’t think either Daisy or Mack understand what’s going on. They’re both asleep now.”
Satisfied that the children were unharmed and safe for now, Helen knocked on the bedroom door. “Karen, it’s Helen. Please let me in so we can talk. Whatever’s going on, I want to help.”
“Go away,” Karen pleaded. “I don’t want anyone to see me like this. I’ll be okay if I just get some sleep.”
“It doesn’t sound to me as if you’re even close to falling asleep. Talking things out will unburden you, help you to relax,” Helen said. “I know I can never sleep when my mind’s racing a hundred miles an hour.”
Her comment was greeted with silence, so she tried again. “I hope you’re not worried that if you talk to me, I’m going to go running to Dana Sue. She’s already gone back to Frances’s apartment. This will be just between the two of us.”
“Just go away,” Karen pleaded again. “I need to figure things out for myself.”
“Figure out what?” Helen coaxed. “Tell me. Two minds are always better than one. Whatever’s going on, I can help you sort through it.”
“Dana Sue should never have called you,” Karen said. “I don’t need a lawyer.”
“How about a friend?” Helen asked gently. “Please let me be a friend.”
A long minute passed before a key finally turned in the lock. The door remained closed, but when Helen tried the knob, it opened. Inside the pitch-black bedroom, she felt for a switch and turned on the overhead light. Karen was sprawled facedown on the bed wearing an old chenille bathrobe, her hair disheveled and her face blotchy from crying. She regarded Helen apologetically, then buried her face in the pillow.
“I’m so sorry Dana Sue dragged you out in the middle of the night,” Karen said, her words muffled. “I’m sorry she got dragged into this, too. I hate having my boss all caught up in my personal drama.”
Helen sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. “Stop worrying about that. It’s not important. Can you tell me what happened?”
Karen nodded, her expression bleak. “I’ve been feeling more and more overwhelmed, you know. About my job. About money. Ray’s still not paying child support, and even though Tess and I worked out that plan with Dana Sue, I’m still not pulling my weight at the restaurant. Dana Sue’s been great about it, but I know Erik thinks I’m taking advantage of her. And, face it, she can’t pay me when I’m not there, so my salary’s not what it was. And it seems like every time I turn around one of the kids is sick again. It’s too much. I can’t cope anymore.”
“What happened tonight?” Helen prodded carefully.
“My three-year-old—that’s Mack—woke up crying,” she began, her voice catching on a sob. She swiped at the tears on her cheeks with the sleeve of her robe. “Nothing I did calmed him down.” Again, her voice hitched. “And then Daisy got mad because Mack was getting all my attention, so she started acting out.”
The look she directed at Helen begged her to understand. “They’ve both had tantrums before, but not at the same time, and not when I was already at the end of my rope. I could feel myself losing control. When I realized I just wanted to shake Mack to make him stop crying and then I yelled at Daisy, I knew I had to do something, so I went across the hall and asked Frances for help. She insisted on taking them, but they can’t stay there indefinitely. I have to figure out something else, at least until I can trust myself with them again.”
“You did exactly the right thing by taking them to Frances,” Helen soothed her. “Recognizing that you were at your wit’s end is a good thing, Karen.”
Karen suddenly regarded her with alarm. “Nobody will try to take them away from me because of this, will they?”
“Not if I can help it,” Helen stated. “But you do need to get some help, you know that, don’t you? You can’t just tough it out and hope all these feelings will disappear.”
Karen nodded, looking defeated. “But I can’t check in to a hospital. I’ll lose my job and my kids for sure, if I do that.”
Helen knew that was a strong possibility, so she couldn’t disagree with her. “How about this?” she said. “We’ll arrange for some counseling sessions. Dana Sue knows a psychologist, a Dr. McDaniels, who helped her daughter conquer her eating disorder. Maybe she can make arrangements for you to see her first thing in the morning and schedule some regular sessions every day for a couple of weeks.”
“But that’s bound to be expensive,” Karen protested.
“You have health insurance at the restaurant, right?” Helen asked. “That should cover it. If it doesn’t, we’ll figure something out. The main thing is to see someone who can help you calm down and get some perspective. Maybe Dr. McDaniels can offer you better ways to cope with your stress. Then we’ll see where we stand.”
“And the kids could stay here with me?” Karen asked hopefully.
Helen was less sure about the wisdom of that. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. Right now, they’re just adding to your stress. I think you need some time to get yourself strong again. That doesn’t mean I think you’re a bad mother, Karen. Not at all. I just think you’re worn out and need a break.”
“But what about the kids?” Karen asked worriedly. “Frances and the sitter could help some, but they can’t keep them.”
“There’s foster care,” Helen began, but practically before the words were out of her mouth, Karen was shaking her head.
“Absolutely not,” she said fiercely. “I don’t want my kids with strangers. Besides, once they get into the system, it’ll be hard to get them out. I know that firsthand. I was bounced around foster homes most of my life because my mother couldn’t get her life together. I swore I’d never repeat that pattern.” She buried her face in her hands. “God, I feel like such a failure. I always judged my mom for not being able to cope and here I am, exactly like her.”
“Okay,” Helen said, “how about this? I’ll take them temporarily.” The words were uttered before she could talk herself out of the crazy, impulsive idea, but surprisingly she had no inclination to take them back. “They can stay with me. We’ll keep the same sitter and I’ll make sure Frances comes by for a visit every day so they won’t feel too uprooted. You can come over, too, as much as you want to.”
“But I can’t ask you to do that,” Karen said, looking stunned. “They’re a handful. You’ve never had kids. You have no idea of what you’d be letting yourself in for.”
“Oh, I have some idea,” Helen said, thinking of the times Maddie’s kids had stayed overnight with her. Of course, this would be more than a one-night sleepover, but surely she could manage, especially with the help of the sitter and Frances. And she could see just how adept she’d be at juggling work demands with caring for children. Maybe that was the real reason she’d offered, not out of some burst of generosity, but out of selfishness. If fear of failure was holding her back from making a decision about having her own child, this would be a good test. She didn’t have time now, though, to analyze her motives further. The offer was on the table.
“Well?” she asked Karen. “Would you be okay with that?”
“Of course,” Karen said with obvious relief. For the first time since Helen’s arrival, her face lost its pinched, desperate expression.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Helen said decisively. “You pack up a few things for them. I’ll speak to Dana Sue about setting up those appointments with the psychologist for you first thing in the morning. Maybe you should come with me tonight and stay over at my place, too. It’ll make the transition a little easier for the kids. Or we can let the kids sleep tonight and I’ll get them tomorrow.”
“That w
ould be best, especially if they’re finally asleep,” Karen said. “Are you really sure about this? I don’t want to disrupt your life any more than I already have. I already owe you for saving my job.”
“It’ll be okay,” Helen assured her, then went in search of Dana Sue, who’d returned to Karen’s apartment and was waiting in the living room for Helen to emerge.
When she’d explained the plan, Dana Sue stared at her incredulously. “You’re taking them in? All of them, including Karen?”
“Karen will come with me tonight,” Helen said. “I don’t think she ought to stay here alone. Tomorrow, she’ll help me get the kids settled and I’ll take them to school. She’ll come back here, if the doctor says it’s okay. She just needs some time to get her bearings. She also needs to get back on track at work. This will give her a little freedom to do that without worrying about her kids.”
“Do you have any idea what you’re letting yourself in for?” Dana Sue demanded. “Are you even equipped to have an instant family under your roof, even for a couple of weeks? You’ve got a house filled with breakable antiques, for heaven’s sake!”
“I’ll manage,” Helen said. Her organizational skills kicked in. “As soon as I get home, I’ll stuff the breakables into a closet or something. I’ll make a list of everything I need from the store and have it delivered first thing tomorrow. You can help me with that. I’ll get their schedule from Karen and make sure they get to day care and school. Her sitter will come to my house. I’ll have Frances visit every afternoon, too.”
Dana Sue shook her head. “I should have known you’d come up with a thorough strategy in ten seconds or less,” she said wryly. “One thing you ought to consider, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Kids tend to make mincemeat out of plans. They’re not predictable.”
Helen heard the concern in her friend’s voice, but shrugged it off. “Then this will be a good test of my flexibility, won’t it?”
Dana Sue gave her a worried look. “That’s my point, sweetie. You’re not flexible.”
“If I’m ever going to have a child of my own, I’ll have to be,” Helen said. “This will be excellent practice, even better than having Maddie’s kids or Annie underfoot for a night.”
“You’re really sure you want to do this?”
Helen nodded. Mixing with her carefully banked fears, she felt a faint stirring of excitement.
“Okay, then,” Dana Sue said briskly. “I’ll help Karen pack up their things. You might want to at least peek at the kids. If you’re going to take them home tomorrow, it’ll help if you can at least recognize them.”
“Not funny,” Helen said, though she was filled with trepidation as she crossed the hall and went in to speak to Frances, who guided her into a guest room where both children were sleeping soundly.
One glance at those sweet, innocent faces and Helen knew she was doing the right thing. She would care for and protect them ’til Karen could take over again. How hard could it be?
“They look like little angels, don’t they?” Frances asked.
“They do,” Helen confirmed.
“Don’t believe it,” Frances said, her voice threaded with amusement and affection. “They’re little hellions, same as all kids that age. You come by first thing tomorrow and I’ll go with you to drop them off at school and day care. I’ll be by your place tomorrow afternoon just in case you’re tearing your hair out.”
“But the sitter—” Helen began.
“Isn’t worth one thin dime of what Karen is paying her,” Frances said with disgust. “I know you found her for Karen, but she doesn’t know how to handle those children. I do. Between you and me, we can get the job done. Getting rid of the sitter will save Karen some money.”
“But I have to work,” Helen started to protest, then sighed. She had a hunch that was just the first of many compromises she was going to have to make. “I’ll call my secretary and reschedule my afternoon appointments.”
Frances gave her an approving look. “Now we have a plan.”
Helen had the oddest sensation that fate had just handed her not just two children to test her mettle as mom material, but a wise and experienced guide to help her when the going got rough.
Erik stared at Dana Sue as if she’d just announced that Helen had been abducted by aliens.
“You’re telling me that Helen is taking care of Karen’s children for the foreseeable future,” he repeated, still not certain he’d heard correctly.
“That’s what I’m telling you,” Dana Sue confirmed. “You could have knocked me over with a feather, too.”
“Does she know anything at all about children?”
“Well, she always returned Annie to me in one piece. The same with Maddie’s kids.”
Erik shook his head. “The woman is full of surprises, isn’t she?”
“She is,” Dana Sue concurred. “But this one’s a doozy, even by my standards. The good news for us is that Karen’s already feeling less stressed now that she knows the kids are safe and being well cared for. She’s had her first appointment with Dr. McDaniels and she’ll be in on time today. She’s determined to use this respite to get her life back on track.”
“But what happens the minute the kids go back home again, which they will eventually, right?”
“That’s the plan. Helen’s convinced that all Karen needs is a little breather. We’ll see if Dr. McDaniels agrees. I hope so. I like Karen. I want this to work out.”
“But you won’t mind if I remain skeptical,” Erik said.
“I don’t blame you, but I’m determined to remain optimistic. Look, I’m going out for an hour, okay? Hold down the fort.”
Dana Sue was barely out the door when the phone rang. Erik almost ignored it, since the restaurant wasn’t open yet, but when it continued ringing, he finally grabbed it.
“I need Dana Sue,” Helen announced without so much as a greeting for him.
“She’s not here,” he said. “Can I help?”
“Only if you have some idea who or what Elmo is,” she said. “Mack seems to be obsessed with getting his hands on one.”
Erik bit back a chuckle at the panic in her normally confident voice. “It’s a toy,” he explained patiently. “From Sesame Street.”
“How do you know that?”
“I have nephews,” he said. “You know, it’s not necessary that you provide a child with every single toy he asks for.”
“You try telling that to a three-year-old who has the single-minded determination of a pit bull,” she grumbled.
“Distract him,” Erik advised. “He’s three. It shouldn’t take much.”
“Distract him how?”
“Cookies,” he suggested. “Ice cream. A TV cartoon show. If Sesame Street’s on now, you can kill two birds with one stone, a distraction and Elmo.”
“There are kids’ cartoons on in the afternoon?”
Erik laughed at her bewildered tone. “Darlin’, you’ve just entered a whole new world. That’s just one of the joys of cable TV.”
“I’ll try it. Thanks.”
“Hey, Helen,” he said, oddly determined to keep her from hanging up.
“What?”
“What you’re doing is pretty amazing,” he told her, not even trying to hide his admiration.
“Maybe you should wait before paying me a compliment. I still have plenty of time to screw this up.”
“You won’t,” he said confidently.
“How do you know?”
“Because I know you. When was the last time you screwed up anything you set your mind to?”
Her silence was answer enough.
“I rest my case,” he told her quietly. “Call back if you need any other advice, okay?”
“Will do. Thanks, Erik.”
He replaced the phone, then stood there like an idiot staring at it. She really was an amazing, unpredictable woman. He’d met Daisy and Mack on the couple of occasions Karen brought them to the rest
aurant, and knew what Helen had unwittingly let herself in for. He’d give anything to see her chasing down those kids in her designer suit and stiletto heels. Come to think of it, maybe he’d bake some chocolate chip cookies before leaving Sullivan’s tonight. He could take them by first thing in the morning so she could pack them in the kids’ lunches. It would give him a firsthand look at the ever-in-command Helen in a situation she couldn’t possibly command. It’d probably make his day.
Getting two kids ready to leave the house before eight in the morning left Helen winded, frazzled and right on the edge of throwing in the towel. When the doorbell rang, she left Mack under Daisy’s watchful eye and raced to answer it, praying for the calvary in the form of Maddie or Dana Sue. Instead, it was Erik, his expression oddly smug as he took in her hair, which was sticking out in every direction, her lack of makeup, her untucked blouse and bare feet.
“I thought you might need a little help,” he said. “And I brought cookies.”
“It’s seven forty-five in the morning and you brought cookies?” she demanded. “Are you crazy? The last thing those two need is more sugar.”
“Save the cookies for a treat after school,” he said. “Or tuck one into their lunches.”
Helen stared at him with a bewildered expression. “They need lunches?”
“I imagine so,” he said, barely containing a grin.
“I was thinking lunch money for the school cafeteria,” she said, then recalled the paper sacks Frances had given them the day before. “Are you sure they can’t get lunch at school?”
He shook his head. “Not likely. Where’s Daisy? We can ask her.”
“Daisy’s watching while Mack decides what he wants to wear today,” Helen said. “He stubbornly resisted all my selections.”
Erik chuckled. “You left a three-year-old to decide on his own?”
“Of course,” she said huffily. “Well, with Daisy’s help, anyway. Children should develop their own sense of style at an early age.”
“Maybe I’ll go help him out,” Erik suggested. “You make the lunches. I suggest peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They’re not complicated.”
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