A rustling sound came from the bassinet. Ian got up from the bed, and when Lily started to get up too, he told her to stay put; he would check on the baby. Connor followed his father off the bed, and together they stood over the now squirming infant, her face slightly flushed.
Connor wrinkled his nose. “Stinky.”
Ian chuckled. He glanced at Lily. “I think our little angel just filled her diaper. Where are they?”
“I can change it.” Once again, Lily started to get out of bed.
“Don’t be silly. Stay put. You need your rest. It’s not like I don’t know how to change a diaper.” He glanced at Connor, who had not yet started potty training, and then looked to Lily, who pointed to the diapers sitting across the room on a shelf.
Just as Ian grabbed a diaper, a nurse walked into the room.
“How are we doing in here?” the nurse asked brightly.
“Doing wonderful,” Lily called out from the bed. “Dad there is preparing to change his daughter’s diaper for the first time.”
The nurse looked at Ian. “First time?”
Ian motioned to his son. “I have almost two years of practice.”
The nurse snatched the diaper from his hand. “In that case, I am going to give you a quick lesson on changing a girl, which is slightly different from changing a boy. Especially if she just did what I suspect.” The nurse wrinkled her nose and then led Ian back to the bassinet after grabbing a package of wipes.
“My name is Rylee.” The nurse introduced herself before starting with her diapering lesson. When Rylee finished her lesson, she washed her hands and checked on Lily.
Ian washed his hands after Rylee and walked to the bassinet and carefully picked up his daughter after re-swaddling her. Gingerly holding her in his arms, Ian walked to the rocker and sat down, his son by his side. “She’s so small. Much smaller than Connor was.” Several times, the toddler reached out to touch Emily Ann, but Ian gently pushed his hand away. “You always need to wash your hands first before touching the baby.”
Finished with Lily, Rylee turned to the rocker. “Hey, Connor, why don’t you let me help you wash your hands?”
Connor let Rylee lead him to the room’s sink. After she washed and dried his small hands, Connor raced back to his father.
“Can I get you anything?” Rylee asked the parents.
Ian glanced at the wall clock. “I don’t think so. But thanks for asking. My parents are supposed to be here any time now. They’re picking up Connor, and he’ll be spending the rest of the day with my mom. I plan to stay here with Lily and Emily Ann.”
The hospital door opened, and in walked Ian’s parents, June and John Bartley.
“There they are now,” Ian said without getting up.
“Oh, let me see that baby!” June gushed just as she rushed over to Ian’s side, but he quickly stopped her.
“Wash your hands first,” Ian reminded her.
June rolled her eyes, and her husband chuckled. Together, the grandparents washed their hands while Rylee walked to the bassinet and started changing the sheets.
By the time the grandparents reached the rocker, Ian had stood up, still holding the baby. June first went to Lily, who was still in bed, sitting up and leaning against the pile of pillows against the headboard. June asked how her daughter-in-law was and then quickly sat on the rocker, waiting for Ian to place her granddaughter in her lap.
“When are your parents coming?” John asked.
Lily let out a sigh and leaned back on the pillows. “They were planning to come after the baby was born, but we thought that would be after we were back in our house. So I’m not sure what the plan is. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it.”
As they visited amongst themselves and Rylee quietly attended to her business, an unexpected visitor entered the room. He didn’t come through an open doorway. He walked through a wall, and only one person in the hospital room could see him.
“Clown!” Connor called out as he toddled away from the rocker toward the ghost.
“Hey, little buddy. I thought you might be here. I was getting lonely. No one to talk to. Want to see another trick?”
All the adults in the room, except Rylee, who was preoccupied, turned to Connor. Ian and Lily exchanged quick glances and looked back at their son.
“He’s doing it again,” June said, looking up from the bundle in her arms.
“The boy has a good imagination,” John suggested.
“What’s with this new obsession with clowns?” June asked. “And invisible clowns, at that.”
“I’m kind of curious; why do you keep calling me clown?” Wesley asked.
“Bubble clown. Bubble clown!” Connor reached out to Wesley.
“Bubble clown?” Lily muttered. She looked at Ian. “Do you think this has something to do with that clown bubble dispenser Heather gave Connor for his bath?”
“Oh, Heather, that explains it,” June scoffed.
“What are you talking about, Mom?” Ian asked.
“Obviously, Heather taught Connor to do whatever he’s doing. But it’s embarrassing, especially in public, like at restaurants. I never understood why you let her babysit.”
Rylee, who had been standing by an open closet, taking a quick inventory to see what she needed to replenish, heard June’s words and was curious about what they were all talking about. She stepped out of the closet and turned around.
“Rylee?” Wesley called out. “You’re working here now?”
Unable to see or hear Wesley, Rylee glanced around the room and then returned to the closet. Wesley followed her, and behind Wesley came Connor.
“I wondered if you were still in Frederickport,” Wesley asked Rylee, yet only Connor heard his words. “Really sucks about what Bonnie did to you. I admit, I was looking forward to spending all that money with Bonnie. But hey, maybe getting that heart attack was my karma for not speaking up when you guys were fighting this out in court. But you know how stubborn Bonnie can be.”
Connor stood behind Wesley, facing his back. Wesley stood behind Rylee, her back to him as she finished up in the closet. Connor reached out for the ghost and called out, “Clown trick!”
“What is that child doing?” June asked.
Rylee turned around, looking through Wesley at Connor. “What do you need, buddy?”
Ian walked to Connor and picked him up. The boy squirmed in his arms.
“Oh, he’s not bothering me,” Rylee told Ian.
The next moment, Connor reached out in another direction and called out, “Gamma Marie!”
The twins slept in the portable cribs, shoved against a wall in Marlow House’s living room. Danielle had insisted the chief sit in the recliner so he could raise his leg because of his knee surgery. The others, Walt, Brian, Chris, and Heather, along with Danielle, sat in random seats in the room, with only Evan sitting on the fireplace hearth. The boy sat petting Sadie and Max, with the golden retriever sitting to Evan’s right, and the black cat with the white-tipped ears curled up on Evan’s lap.
Brian had just asked Heather if Marie and Eva had returned when Ian came walking unexpectedly through the living room door, carrying Connor. Once he entered the room, he placed the boy on the floor, feet first. The toddler scrambled toward Evan and the basket of toys sitting next to the fireplace.
“I thought Connor was staying with his grandmother today,” Danielle asked.
“He was going to. But I think we had a visit from a ghost.” Ian walked to the nearest empty seat and sat down.
“You mean Eva and Marie? Not sure how that changed things,” Danielle asked.
“They were there too. But I’m pretty sure Connor’s clown ghost showed up.” Ian then recounted what had happened at the hospital. He ended by saying, “Lily didn’t want Connor going home with my mother, not knowing if this new ghost would be following him there. And while I suspect Marie would have stayed with Connor to make sure he was okay, there was no way we were going to get Connor to stop chattering on about the clown and then reaching out to Marie. Like we keep saying, one imaginary friend isn’t that unusual, but two?”
“I wonder why he keeps calling him clown,” Heather asked.
Ian looked at Heather. “Lily wonders if it has something to do with that clown bubble dispenser you got Connor.”
“You know, it might.” Danielle spoke up. “Connor was playing with it in the bath the night Wesley showed up. Connor was rambling on about a clown when I took him out of the tub. Although, I can’t figure out what the connection might be between him and the clown toy.”
“Are you suggesting Connor saw Wesley when he was in the bath? If that’s the case, why wouldn’t you have seen him?” Chris asked.
Danielle shrugged. “It probably has nothing to do with it.”
They all stopped talking when snow fell from the ceiling.
“They’re back,” Heather told Brian. The next moment, Marie and Eva stood in the middle of the living room.
Connor, who had since dumped over the basket of toys, waved at Eva and Marie and then continued playing with the toys.
“I imagine Ian told you what happened at the hospital,” Marie said.
“He thought Wesley might have been there,” Danielle said.
Marie nodded. “That silly ghost. He was surprised when we showed up. At first, he didn’t notice us; he was so busy badgering Rylee.”
“Badgering Rylee?” Danielle asked.
“Yes, Bonnie’s cousin. She’s a nurse at the hospital. I was surprised to see her. So was Wesley, from what I gathered. I asked him what he was doing there. He said he was bored, and Connor was the only one he could talk to—except for you, of course.” Marie gave a little wave around the room, showing she meant all the mediums when she said you. “But I suspect he didn’t feel you would appreciate him barging in for an idle chat, not if he wanted you to help him.”
“He wanted to chat with a toddler?” Heather frowned.
“Apparently, he did a few sleight-of-hand tricks, which Connor found amusing. I suspect Wesley enjoyed playing to a willing audience.”
“He really is a clown,” Heather said with a snort.
“Perhaps we should get to work,” Eva suggested.