he headed down the hall, then came back abruptly. “Oh,” he said, sticking his head back around the corner into the office, “and don’t worry about a baby-sitter. I’ve got it covered.”
He was out the door, his truck kicking up gravel in the back drive before Daria could say a word.
Ten minutes later as she gathered up her things to head home, she realized that a fresh pot of coffee—full and untouched—sat on the counter emitting a delicious aroma into the room.
Friday morning, as Daria rushed around trying to get ready for work, the phone rang. She picked it up to find Vera Camfield on the other end.
“Hello, Vera,” she said, trying to put more enthusiasm in her voice than she felt.
“Hello, Daria. How are you?”
“Oh, we’re fine. But I’m kind of having one of those mornings,” she hinted. “Seems like everything that can go wrong has.”
“Well, I won’t keep you then, but I just wanted to see what you were doing this weekend.”
Daria’s mind raced, trying to come up with an excuse to the request she knew was coming. She had kept in close contact with Nate’s parents, especially right after Natalie’s birth, but as the months passed and her job tied her down more, the visits had become fewer and further between. Lately, however, Vera Camfield had become more and more demanding, calling nearly every weekend either wanting her to bring Natalie to Kansas City, or inviting herself and Jack to Bristol. It seemed to Daria that they expected her to reserve every spare moment for them.
“Let me tell you what we were thinking,” Vera said, not waiting for Daria’s reply. “We thought we’d come and take you and Natalie out to dinner tonight, and then we’d like to bring Natalie back here to spend the weekend. Will that work?”
“ To Kansas City? By herself?”
“Well, of course you’re always welcome here, Daria. But now that Natalie is weaned, we just thought you might enjoy some time to yourself.”
It was a generous offer. So why did she feel resentful? She loved Nathan’s parents, and naturally she wanted Natalie to be close to them. She knew that the little girl was as much an antidote to their grief as to her own. Still, Daria wasn’t prepared for what they were asking. The thought of having Natalie three hours away in a strange house, a strange city, unsettled her. She’d never been away from her daughter for more than a few hours. The little girl always seemed to enjoy her time with the Camfields, and there was no question that they adored her. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them. It was just that Nattie was still a baby. And, at almost eight months, she still wasn’t sleeping through the night. What if she woke up in a strange bed and became scared? What if she got sick? Would they know what to do?
Vera’s voice broke in on her thoughts. “We’ll bring her back Sunday, right after lunch. It shouldn’t be past four-thirty, five at the very latest. Please, Daria. We need to spend time with her. She’s just growing up so fast. Every time we see her, she’s changed so much.”
How could she tell them no now, when she was going to be out with Cole all evening Saturday anyway? She couldn’t very well tell them that she was denying them their granddaughter so Natalie could spend the time with a baby-sitter. Guilt washed over her, and she debated whether she dared tell Vera that she had a date. This was turning out to be so much more complicated than she’d anticipated.
Cole had arranged for Jennifer Daly to baby-sit Natalie at Daria’s apartment. “That way, she can be all tucked in for the night when you get home, and I’ll drop Jennifer off on my way home,” he told her.
Daria was grateful for his plan. Besides the fact that it was thoughtful of him, it would also eliminate that awkward moment when she would wonder whether she should invite him in for coffee afterward.
Vera’s insistent pleas tugged her back to the present. “Please, Daria. If you don’t have any plans, I don’t really see how you can deny us the privilege of spending some time with our only connection to Nathan.” Though Daria knew the emotion that came over the line now was genuine, it rankled her that Vera would use it against her this way. She was glad Vera couldn’t see her clenched jaw, couldn’t hear her slap her