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She stayed under the speed limit and in the right lane the rest of the way, then made a wide, slow turn onto the long driveway. When she pulled into the garage, the door burst open and Mara, holding Jackson, and Summer rushed out to greet them.
“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”
The little boy was frantic. Allison unfastened her seat belt.
“You take care of him,” Erica said, turning off the engine. “We’ll get Bethany.”
Allison hurried to her son, who threw himself at her and started crying.
“I know,” she said, holding him. “It was too long. But I’m home now.”
Summer joined her mother. “You’re back. I can’t wait to see her.” She opened the back door and studied the sleeping baby. “She’s so beautiful.”
Summer carefully unfastened the car seat, then lifted it out of the car. Erica grabbed all the bags Allison had collected during her short stay in the hospital. The baby furniture had been delivered, so everything was ready for the little family.
Still holding Jackson, Allison came over to them. “Thank you so much for taking care of him.”
Mara lightly touched Bethany’s cheek. “He was so good. He ate well and we played a lot and ran around outside.”
“He was in day care in the mornings,” Summer added. “Mom took him and Grandma picked him up. We thought keeping him on a regular schedule was important.” She tickled the little boy. “He slept great.”
They all went into the house. Allison tried to show Bethany to Jackson but he was more interested in demonstrating how he could climb the stairs with only a little help.
“We’ve been working on that every morning,” Mara said with a laugh. “It was good exercise for me.”
“You’re growing up so fast,” Allison told her son. “What a big, big boy.”
He beamed.
Summer handed Erica Bethany in her car seat. “You take her upstairs, Mom. I think I need a little more baby practice before I’m comfortable doing that.”
Erica hadn’t carried a newborn in nearly sixteen years, but she told herself it was like riding a bike. At least she hoped it was. Plus, Bethany was all strapped in and there was a handle from the removeable part of the car seat.
They made it to the second floor. Jackson broke free of his mother’s hand and started shrieking.
“New, Mommy. New!”
“What’s new?” Allison glanced at them. “Tell me you didn’t buy Bethany a pony.”
“Not yet,” Mara said cheerfully as she pushed open a door. “But the furniture fairies did put in an appearance.”
Erica hung back as everyone else pushed into the room. It was more crowded, but all the new things fit. There was a bassinet by the bed and a fully stocked changing table along the far wall. The rocker was tucked in the corner. A few wall hangings neither she nor Summer had been able to resist brightened the space.
“Look!” Summer raced over to a small refrigerator tucked next to the dresser. “It’s for when you pump breast milk. That way you don’t have to go downstairs in the middle of the night.”
Allison had only been using one side of the bathroom vanity for herself. Summer and Mara had set up the other side with baby supplies.
“Plus the extra stuff is stored in the laundry room,” Summer said. “Mom set up a diaper delivery service. You just let them know how many you want each week, and the size, and they’ll show up on the following Tuesday. It’s cool. Come look at the closet. We put all her clothes away. The normal stuff is from me and Grandma but Mom bought too many girlie things. She’s a newborn. How many little dresses does she need?”
Erica kept her gaze on her friend and knew the exact moment Allison started to lose it. She dropped Jackson’s hand and crumpled onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. Harsh, ugly sobs shook her body.
“What did I say?” Summer asked, looking scared.
“Nothing. You were perfect.”
Erica crossed to the bed and sat down, then put her arm around Allison. “She’s dealing with pregnancy hormones and having a newborn. She’s sleeping fifteen minutes at a time. It’s a lot.”
Allison sniffed and took the tissues Mara offered. “You know I can talk for myself, don’t you?”
