Mary
I wondered if I had told Rachel too much. I didn’t want to scare her away by seeming like I was an old lady desperate for someone to confess my sins to or tell my secrets. Still, there was something about her that touched my heart. She had her whole life ahead of her. She had dreams and had given them all up to care for her little sister. It was a selfless act in an age when I found most young people cared more about themselves than others.
From what Rachel had told me, she and Claire hadn’t had it easy. I was sure I’d like Claire as much as I liked Rachel. I was anxious to meet Piper. From the little Rachel had shared, she seemed like a darling child.
I decided to go shopping. I wanted to get the parents with babies in NICU something special.
I drove to the mall and a couple specialty stores. I was about to give up when I happened into a cute baby boutique I’d never been in before. I was looking at the baby books when I came across one that addressed the particular needs of parents of preemies.
I picked up the journal and the clerk walked over to me.
“Aren’t they precious?” she asked.
I paged through the book. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. What a great idea.”
“My daughter was a preemie. I wished they would’ve had these books thirteen years ago when I had her.”
I smiled. “And your daughter’s fine?”
“Yes. Those nurses in the NICU are amazing. My daughter didn’t come home for three months.”
I told her about volunteering to be a cuddler.
“I’m so glad they started that program,” she said. “They didn’t have that when Lizzy was born and I wish they did. I had another child at home and it wasn’t always easy to find someone to watch him so I could go into the hospital and be with my daughter. It would’ve been nice knowing that, if I couldn’t be there and the staff were too busy, someone was holding her.”
I looked at the book. “How many of these do you have in stock?”
“I can check but I can always order more if we don’t have enough. Do you need more than one?”
“I need two hundred.”
The clerk’s mouth dropped. “You know two hundred families with preemies?”
“Not quite. I want them shipped to the NICU at York Hospital. The staff can give them to the parents. Make it anonymous. There’s no need for anyone to know it was me.”
I followed the clerk to the counter and handed her my credit card. She looked at the name on the card. “Mary McAlaster. Why does that name sound so familiar?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Mary’s a pretty common name.”
After leaving the boutique, I stopped at the toy store. I wanted to buy something for Piper but I wasn’t sure what. But as soon as I saw the floppy white puppy sitting on the shelf, I knew it was the perfect gift. It wasn’t a real dog, but I thought Piper would probably like it just the same.
I always enjoyed shopping for children. Every Christmas, I’d shop for toys for children staying in the domestic abuse shelter in the city. I always hired a Santa to give out the toys at the shelter’s Christmas party. It was always a joy to see the looks on the children’s faces. And the mothers, too. They were harder to buy for, but I always seemed to be able to find something they could use.
By the time I got home, I was tired. I sat on the easy chair and fell asleep. I woke up an hour later and went upstairs to bed. I crawled under the covers. It was cold between the sheets and, even at my age, I wished for a man to lay beside me. I needed a cuddler of my own, but I knew that would never happen. Some things are not meant to be.