Karen saw the unfamiliar black car pull up. A pretty, slender blonde exited, wearing a sleek outfit and shades too big for her face.
She kept watching, noticing how long the strange woman stood outside. Knowing Brian was at home, his hesitation indicated an element of unfamiliarity, sending relief through her. But when the blond stranger was let inside, curiosity and jealousy took over.
Karen’s mind began tossing around all sorts of possibilities: the woman could be from child services—she looked sort of professional, although not anywhere near what Karen would have pictured a child services rep to look like. Perhaps the woman was a distant relative. Jehovah’s Witness. She could even be... No, no, no.
Not the baby’s actual mom?
It was the only option that resonated, the one that made the most sense.
Or did it?
Could the biological mother really have returned after all this time? Why?
Karen hoped she was just being paranoid and the woman was just a salesperson or something after all. She kept an eye on the house, all of her senses attuned to what might be happening next door. Then it hit her—could the woman be a hired “escort?” Was Brian getting it in right now?
The uncertainty was driving her crazy.
Even if the two of them weren’t officially together-together, they obviously had a connection and had just recently connected in intimate physical ways. No way was Brian back to playing the field when he’d made it clear he was closer to wanting so much more for them.
“I love you, Kar…” she’d heard him mumble in his sleep.
Who the heck else could he be referring to?
She had whispered the words back to him, kissing his forehead, but it was clear he hadn’t heard a thing and she was glad—she wasn’t quite ready to admit it out loud to him just yet. Too much uncertainty still sat between them.
But how could she not love the man at this point? They’d spent the past two months raising a child! They’d lived and breathed Isabelle every day, saw each other every single day, trusted each other with so much...
The woman was leaving.
Karen checked the time, realizing the blonde had been in Brian’s home for about twelve minutes. It’d felt like hours!
The stranger didn’t look too happy, her head slightly down and looking deep in thought as she strolled toward her black sedan, shades on top of her head. When she’d pulled off and her car finally disappeared from sight, Karen wasn’t sure what to do —go over or call? Was it even her place to question Brian about what just happened?
Of course! A stranger showing up at his door—you should check on him at least—make sure everything’s okay.
Brian wouldn’t fault her for being curious; besides, hadn’t he brought his nosy ass over the day after she found Isabelle, before the two of them had even spoken to each other once?
Before she could decide her next move, her phone rang, with Brian’s name showing up on the caller ID. She answered immediately.
“I don’t even know why I called—I could’ve just texted you to come over. But I guess I wanted to make sure I reached you sooner than later. So if you can right now, please come over.”
“I’m practically there already,” she said.
Karen was breathing harder than she should’ve been. She was always tossing about possibilities in her mind, and she’d certainly tossed about this particular possibility more than once. Plus, it wasn’t like she was ever supposed to look after Isabelle beyond a certain point; in fact, she was pretty much at the end of their agreed-upon term.
So why was her heart beating so hard? Why was she so scared?
“I’m obviously still trying to figure things out,” Brian said. “I agree a kid should know his or her parents, but I have my doubts about Deidre being a stable figure. But I’m not sure I can really judge her at this point. I figure if she can get through a week, and then a month, she might be serious. If not, Isabelle is still young enough that she won’t remember her anyway.”
“So you want me to basically train her over the next week and then she’ll take over.”
“Please don’t think I’m shutting you out—I’d be overjoyed if you still visited in the evenings—Deidre will be gone by then. I just think I owe it to the baby to at least give her mother a try.”
Karen got the sense he was indirectly asking for her opinion, but she didn’t know what to say—she hadn’t even met the woman. All she knew was that this ‘concerned’ mother had dumped her baby in the dead of night in late September. But perhaps hormones had made her crazy, perhaps she’d gone through some postpartum issues. Maybe she’d really come to her senses after all this time. Who was Karen to suggest the baby be kept from its biological mother?
The decision had to be his.
“Can’t say I disagree,” she said. “I support your decision, Brian, and as long as Deidre shows up, I’ll go ahead and let her shadow me and teach her what we’ve discovered.”
His eyes sparkled, but she couldn’t quite read it. “Thank you, Karen. My daughter and I are so lucky to have you in our lives, I don’t want you to think for one second I’ll let you go easily.”
She smiled at him.
“And listen,” he said a little quieter, “I know we’ve been getting acquainted in other ways, but I think we should put the brakes on for a bit while this new thing gets sorted out. What do you think?”
“Oh,” she said, unable to hide her dejection.
“I don’t mean go back to the way things were,” he said quickly. “Karen, I very much want to be with you—I just can’t date you rigorously like I want. But I can have dinner made or delivered for two in the evenings, for example. Look, I was dead serious about still having you come over once your official employment period is over. I’m not ready for any of this to end, so we should definitely still hang out when we can. And maybe when I’m sure I can trust Deidre, I can leave the baby with her a little longer one day and take you out to a proper dinner.”
Karen relaxed in relief. “I’d like that,” she said, ignoring a tiny, naysaying part of her intent on being skeptical, yelling that from now on, things would never be the same.
Everything seemed to be converging. Karen had about one week left on her agreement with Brian, and her current end date almost coincided with the arrival of her sister, so she was being forced out of her comfortable position in more ways than one.
Since the DNA test had turned out positive, she had to muster up all the politeness and civility she possessed to walk Isabelle’s biological mother through her routine for almost a week, and then she had to find something else to do with her time.
She was glad Brian had made it clear where he stood—she’d found strength in his words of commitment, his clear intent to make sure they remained more than friends.
Knowing she wasn’t exactly leaving empty-handed—that she’d still have access to them both—would help her to keep going as she continued her job search and prepared to move into a whole new place.
She just had to figure out a way to tell her sister about her and Brian.
A few days later…
“Boy, am I glad to see you!” Tamara said as she wrapped Karen in a hug.
“I’m surprised you didn’t come back with more stuff!” Karen replied, eyeing Tamara’s bags. She had the backpack and large black suitcase she’d left with, and one unfamiliar, medium-sized purple bag. Karen reached to help her with one of the bags.
“One does not have to pack two months of clothing when one vacations for two months,” Tamara said. “And how many souvenirs do you think I need? I was busy living in the moment, enjoying the food, the company. Many of those moments, I imagine will live on in my memory. Plus, I have so many photos to remind me what the trip was like.”
“I know—I glimpsed your Instagram feed,” Karen said, rolling her eyes playfully as they entered the house.
Tamara grinned. “And it’s not like I won’t be returning to those places. You and I should go sometime...when you’ve got your schedule figured out, of course.”
“Yeah,” Karen replied low in her throat.
She felt Tamara’s eyes on her and she straightened up, trying to look more cheery and keep her mind off of the recent events.
Tamara started telling her about an incident on the flight back as they went upstairs to drop off her luggage.
“So, how have things been with you and Brian?” Tamara asked when she was done with her story, plopping onto her bed.
“Huh? Oh, well, we’ve been getting along,” Karen replied.
“And the kid?”
“I love her,” Karen said, then realized she sounded too intense as Tamara’s face transformed and she pulled back a little.
“I mean, you know I’ve been babysitting here and there...” Might as well tell her the truth now! “It turned out to be a little more than babysitting, actually—more like a nanny, except even more than that. I’m pretty much the only mother the baby knows—although that’ll probably change soon.”
“Huh.” Tamara was watching her intently.
“Brian and I worked out this arrangement—since he needed all the help he could get and I was available, he hired me. So I’ve been employed all this time, working as a caretaker. He paid me quite decently for the gig.”
“You really thought it was a good idea to be more than an occasional babysitter?”
“What was I supposed to do? He needed me!”
Tamara’s dark eyes still looked too intelligent and discerning for her liking.
“Anyway, as I said, the job is pretty much over, one way or another, since the birth mom showed back up.”
Tamara sucked in her breath and this new, sparkling piece of information threw her off whatever track she’d been on. “You’re kidding me! What does she want? Is she going to fight to get the baby back?”
Karen shrugged. “We don’t know. All I know is she decided she wanted to be in the baby’s life after all, and she and Brian are working on making that happen.”
“What does that mean?”
“Beats me. I just can’t imagine no longer seeing Isabelle…” Her voice broke.
“Wow, you really are attached,” Tamara said.
“You would be too if you took care of someone for two solid months.”
“Are you talking about baby Isabelle or Brian?” her sister asked flatly.
“Well, Isabelle, of course, but I guess both,” Karen said with a small laugh that rang false in her ears.
Her sister watched her with a knowing look but again said nothing.
“Anyway, your trip—tell me about it; I need details! Neither Pierre nor Alessandro showed up in your feed so...what did they look like?”
“I see what you did there,” her sister said with a dead-on stare.
“What?”
“You’re totally into Brian, aren’t you? How far did you guys get?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. Have you guys kissed?”
Karen gulped, unable to stop it.
“Oh, boy...”
“Come on, Mara—it just sort of happened. We’ve been working closely together for months—pretty much co-parenting a child, for God’s sake...”
“You knew I liked him!”
“But you never made a move, did you? Did he ever make a move on you? And how was I supposed to know you were serious? You joke about dating people all the time! Plus, you’re a casual dater and what Brian and I have...”
“Oh, it’s serious, is it?”
Karen took a breath and brought her energy back down. Then she calmly said, “You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you deliberately. I never intended to fall for the guy...”
“Aha!”
“…and I really don’t think it’s fair for you to try to block my one bit of happiness. I mean, how much do you want? You’re the youngest, and by pretty much everyone’s standards, the hottest. You even managed to win the goddamned lottery, and now you have this great big house in this fabulous neighborhood. You have it all, but you insist on me having nothing!”
Tamara’s perfectly manicured eyebrows rose. “Is that how you feel?” she asked in a flat tone.
“I have real feelings for Brian and his daughter. Anytime you want, you can pick up a Pierre or Alessandro or Chad...”
Tamara burst into laughter. “Chad?” she said.
“You know what I mean.” Karen couldn’t help but smile a bit in response and the moment dissipated some of the tension. “You can have any guy you want for however long you want him. I don’t know why, but Brian and I connected, even before we started looking after Isabelle together. He feels right for me, so please don’t be mad at me; be happy for me.”
Tamara looked thoughtful, and after several agonizing, silent moments, she said, “Okay. I wish you two the best. Sounds like his situation is getting more complicated by the day anyway, and I have no interest in baby mama drama.”
Karen’s entire body relaxed in relief.
“I’ll start with Pierre,” Tamara said with a twinkle in her eyes, her posture suggesting she planned to chit-chat for a while.