Perfect Tunes - Emily Gould Page 0,40
as Laura hustled a wailing, drippy Marie into the yoga studio’s pristine, lavender-scented bathroom. Three of those bitches had arrived late and had not yet paid. “We’ll get you next time, Laura!” one of them had the grace to shout through the door on her way out; the other two didn’t even mention it. Even though thirty dollars wasn’t the difference between what Laura had and what she owed her landlord—three hundred was more like it—it was still enough to make her feel a flush of rage as she stuffed Marie’s sodden, reeking onesie and leggings into a plastic bag, resisting the temptation to just throw them away. She finished wiping Marie down as best she could despite her vehement protests, then sat on the toilet to comfort her with a boob so that she would chill out enough to be put into the carrier. Marie’s fluffy head was damp with sweat. How had she become so sick so quickly? Laura bent down and kissed her poor little baby’s clammy brow while dialing the only phone number she knew by heart.
On the third try, Callie finally answered, and Laura hastily begged her to come to Brooklyn and take care of Marie while she taught the rest of her classes.
She heard Callie shifting around and making bleary thumping sounds. “Are you trying to figure out what time it is? It’s ten thirty a.m.,” said Laura. Laura always knew what time it was, now.
“Can you not be a bitch for a second? I’m just waking up. How long do you need me to take her for? We’ve got band practice later. I mean, I do.”
“I just need you until my last class of the day gets out; it’s near the apartment, so I should be home by four fifteen. You could be back in Manhattan by five, probably. The other thing is, the reason I need you to take her is that she’s sick, but you won’t need to do anything except keep an eye on her fever. She’ll probably just snooze for most of the day,” Laura said, hoping she was telling the truth. “Oh, and the apartment is a bit of a mess, I apologize in advance.”
Callie sighed. “So, wait, I’m going to be exposed to some super-toxic baby germs? I can’t get sick right now, dude. And you know I’m not a baby expert.”
This was true. Laura avoided asking Callie for help except in cases like this one, when she absolutely could not avoid it. Everyone else she knew in New York was either a late-night acquaintance, like Alexis, or a fellow new mom with her own shit to deal with. Callie was still her closest friend, and as underqualified as she was as a babysitter, she at least would show up, however late, and do it. She meant well, and didn’t hate kids by any means. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t operate on a momlike frequency. She didn’t understand those little semi-intuitive things, like how to figure out that Marie needed to nap and put her down before she became punch-drunk, overtired, and inconsolable. Once, after Callie had been called in to emergency-babysit, Laura had discovered Marie’s onesie fastened underneath her diaper.
Laura sighed. “Callie, I am really sorry about this, but I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t in a total bind. I can’t afford to miss my classes, and if I pay a sitter, it’ll cost just as much as missing them. Can you please try to get to my place before noon? I really think she’ll just sleep, and I will totally owe you one.”
“One what? Redeemable when?” Callie said, in a way that seemed like she mostly was kidding, but almost not.
Laura snapped. “If anyone owes anyone anything, Callie, it’s you! I could be waking up at noon and doing what you’re doing, if it wasn’t for …”
“Well, that was your choice!”
Laura thought she could hear tears in Callie’s voice. She always had been an easy cry. It was always how she’d won fights; it was impossible to yell at a crying person.
“What am I supposed to do, sit out everything good in life until you’re ready to rejoin me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be harsh, I’m just running on so little sleep here and I … look, you’ll come, right?”
“I don’t know.” Callie sniffed and paused, but Laura knew she would help. She would be late and resentful, and she would put in the bare minimum, but she would come.
Laura managed to