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Randy hit the alarm Saturday morning and flopped back into her pillows. Who does this? It wasn’t that she hadn’t known four a.m. existed, but she’d made it a point never to be on speaking terms with it. Unfortunately, Eli had to be at the airport by six, which meant she had to arrive for Astor duty by five.
Astor duty? The two words brought back all the resentment of the day before. Resentment she’d tried to bury under layers of prayer and common sense. A sleepy sigh echoed through the room, and she closed her eyes for sixty more seconds.
Duty was the wrong word. The day would be what she chose to make it. Assigning negative names wouldn’t help. Eli would do what he had to do, and so would she. Her inability to use the tickets didn’t diminish the love with which they’d been given.
If Eli succeeded in bringing Celeste home, that was the best possible outcome to this whole thing. While he worked on that, she’d promised herself to make the day fun for Astor. Sort of a mini girl’s day. When the old fear and inadequacies tried to rise up, she denied them purchase.
Randy tossed the blankets aside, rolled from the bed, and pulled on the clothes she’d laid out the night before. She filled a travel mug with strong coffee and hurried out the door. When she opened the car, the dome light illuminated a sea of purple bags in the back seat. Randy grinned. First on her list of fun things was a fashion show. Big girls loved to try on new outfits, surely little ones did too.
The idea kept Randy’s spirits high for the twenty-minute drive to Eli’s house. She pulled to the curb a bit before five. Several of the windows glowed from inside, and the porch light illuminated the front door. She sat for a few moments, dinking the last of her coffee and taking stock of the home she would call hers in just a few weeks.
Constructed of red brick, the house was saved from being bland and angular by large, odd shaped rocks that wrapped the corners and formed arches over the front windows. Its corner lot was well groomed and spacious. A curving walk bordered by flower beds on both sides led to the porch steps and continued around the sides of the house, stopping at the tall wooden privacy fence that outlined the back yard. Randy thought it a homey place, and the idea of living here with Eli—of building a life with him, and maybe Astor—warmed Randy’s insides better than the hot coffee. Just five more weeks.
The thought brought her eyebrows up. She’d been so busy with work and wedding plans, she’d done nothing to prepare for the move. The beginnings of a plan blossomed in Randy’s mind. She and Astor could remedy that later today. Breakfast, baby fashion show, lunch, and a trip to the store for some packing supplies. While Astor took her afternoon nap, Randy could sort through closets and box up a few things she wouldn’t need before her move. Then she could bring those boxes back here and stack them in Eli’s garage.
With a firm grip on her plans for the day, Randy slipped out of the car, clicked the locks into place, and hurried up the walk. Eli met her at the door and pulled her into his arms.
“You don’t know how much I appreciate you,” he said. Eli rested his head on the top of hers. “I know I’ve disappointed you and I’m sorry.”
Randy tilted her head back and met his gaze. The last few days had etched worry lines around his fine blue eyes. How could she have been so upset over a silly concert? Selfish, she chided herself and laid a palm along his cheek. “Hey, we’re going to be a family. And whether that turns out to be you and me, or you, me, and Astor, we have to pull together if we expect it to work.”
He held her close for several seconds and then bent to claim her lips in a tender kiss. When he broke the contact, he stared down at her. “You amaze me, Miranda. I love you so much. I must be the luckiest guy in the world.”
She grinned at him, boosted up on her toes, and brushed his lips with a second kiss. “Don’t you forget it.” She stepped out of his embrace. “I know you’re in a hurry, but can you leave me the car seat? I have some things to do around the house today. I thought I’d take Astor over there for a while.”
“Weekend cleaning?” he asked.
“Maybe a little. Mainly I thought I’d box some stuff up and bring it over here, if it won’t be in your way.”
“Mi casa, su casa. I’ve told you a hundred times to do what you want to the house.”
“I know and I do have some ideas. I just didn’t want you to think I was trying to...take over your space.”
“Our space. I’m looking forward to seeing a few feminine touches.”
“Even if it means lace curtains and flowers?”
“Even if, and the sooner the better.”
Mischief bubbled up at his words, and Randy trailed a fingertip down the buttons of his shirt. She glanced up at him from under her lashes. “Anxious to have your way with me?”
Eli grabbed her wrist and brought her fingers to his lips. “You’ll never know how much. But for now...” He held his keys out to her. “Trade me. I’ll take your car and you can have my SUV for the day. Even if you were able to get the car seat in the back of the Camaro, you’d have no room for boxes.”
“Great idea. I’ll walk you to the curb. I need to get a few things out of the back seat before you take off.”
Eli hefted a small carry-on bag in one hand and draped his free arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him on the way down the walk.
“Good luck today,” she said.
“I’m going to need it. Say a prayer, OK?”
When they reached the car, Randy angled to face him, tugged the bag from his hands, and laced her fingers through his. She leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes. “Father, please direct Eli’s steps and words today. Give him safety as he travels and a calm spirit when he talks to Celeste. Move in Celeste’s heart as well. Her baby needs her.”
She felt Eli’s chest rise on a deep breath. “Thank You so much for Randy’s patience and love this week, God. Watch over her and Astor while I’m gone. Give them a good day together. We’re all going to need You today in different ways. Please give us all wisdom.”
“Amen,” they whispered together.
Randy took a step back, and Eli tipped her face up for a good-bye kiss. “I’m hoping to be home late tonight. I’ll call you when I know the plan.”
“Good enough.” Randy used the remote on her keychain to click the locks open, handed the car keys to Eli, and hauled out the small mountain of purple sacks.
“What’s all that?”
Randy bumped the door closed with a hip. “You just scoot on to the airport.” She lifted the bags in both hands. “This is women’s work. Check your phone for pictures when you land.”
* * *
“PLEASE REMAIN SEATED with your seatbelts fastened until the aircraft has come to a complete stop. If you have cellular and wireless devices, you may use them at this time.”
“At last.” Eli pulled his phone free and powered it on. He’d checked in with Randy while he’d had breakfast in the Dallas airport. All was well, but that had been more than three hours ago. The phone vibrated in his hand, and the text message icon lit up with the tiny number twelve in the corner. What in the world?
He swiped the messages open and grinned as a picture of Astor enjoying her own breakfast filled the screen. Eli peered at it, trying to see what was on her plate. Looked like waffles. Lucky girl.
He scrolled through the rest, pausing on each one to study an outfit he’d never seen. He chuckled at the assortment of dresses, pant suits...and a swim suit? The contents of the purple bags, no doubt. Randy had pulled Astor’s hair up into two ponytails, each bearing a white ribbon. How’d she manage that? In each shot, Astor either winked, blew him a kiss, or pouted for the camera, but whatever the pose, it was clear she was having a good time.
A tension he hadn’t been aware of rolled from his shoulders. He trusted Randy completely, but she didn’t have much experience with kids, especially little ones. Looked like he’d worried unnecessarily.
Eli came to the last picture, a selfie with Randy and Astor, lips puckered in a kiss. Beneath it, a single line of text.
We’re fine, we miss you, hurry home.
Love the pictures. Just landed in Miami. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I can. He closed out the messages and looked at the time. It was just after one. There were two flights he could catch this evening that would get him home tonight.
He intended to be on one of those, his daughter in tow.
* * *
RANDY BACKED ELI’S SUV into her driveway and inched as close to the garage door as she dared. She cut the engine and used the rearview mirror to glance at Astor. “Here we are.”
Astor was slumped in her car seat with a stuffed unicorn bundled to her chest. Her head rested atop the plush toy, and one hand rubbed at her droopy eyes.
“Looks like someone needs a nap.” Randy stepped out, circled to the back to raise the hatch door, and considered her options. Set Astor free and unattended in the house while she unpacked the car, or leave her safely confined until she was finished unloading. She bit her lip. I should have brought the playpen. She rolled her eyes at the evidence of her inexperience. This mommy stuff was hard.
Hard, yes, but they’d had a really good day so far. Astor hadn’t cried much or been overly demanding. She’d eaten her breakfast with no drama and seemed to enjoy their fashion show, hamming it up each time Randy pointed the phone in her direction for a new picture. The kid loved looking at herself on the little screen, giving her image kisses with loud smacks before hugging the phone to her chest with a garbled “baby.”
Randy’d had the foresight to bag up a few of those little fish crackers for their trip to the store, and Astor had been perfectly content while Randy gathered packing boxes and tape. She grinned at the memory of Astor straining against the seat belt in the cart. Sitting still was not one of Astor’s gifts. The little squirt was plenty rambunctious, and Randy’s house was hardly baby proofed.
Better safe than sorry.
“Sit tight while I take this stuff through to the kitchen. I’ll be right back, and we’ll see about that nap.” Randy entered the pin number on the keypad outside the garage, and while the door lumbered up, she unloaded the large flattened boxes. She leaned the boxes next to the kitchen door and went back for the diaper bag, the bag of toys she’d packed, and the sack of tape and markers.
“Out now.” Astor bounced in her seat.
“One more second,” Randy said. She rushed through to the kitchen and left everything on the table. She made it back to the car just in time to see Astor’s features screw into tearful frustration.
“None of that now.” Randy’s fingers fumbled with the snug-fitting harness. “Almost there.” Randy smiled in triumph when the pieces separated. She slipped the straps over Astor’s shoulders and held out her hands. “Come here, baby.”
Astor dove into Randy’s outstretched arms. “Yay!”
Randy hugged the sturdy little girl and the stuffed unicorn close. “Thank you for being such a big girl today. Let’s go see about a dry diaper and a nap.” She snagged the diaper bag on the way through the kitchen and walked straight back to the unused third bedroom at the end of the hall.
She’d moved into the house five years ago and never used this space. Her dreams of a combination library and workout room never quite saw the light of day. The room had no furnishings except for an old easy chair and ottoman in one corner and a half dozen boxes of books she’d never unpacked.
Randy surveyed the room. The carpet was clean, and there was nothing for Astor to get into. A perfect room for a nap. She bounced the baby on her hip. “Let’s find a couple of blankets and get you settled down.”
She crossed to her own room and opened the spacious walk-in closet. In the corner behind the door was a stack of soft fleecy throws. She grabbed two and took them back across the hall. Once she had them arranged on the floor, she laid Astor down, changed her diaper, and handed her a bottle and the unicorn.
“Sleep now, OK?”
Astor’s bottom lip jutted out as she looked around the strange room. “No sleepy.”
Randy grinned. The one-year-old’s eyes had been at half-mast for an hour. “I think you’re plenty sleepy. How about if I rest with you? You lay there and I’ll sit here.” She settled into the chair and propped her feet up. Satisfied, Astor hugged her toy and turned onto her side. Randy waited for fifteen minutes. She couldn’t see Astor’s face, but the child hadn’t moved, and the sound of her breathing was slow and even.
Randy crept out of the room and hurried back to the kitchen. Ten minutes later, grunting under the weight, she carried the first packed box to the SUV.
Randy came back to her room and studied the contents of her tidy closet from the open door. There wasn’t much left to do in there. She’d packed up all her winter coats except one, but almost everything else in there, she used on a regular basis. The guest room, on the other hand, had a closet that was full of stuff she hardly ever used. That was where her attention should be.
Decision made she reached inside the large closet, flipped off the light, and pulled the door closed. If she could get the closet in the middle bedroom packed up while Astor napped, she’d consider her afternoon well spent. Randy left her room and shut the door behind her. She paused in the hall, and listened for any movement from the napping child. When the silence was undisturbed, she gave herself a few mental mommy points for a job well done.
Is Eli having any luck? Randy wanted to call him, but she didn’t want to interrupt him. She retrieved a couple of empty boxes and went to work on the worst closet in the house.