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NICOLE
I did not learn to swim, other than paddling around, until I was an adult, and I was determined that Chloe would not follow in my footsteps. I signed us up for Mommy and Me swim time at the local gym soon after I married Vidar and we went to classes twice a week.
The gym was much nicer than any gym I had visited when I was single. There were beautiful changing rooms with large showers. Usually Brooke came with me when we went to our swim class, but on this particular day, Brooke had a doctor appointment.
I debated whether I should skip the class, but then I felt like a wimp. Women all over the world took their babies places without a nanny along to help. I could do this.
Since I married Vidar, I could afford all kinds of help, but I didn’t want to become one of those pampered women who couldn’t – or wouldn’t – take care of themselves.
Getting the stroller into the back of my Toyota took longer than I anticipated.
When I got to the gym, I had to fight it again, unpacking it and setting it up. Chloe protested when I strapped her in.
Changing us both into swimsuits was a process, and when I had to take a bathroom break, I took Chloe and the stroller into the stall too. It was a tight fit.
When I came out, I met my friend Dorothy. “Don’t you have your nanny today?”
“No. Not today.”
Dorothy was an older woman with white hair who had a walker and wore one of those old-fashioned latex swim caps – the ones with plastic daisies on them. She took the senior adult water aerobics class after the Mommy and Me class. She often came early and was there, sitting on a bench in the changing room when I arrived. I’d met her a few weeks before, when she admired Chloe. “That’s a beautiful baby,” she’d said. “What’s her name?”
“Chloe.”
“How old is she?”
“Nine months.”
“She certainly is alert. Look at those pretty blue eyes.”
“Yes.” I was very proud of Chloe and thought she was beautiful and smart.
“Does she like to swim?”
“I think so.”
“That’s good. Everybody should learn how to swim.”
I agreed. I asked Dorothy if she had children.
“Yes. One son.”
“Do you have any grandchildren?”
“Yes,” she said. “A grandson, but I don’t get to see him. It’s a long story.”
“That’s too bad,” I said. I didn’t want to pry and knew that Dorothy would tell me more if she wanted to. After that first day, she always seemed happy to see Chloe and asked about her.
On this day, Dorothy was still in the changing room after we finished the swim class. She watched as I changed Chloe out of her wet suit and into dry clothes. I changed into dry clothes as well.
Something about Dorothy didn’t look right. She was still wearing her day clothes, so I asked if something was wrong.
“I’m a little tired,” she said. “I don’t think I’m going to go to my class today.”
“Well, I hope you feel better soon,” I said cheerfully. I decided to take a bathroom break before I drove home.
As I tried to maneuver the stroller into the stall, Dorothy offered to watch Chloe for me.
“Thanks,” I said. “It will just take a minute.”
I was in the stall and sitting on the toilet in an instant. I could see Chloe through the cracks between the stall door and the metal frame. I heard Dorothy say in a sing-song voice, “Aren’t you the most precious thing?”
And then the stroller and Chloe were moving away from me.
“What?” I said. I hastily pulled my clothes on and left the stall so see Dorothy pushing Chloe’s stroller through an emergency exit door.
I should have screamed for help, but in that moment, I thought that Dorothy was out of her mind, possibly with a form of dementia. “Dorothy, stop!” I cried.
She exited the building and I hurried after her.
Dorothy, no longer using a walker, ran towards a BMW sedan in the parking lot.
I caught up with her before she could reach the door. “What are you doing?” I cried and pulled the stroller from her surprisingly strong grasp. “You can’t take my baby.”
Ironically, Chloe looked fine, not bothered by the jolting journey at all. Thank goodness.
Dorothy reached in her purse and brought out something that looked like a remote control, but when she pressed a button, I felt a painful jolt of electricity go through me.
Had I been tasered? I fell to my knees in agonizing pain, screaming out loud, and then a few seconds later, it was over.
I shuddered, unable to talk for a moment, unable to think clearly. My tongue felt thick. “Don’t . . . take . . . Chloe,” I finally managed to say.
I watched as Dorothy opened the door to her car, then stare at the second seat as if confused. “I don’t have a car seat,” she said quietly.
“You can’t take her,” I repeated and struggled to stand upright.
Someone must have seen us in the parking lot, for another patron approached us. “Are you okay?” she asked. She helped me to my feet.
“It’s all a mistake,” Dorothy said quickly. “A terrible mistake. I can’t believe I did that. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I’m so sorry.”
“What happened?” the woman asked. “Did your taser go off by accident? That happened to a friend of mine.”
“I’m the grandmother,” Dorothy said. “I just wanted to see my granddaughter.”
I gasped. “DeeDee?”
She nodded. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
As strange as it was, I believed her. She reminded me a little of my mother when she was only slightly drunk and not thinking clearly.
The other woman said, “Should I call the police?”
In that instant, I knew that Vidar and the rest of the Nilsson family would not want to make this a police matter. “No,” I said. “We’ll work it out.” I made myself smile.
The woman persisted. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I said.
The woman walked into the gym and I faced Dorothy. “This isn’t the way to get what you want. I’m going to have to tell Vidar and the lawyers.”
She suddenly looked ten years older and frail. Her shoulders slumped. “You’re right,” she said weakly. “I’ve lost Chloe forever now.”
From the tone of her voice, I knew that she loved Chloe, even if only in her own obsessive way. I said, “It’s not about the money, is it?”
“No,” she said. “Chloe is all I have left of my son. I can’t let her go. I can’t.”
She was still grieving her son’s untimely death, but that didn’t excuse her actions. I said, “Is that why you filed those nasty petitions, saying that Vidar is incompetent to be her guardian?”
She said, “I didn’t want to do that. The lawyers said I had to do it to get her back.”
I didn’t entirely believe that, but I had some sympathy for her. I said, “Are you willing to withdraw your petitions?”
Dorothy nodded. “Yes.”
Okay, that sounded like progress. I said, “I’m going to go home now, and I want you to follow after me in your car. I think it’s time for you and Vidar to talk face to face, not just through lawyers.”
Dorothy said, “I’ll do that. And I want to tell you again, I never meant to steal Chloe, I just wanted to see her.”
“How did you know about the swimming lessons?”
“That was easy. I had you followed,” she said simply. “I thought it would be enough if I could see her every week. But then today when the opportunity arose, I took it. I don’t know what came over me.”
She sounded like my mother after she’d had the misfortune to be caught after one of her impulsive misdoings. I wondered if Dorothy had an alcohol problem also. I waited until she was in her car before going back to the gym for my gym bag and purse. I then put Chloe in her car seat and drove home, with Dorothy – correction DeeDee – behind me.
I called Vidar, but he did not answer his phone and I didn’t want to leave a message. I didn’t know how to explain everything without freaking him out. Personally, I was freaked out myself.
Sweet Dorothy was DeeDee, the woman who was making our lives miserable?
I felt sorry for her, but I also knew that she’d deceived me, pretending to be someone else.to get closer to her granddaughter.
As I drove, I wondered if I should have called the police. I felt guilty and stupid for letting a stranger watch Chloe in the first place while I took a bathroom break. What had I been thinking?
Chloe was the Billion Dollar Baby. If Dorothy hadn’t taken her, someone else could have.
At a red light, I texted Vidar telling him that I wanted to meet him at the house.
I’m already here. What’s up?
I responded:
Be there soon.
I parked in front of the house with DeeDee parking her BMW behind me. I got Chloe out of her car seat. “Wait here,” I said to DeeDee.
“I will,” she promised.
I carried Chloe to the front door. I used my keys to open it. I quickly found Brooke who took Chloe from my arms and said she’d give her a bath. I walked through the house and found Vidar in the library. He said, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s DeeDee,” I said. “She’s parked out front.”
“What?”
I tried to explain. “She was at the gym during my swim class. She’s been talking to me for weeks. I didn’t know who she was at first, and today she tried to take Chloe, but I stopped that . . .”
Vidar did not wait for me to finish. He ran to the front door and out to the street. “Get out of here!” he bellowed. “Before I call the police.”
I tugged on his arm. “Vidar, please! That might not be necessary. She says she’s willing to drop the petition.”
He turned around sharply and looked at me as if I was crazy. “And you believe her?”
“I don’t know, but I think you should talk to her.”
“Are you on her side now?”
“No, but she is Chloe’s grandmother. I’m not saying she should have custody, but maybe there can be some kind of visitation? Supervised?”
From the look on his face, I could tell that he didn’t comprehend what I was saying. He was furious. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I trusted you.”
“Vidar,” I began. “Let me explain –”
“Go!” he shouted angrily. “Just stay away from me and Chloe. I never want to see you again!”