Special Delivery (2 page)

“But,” said Min, who had plopped back onto the couch, “how did this happen? This is so sudden. You never said anything …” Her voice trailed off.

Allie sighed. “I know. It's silly, but I was afraid if I told anyone what I was doing I'd jinx things and then I would never get a call like the one I got last night. It was from a woman — her name is Mrs. Prescott — at one of the agencies I registered with.”

“
One
of the agencies?” repeated Min.

“I've been looking for a long time,” said Allie. “I want to be a mom — it's almost all I can think about — and then last night, out of the blue, Mrs. Prescott called and said that there's a young mom, a
very
young mom, in New York City, who's about to give birth to her baby prematurely, and she and the father have decided they can't keep the baby. They're still in school, they don't earn any money…. Anyway, after the baby is born, he —”

“It's a boy?” squealed Ruby.

“I mean, he or she,” amended Allie. “He or she will come home with me.”

There was a moment of stillness in the living room, and then Flora shot to her feet and began jumping up and down. She grabbed Ruby's arms, and they danced back and forth in front of the couch until Daisy let out a bark of alarm. Min leaned over and hugged Allie. “I'm going to be a grandmother again,” she said into Allie's ear, tears starting to fall.

“And we're going to have a cousin!” exclaimed Flora. “Oh, this is the best, best day ever!”

“But, Allie, please, you have to give us details,” said Min, disengaging herself from her daughter. “Forgive me if I sound shocked. It's just that this is the first we've heard of any of this.”

“I know, I know.” Allie smiled at her dancing nieces, who now fell, laughing, into the armchair. “Well, I suppose it began —”

“Wait,” said Min, “let me get our coffee.” She left the living room and returned a few minutes later carrying a tray holding two cups of coffee and two glasses of orange juice.

“Okay,” said Ruby, reaching for a glass of juice. “Start over.” (She was mildly annoyed that she was not going to be able to march into school the next day and tell her class that she had, overnight, become rich.)

“It began,” said Aunt Allie again, “a few years ago when I was living in New York City and seeing a man named Paul Maulden. We were very serious about each other and planned to get married. Then, after lots of doctor's appointments, I found out that I can't have children. Paul and I were terribly disappointed, but we decided that we wanted to adopt a child, and because adoption can take a long time, we thought we should get things started right away, even before we got married. First we considered adopting a baby girl from China” (at this, Flora and Ruby exchanged a glance, remembering the mysterious closet stocked with baby things — mostly baby
girl
things — that they had come across in Aunt Allie's house one evening) “so we filled out an application. Then we filled out applications with several other agencies. And then …”

Allie's voice faltered, and Flora found herself silently chanting, “Please don't let her cry, please don't let her cry.”

“And then,” Allie continued, sounding stronger, “a year ago, Paul ended our relationship. He said it just wasn't going to work. And that's why I decided to move back here. I wanted a change.”

“
Oh
. That explains things,” said Ruby sagely.

“But I never gave up my dream of having a child. I want to be a mother
very
badly. In fact, the closer I've gotten to you two,” Allie went on, glancing at her nieces, “the more that desire grew. So I continued filling out forms and applications and signing on with agencies to adopt as a single parent. I've just been waiting for the moment when
some
thing would come through. And last night it happened. The phone rang and it was Mrs. Prescott telling me about this baby.”

“And the baby is definitely going to be yours?” asked Flora.

“Well, almost definitely. A mandatory waiting period follows the birth, during which one or both of the parents could decide to keep the baby after all. But it doesn't sound as though that's going to happen. The bigger question is when the baby will be born. The mother went to the hospital yesterday in early labor, but the doctors want to try to delay the birth for at least several weeks. The longer they can delay it, the healthier the baby will be.”

“I see,” said Min.

“And so,” said Aunt Allie, “I don't know
when
the baby will be born. It could happen now or it could happen in a month. But … I've decided to go to New York City for a week. Do you remember my friends Debbie and David?” she asked Min.

“The ones who live in Greenwich Village?”

Allie nodded. “They're going to be away this week, and a month or so ago they had offered me the use of their apartment while they were out of town. They thought I might want to spend Thanksgiving in the city. I said no, because I wanted to be here with you, but now I've decided to take them up on their offer. I spoke to them last night and they said of course I could still stay in their apartment. So I'm going to drive to New York this afternoon and stay until next Sunday. After all, there's a
slight
chance the baby might be born in the next few days, and if that happens, I want to be close at hand.”

“You get to go to New York City?” cried Ruby, and Flora couldn't tell whether Ruby was excited or jealous. Furthermore, she seemed to be entirely missing the point about the baby.

“Ruby, she used to
live
in New York,” said Flora. “And anyway, she's going back there to get her baby. Maybe.”

“I know,” said Ruby, who pouted so dramatically that Flora could tell it was her stage pout and not a natural one.

“Aunt Allie, when will you get to bring the baby home?” asked Flora, hoping that Ruby would notice that
this
was an appropriate and not self-centered question.

“Not until after the waiting period is over
and
the baby is healthy enough to leave the hospital. It could be a while. That's why I know it's silly to rush down to the city. But you never know what might happen. And I was planning to take this week off anyway, so I might as well make the trip.” Allie paused. “I'll have to call Mr. Willet and tell him I can't come to his Thanksgiving dinner. I feel bad about that.”

“He'll understand, honey,” said Min.

Flora envisioned their former neighbor Mr. Willet, who had recently moved out of the Row Houses, where Flora and Ruby lived with Min. Flora's house was the fourth from the left in the row of attached homes. Mr. Willet and his wife had lived in the second house from the left. But after Mrs. Willet had developed Alzheimer's disease, Mr. Willet found a place for her at Three Oaks, a nearby retirement community, and soon followed her there himself. Thanksgiving was to be his first holiday away from the familiar Row Houses, and he had invited Aunt Allie, Min, Flora, Ruby, and Mr. Pennington (who lived in the third Row House from the right) to join him for Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room at Three Oaks. Flora was very much looking forward to the holiday.

“Wow,” said Ruby, “this is going to be some week. I mean, there's the baby and the holiday — and, of course, my solos in the Thanksgiving concert on Thursday morning. By the way, did I mention that I'm going to have the
main
solo next month in the Christmas concert?”

“Only about a thousand times,” muttered Flora.

“Well, I think I can make this week even more exciting,” said Min.

Three heads swiveled toward her.

“How?” asked Ruby.

“Allie, what would you say to our joining you in New York for a few days? We could take the train down on Friday morning and stay with you until Sunday. There's room at Debbie and David's, isn't there?”

“Sure,” said Allie, a smile creeping across her face. “Oh, that would be wonderful!”

“Wonderful?! It would be stupendous!” shrieked Ruby, who leaped out of the chair and began dancing around the living room again.
“‘New York! New York!'”
she sang. “
‘A fabulous town! The Bronx is up and the Battery's down!'
Whatever that means. Oh, this is going to be so cool. Can we go to the Empire State Building? Can we see a show on Broadway? Can we —”

“Ruby,” said Min, “please calm down. We will do as much as we can, but remember that since I'm planning the trip at rather a late date, we might not be able to do everything you want.”

“Okay, okay. I don't care. As long as we get to go to the Great Big Old Apple.”

Flora's mind was on other things. “Min, we'll have a baby to sew for! Our very own baby! I'm going to start smocking right away. Aunt Allie, is there any way you could find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl? Oh, it doesn't matter. I can just start sewing.”

“And I'll start knitting,” said Min. “We got a wonderful new book of baby patterns in at the store. Oh, the store! I'll have to ask Gigi if she can cover for me next weekend.” (Min and her friend Gigi, grandmother to Flora's best friend, Olivia, ran a sewing and needlework store on Main Street called Needle and Thread.)

“I'd better get going,” said Allie, rising to her feet. “I have to pack for the week.”

“For the love of Mike,” said Min. “A baby on the way.”

“A trip to New York City,” said Ruby.

“A new cousin,” said Flora.

“And all before eight-thirty in the morning,” added Min, looking at her watch.

After Aunt Allie left, Ruby looked at her own watch. “It
is
only eight-thirty,” she said in surprise. “It feels much, much later.”

“That's because you usually lie around in bed until ten on the weekends,” said Flora.

Ruby put her hands on her hips. “So? Does that make me a criminal?”

“No,” said Flora.

“Well, all right then.”

Ruby stalked upstairs to her room. She shook her bank even though she knew it was empty. She opened her wallet. It held exactly three dollars and ten cents, less than it had held twenty-four hours earlier, since she'd been to the mall in between. She needed money for Christmas presents and she needed it fast. And now with an additional person to shop for — her new cousin — she needed even more money.

If only Ruby were creative like her sister. Flora was going to make a gift for the baby, and that was usually less expensive than buying something. But Ruby had zero interest in sewing or knitting. Or scrapbooking or crafting of any sort. Maybe she could prepare a song to sing to the baby. Last year as a Christmas gift to her family she had performed one of Min's favorite carols. But Ruby didn't think a baby would be interested in Christmas carols. No, she definitely needed a way to earn some money.

Ruby sat on her bed, ignoring the giant ball of clothing and shoes at the foot of it. She remembered something her father had once told her: In order to start a successful business, you have to know your clients, which means knowing your community.

Ruby felt she knew Camden Falls fairly well. She had lived there for less than two years, but because of Needle and Thread, she spent a lot of time on Main Street, and Main Street was the heart of the town. Ruby had walked up and down Main Street countless times. She knew every store and business there, from Needle and Thread to College Pizza, from Dr. Malone's dental practice to the real estate agency. She knew Jackie and Donna, who ran the post office, and Sonny Sutphin, who worked in the second-hand bookstore, and Frank, who owned Frank's Beans, the coffee shop. The family of her new friend Hilary ran the diner and lived above it, and her neighbors the Fongs owned an art gallery. Every now and then a new business came to town (Ruby had seen signs for a magic store that was to open soon), but in general, Ruby felt she knew Main Street. And since she was a member of the Children's Chorus and also took dance lessons, she was acquainted with all sorts of other people, too. Not to mention that she knew every single one of her neighbors in the Row Houses.

Ruby thought and thought, but she didn't know what kind of business to start. Wasn't she a little young to start a business anyway? And didn't starting a business take a lot of time? Ruby needed fast cash. How did kids her age earn money? Baby-sitting? She knew of only one baby — Grace Fong — and Flora always got to sit for her. (Ruby fervently hoped that eventually Aunt Allie would let
Ruby
sit for her cousin.)

Well. This was getting frustrating. It was just one of the many problems associated with being ten years old as opposed to, say, twelve.

Ruby heaved a sigh. Maybe she could pet-sit. But no, in order to get jobs, she would have to wait for the pet owners to go away on trips, and she didn't have time for that.

What else did Ruby know about her community? What did people need? What would they pay other people to do?