Martha and Carmen had been barricaded in Martha’s room for several hours, understandably, while Elizabeth and Sara worked out the logistics of getting them all home as quickly as possible. It wasn’t much, but it was what they were able to do for now. As the day wore on, Elizabeth felt increasingly sick and restless, so she decided to take another walk and call William.
She started down one of the cobblestone paths, walking slowly because she felt unsteady on her feet. The phone rang almost five times before William picked up.
“Hi, babe! How’s the high society life treating you?” he teased. “Don’t worry, I’m not jealous. I’m planning my turn.”
“Hi, honey. Well, Carmel is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been,” she started softly, “but, William, something really awful happened today.”
“Let me guess, you guys ran out of champagne. Tragedy!” William laughed.
“No, it actually is a real tragedy,” she continued, a little more sharply than she intended. “Is George close enough to hear us?”
“No, he’s glued to his new iPad. I know you thought he was too young for it, but he was kind of sad you were gone, so I caved and took him to the Apple store. You can be mad at me when you get home. I did do the parental controls right I think.”
“Oh, William, I don’t care about that. Really, I’m just so grateful to have George. And you.”
“Okay, you sound weird. What’s the bad news? Does Joe want you to move to the new Beijing office or something?”
“No. I wish it were something stupid like that,” Elizabeth replied. After a pause she said as evenly as she could, “Martha lost Lucy today, William. They think it was SIDS. She just slipped away during her nap. The investigators are probably at her house right now.”
“Oh, shit,” breathed William into the phone. “What should I do? Do you want me to go up to their house to see if Robert’s okay?”
“I have no idea what to do,” said Elizabeth. “Robert might be there, or maybe he is at work? I have no idea. To be honest, I think I’ve actually spoken to Robert maybe twice in my whole life, and both of those times it was more like talking at him than to him. He’s always working. I wouldn’t have any idea how to approach him.”
“You know I’d do whatever you asked me to do, but I barely know the guy either. I’ll at least call up there and see what I can find out. You guys flying home tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied sadly. “I think they are going to try for Friday for the service. William, can you please get my favorite black suit from the cleaners?”
“Sure thing,” William said, and then he paused. “Hey, did you tell the girls your news? Three months. Past the danger zone.”
“Don’t jinx it. And no, it’s still a secret. Well, I did tell Heather, but I was waiting to tell the girls tonight over dinner. Obviously, I can’t do that now. It can wait. I’ve got to go, honey. See you tomorrow.”
As Elizabeth walked back up the cobblestone path, she couldn’t help but smile thinking about the life growing inside her, the joy of which could not be dulled even by her friend’s terrible pain. Elizabeth knew exactly when this baby had been conceived. The first week of March. Probably spaghetti bolognese night. She could still feel William’s hot breath on her neck and his hands gripping the small of her back. And all that love had become a baby. After so much waiting and pain, she finally felt complete.
But now the unimaginable had happened. And Elizabeth needed to be 100 percent focused on getting one of her closest friends through what would probably be one of the most difficult days of her life.