pushing of her own soon. The thought brought on a fleeting moment of what-might-have-been, but Jaci worked through the pain by thinking about Kyndal. For some reason, that always helped.
It was hard to imagine her friend with a belly as swollen as Erlene’s, but she’d already proudly displayed her bump one night as they sat at their laptops, gathering lists of baby-proofing ideas.
Kyndal had seemed undaunted by the task while Jaci had been dumbfounded. So many things to think about. Too many things that could go wrong.
Erlene squeezed into one of the stadium seats and started thumbing through the samples. Cody slowed down the process, constantly demanding she return to the previous page. At this rate, choosing the window shades would take all afternoon rather than the hour Jaci had allotted.
“Cody, I have some kitties in the car. Would you like to see them?” She tried to entice the child away from his mother.
The toddler nodded enthusiastically, and pulled at his mom’s hand. “Kitties, Mommy. See kitties.”
“Why don’t you bring them in?” Erlene suggested. “Are they housebroken?”
“They’re litter trained, but I carry a litter box with me because I take them to work.” Jaci read the question in Erlene’s expression. “The momma cat died so we’re raising the babies. I’ll take them in the mudroom, then come back and get Cody.”
She went to the car and got the box of sleeping kittens and their supplies and set them up in the room off the garage. When she went back and fetched Cody, Erlene was tearful with gratitude.
She felt her heart squeeze a bit when she took the child’s hand, but talking about Gandalf and Arwen released the tension.
Cody was surprisingly gentle with the babies, which Jaci thought was a good sign for the infant who would soon share his home. They delighted him when they woke up ready to play, chasing the balls he rolled to them, frolicking and biting each other’s tails. He was especially fascinated when they scratched around in the litter box to go potty, and, of course, it reminded him that he needed to go potty, too.
Jaci and the toddler left the kittens, who were once again ready for a catnap after their romp, and headed down the hallway toward the bathroom.
A strange sound floated from Cody’s room, and he swerved away from the bathroom and headed toward it, pulling Jaci along.
Erlene still held the samples in her lap, but her head was lolled back against the wall, and her mouth hung open. The sound they’d heard was the exhausted woman’s relaxed snore.
Before she could catch him, Cody pulled from Jaci’s
grip and ran to his mother, slapping the book from her lap, and causing her to wake with a start.
“Oh…oh, I’m so sorry.” Her face flushed deep crimson.
Jaci’s heart went out to her. She waved away the apology while she gathered up the sample book. “It’s okay. You need whatever rest you can get.”
“Mommy, kitties.” Cody pulled his mother’s hand, trying to pry her from her seat. “Kitties,” he whined.
“The kitties are asleep right now,” Jaci told him. “They’re taking a nap. Is it time for your nap?”
“No!” He remained emphatic on the subject, and Erlene sighed dejectedly.
“Tell you what.” Jaci inclined her head toward the hallway. “I’m going to get out of here, and maybe he’ll change his mind if you both lie down on his new bed. I’ll leave the samples on the dining room table. Get to them when you can, and call me when you’ve made a decision.”
“Okay.” Erlene gave a sheepish smile. “And thanks. That half-hour was the best nap I’ve had in a while.”
Jaci laughed and blew a kiss to Cody, who suddenly remembered he needed to go potty. As he and his mother hurried toward the bathroom, Jaci gathered up the box with her sleeping babies, and let herself out.
She remembered how tired she’d been during the first week after she’d found the kittens, having to stop whatever she was doing, which included sleeping, every two hours to bottle-feed them. Thank heavens she hadn’t had to keep that up long.
How did Erlene keep going, sleep deprived to the point of exhaustion? And, with another on the way, the cycle would soon start over.
How was Kyndal going to do it? How could she handle a job and the baby, too? Even as the thought surfaced, the answer came.
Kyndal…Erlene…they would both be fine.
These women had some kind of inner strength they called upon, a mysterious element evident in most women. In