Mary
I heard the anxiety in Rachel’s voice as soon as I picked up the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“I just finished up at the doctor’s. He wants me to get some bloodwork done this afternoon. The lab closes at five. I wondered if you’d be willing to watch Piper while I did that.”
“Of course. But is everything okay?”
“I have a swollen lymph gland,” Rachel said. “He just wants to make sure everything checks out.”
I wanted to ask Rachel if she frequently had swollen glands, but I didn’t want to appear overly concerned. I knew swollen glands could be caused by many things, including bug bites. The summer June and I went to summer camp, her glands were always swollen from being bitten. We teased her that the bugs liked her better than the rest of us.
I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “Do you want me to get Piper at school or at the bus stop?”
“How about I meet you at the bus stop? If Piper doesn’t see me when the bus turns the corner, she’ll freak out.”
“Good point. I’ll meet you there. And Rachel, why don’t you visit Claire or do something fun afterward? I’ll take care of Piper and make sure her homework gets done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I’d love to spend time with her and give you some time to do something you haven’t had the chance to do in a while.”
“That would be great, Mary. Thanks.”
I pulled into the apartment complex right after Rachel. She walked over to my car and opened my door. “Thank you so much, Mary. Sorry for all the trouble.”
I stepped out of the car. “It’s no trouble at all. We’ll have fun. Did the doctor say anything else?”
“He prescribed something to help with my anxiety. He said it’d help me sleep. I figured I’d pick that up on my way over to see Claire at the bar.”
“Good.”
The bus turned the corner and Rachel and I walked up to where the other parents stood. Piper was the first one off the bus and when she saw me standing with Rachel, her smile grew ten sizes.
“Mary!” Piper ran toward me and I opened my arms to give her a hug.
“She doesn’t give me hugs like that,” Rachel teased.
Piper then hugged Rachel. Rachel bent down until she was eye to eye with Piper. “Listen Pipe, Mary’s going to watch you for a while. I need to run some errands. Is that all right with you?”
Piper nodded.
“She’ll help you with your homework and read to you. I’ll pick you up later.”
Piper looked up at me and I smiled. “And we’ll stop on the way home to buy you dinosaur chicken nuggets for dinner.”
Piper started jumping up and down, the dinner idea clearly a hit.
Rachel looked at the time on her cellphone. “Okay Pipe, I gotta go. Be good for Mary. I love you and I’ll see you later.”
“I love you too, Rachel.”
I took Piper’s hand and we walked to my car. Rachel waved as she pulled away.
I buckled Piper’s car seat and we drove to the store.
Piper pointed to the little shopping carts for kids. “Can I get my own cart?”
I wasn’t planning on buying a lot, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to go shopping with Piper. I imagined that if I’d had a daughter, this is one experience we would’ve shared. So we shopped and I bought more than I intended, filling up Piper’s kiddie cart and half of my own.
I noticed all the smiles coming from passersby. I’m sure they thought Piper was my granddaughter. I didn’t mind. It was nice to have a mini me if only for an afternoon.
Piper pointed to the refrigerated case down from the meat counter. “The chicken nuggets are there.”
We pushed our carts over to the case and I bent over and picked up two packs. I held them up. “Which one? Regular or dinosaur?”
“Dinosaur.”
I handed Piper the pack of dinosaur nuggets and she placed them in her red shopping cart. “Can I have French fries, too?”
I nodded. “Or, you could have macaroni and cheese.”
Piper bit her lip.
“You can’t decide, can you?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll tell you what, we’ll get both and you can take the leftovers home.”
That made Piper smile even more. By the time we reached the checkout line, my cart was so full I wondered if I had enough cash on me to pay for it all. If I didn’t, I figured I could always use my credit card.
We were standing behind a woman who looked like she’d just come from exercising. Her hair hung in a pigtail and she wore sneakers and an oversized T-shirt. She turned around. I think she heard Piper talking.
“She’s darling.” She looked and me and then down at Piper. “I bet you’re having fun shopping with Grandma.”
Piper looked up at me and smiled.
“Oh, I’m not her grandmother. Just a friend.”
The woman put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I just assumed…”
I held up my hand, “It’s okay. Really. She could be my granddaughter.”
On the way home, Piper brought up the comment.
“Miss Mary,” she said. “I don’t have a grandma. I don’t have a mommy, either. I have Rachel and she’s my sister. Do you think you could be my mommy?”
It felt like Piper’s tiny hands were tugging on my heart. I wasn’t sure how to respond. I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep. But I also didn’t want to ignore the question. “Piper,” I said, “I will be whatever you’d like me to be.”
She nodded. “I want you to be my mommy then.”
I smiled and thought that I had to be the oldest “mommy” of a child in Piper’s class.