Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Darla waited just far enough away from the sliding glass doors to the hospital that she didn’t trigger the automatic open feature while she waited for Rick. When she saw him approaching, head bent and collar pulled up against the icy wind, she raised a hand and waved. His smile announced the moment he spotted her.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, coming in and giving her a kiss, his lips chilly against hers. “Any news?”

Darla shook her head. “Not yet. Wyatt stuck his head out a while ago to say everything was going well, but he hurried back in there before he could tell us anything more. My mom is predicting it’ll be soon. I think she has some sort of grandma super senses.”

Rick laughed as he threw his arm over his wife’s shoulders. “I know today is really the Jameson family’s big day, but it’s a pretty exciting one for Lori too. A proposal and becoming a grandmother? Put that one in your diary, huh?”

“It’s two proposals, actually,” Darla corrected. “Claire, Liam, and I went to go grab a bite to eat and Mom and Hudson had a stealth re-do… one where he actually got the question out and she got to say yes. The three of us came back from the cafeteria and surprise! She was wearing this gorgeous ring.”

“Man, I missed everything,” Rick faux complained. “I was too busy getting the stink eye from Peaches.”

“You didn’t miss the biggest part,” she corrected, even as she laughed at the image he painted. Peaches was a sweet cat, but she was very protective of her mother. If Marty left and Rick returned in her place… that was a big no-no to Peaches’ mind.

“True.”

The Mahoneys returned to the waiting area, where Claire sat with Hudson and Lori while Liam chatted with someone he knew from work. As a firefighter, he had some EMT training and worked with the local hospital whenever a fire sadly ended in injury, so he knew a lot of the staff. Rick expressed his admiration for Lori’s ring, congratulating Hudson on a fine choice while his mother-in-law preened under the praise.

They didn’t have to wait for much longer before the doors to the main ward opened and Wyatt appeared, looking tired, stunned, but overjoyed.

“Hey, everybody,” he said, beaming. “Baby is here, he and mom are doing great.”

“He!” Darla exclaimed, clapping her hands to her cheeks. A boy. A baby boy. Her nephew.

“He,” Wyatt confirmed. “Marty and I actually knew already, so I am so glad not to have to worry about letting the secret slip anymore.” He shook his head ruefully. “But not as glad I am to have him here. Trevor Craig Jameson.”

Lori, who had been getting teary-eyed ever since Wyatt had appeared, let out a little sob when he announced that baby Trevor’s middle name was in honor of her late husband. Darla felt her eyes get wet too. She reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand, even as she let Rick cuddle her against his side.

“Trevor,” she breathed. “What a perfect name.”

“Anyway,” Wyatt went on. The goofy grin had not slipped from his face even for an instant. “My beautiful, incredible wife is asking that you all come and admire how cute our son is. So if you would follow me.”

He beckoned and Darla, Rick, Hudson, and Lori followed. Claire and Liam said they would wait behind, so the room didn’t get too crowded and overwhelm the new arrival.

In the labor and delivery room, Marty was propped up against a series of pillows, a bundle clasped in her arms. Her face was lined with exhaustion, her hair frizzy with lingering sweat, but the look on her face as she gazed down at the baby she held was nothing but beatific.

She glanced up at the entering group, then back down at the baby.

“Hey, Trevor,” she said softly. “Look who is here. It’s your grandma and your aunt Darla.”

Hudson and Rick fell back, letting the three Sims women have their moment with the first arrival in the next generation. Darla sat on one side of her sister, careful not to jostle the new mom, while Lori took up the same position on the other side.

“Oh my gosh!” Darla exclaimed when she looked down at the baby. “Oh, Marty, sweetie, he’s perfect. And, Mom, look. He’s got your red hair.”

Indeed, baby Trevor had a shock of bright red hair, the color almost matching that of his grandmother.

Lori didn’t take her eyes from her grandson as she responded. “We’ll have to wait and see if it sticks. Marty had that hair when she was born.”

“I did?” Marty asked, startled. Of all the members of the family, she had the least red in her mane.

“You did,” Lori confirmed. “And while I’d be more than happy to share any trait with this perfect little boy, I have a sneaking suspicion he’s going to be just like his mama.”

Marty beamed at the reference to her new motherhood, joy shining out of her like a beacon. Darla wasn’t jealous of her sister in the least, but looking at Marty, she felt a pang of her own anticipatory joy. That happiness would be hers one day, she just knew it. She didn’t know when, or exactly how she’d get a baby of her own, but seeing her sister hold Trevor in her arms only cemented her resolve.

She would be a mom. She just knew it.

For now, however, she basked in her sister’s happiness… right up until Rick, standing at her elbow, murmured, “Uh oh.”

Darla looked up at her husband in alarm. “What?”

He gave her a sheepish look. “Well, you know how I went to our house to get, you know, the important stuff .” He nodded none-too-subtly at the happy trio of Jamesons. Fortunately, they were too enthralled in their new baby bliss to notice. “I might have forgotten it. I got too excited to get here.”

Darla chuckled and gave Rick’s arm a playful shove. “I thought you meant something serious, you goof! We can give them their present another time.” Darla had completely fallen in love with the duck-themed baby onesie, gloves, and hat, but Trevor would be wearing newborn sizes for a while yet. There wasn’t a huge rush.

Rick disagreed, apparently. The look he gave Darla was aghast.

“But it’s his birthday today ,” he muttered.

She reached up and chucked him affectionately under the chin, enjoying how adorable he was being. He gave her a look of such intense puppy dog eyes that it would have rivaled Scout. Though her own fertility woes made it sometimes easy to forget, Rick had a case of baby fever just as badly as Darla did.

“Okay,” she said. “Let me see if Emily is home.” Goodness, Darla loved having a next-door neighbor again. “If she can spare the time, I’ll ask her to bring the gift by.”

He grinned. “Have I mentioned recently that you’re the best?”

She fluffed her curls jokingly. “You have, but I could stand to hear it again.”

“You’re the best,” he repeated dutifully, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before she darted outside to text her neighbor and new friend.

DARLA: Hey, Emily, it’s Darla! My sister just had her new baby, and Rick and I forgot the ‘welcome to the world’ gift at home. Any chance you’re available to swing it by the hospital? It’s not a long drive and I’d owe you a million!

She attached a pin revealing her location so that Emily could see where the hospital was before making her decision. The answer came back quickly.

EMILY: Oh my gosh! Welcome, Baby… okay, shoot, I don’t know your sister’s last name.

DARLA: It’s Jameson. The baby’s full name is Trevor Craig Jameson. Looking adorable and perfect at seven pounds and six ounces.

EMILY: Welcome Baby Trevor!

EMILY: And yes, I’d be happy to bring you the present, except I don’t know how I’m supposed to get into your house.

EMILY: You’d better not tell me you leave your doors unlocked! I know this is a small town, but there’s a limit, if you’ll excuse my ‘city girl’ moment.

DARLA: Hey, I was a city girl once too! And no, we don’t leave our doors unlocked, thank you very much. But the garage has a code. It’s 83244.

EMILY: Okay, got it! I’ll swing right over and bring the gift to you ASAP.

DARLA: You’re the best! It should be hanging in a green gift bag in the front closet. Scout will hear you come in and want a few pets, I hope that’s okay too.

EMILY: Oh no, adorable puppy pets, AND I’m going to get a glimpse of the baby? Wow, Darla, you really ask too much.

Emily included a winky emoji and a heart at the end of her message. Darla thanked her quickly, smiling as she tucked her phone into her pocket.

The trip from the hospital was short, so she decided to wait near the entrance, keeping an ear cocked for the chime of another incoming text, just in case Emily had any questions or problems with the house, finding the gift, or getting free from Scout’s adorable clutches. Though it had been a happy day, it had been a long one, so she was just starting to zone out in her spot against the wall when she heard her name.

“Darla, hi!”

She blinked and smiled. “Oh, hey, Doctor Lofton!”

He was wearing a crisp white coat and had a stack of files in his arm, which made him look as ‘doctorly’ as Darla had ever seen him. He approached her, then paused, his smile flickering for a moment.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “It just occurred to me that we’re at the hospital. Everything is okay, right?”

“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed. “Wonderful, actually. My sister just had her baby!”

His smile returned. “Oh my goodness, congratulations! To you and to her. Is she with Doctor Merriweather?” he asked, referencing another local doctor who focused on obstetrics in Whale Harbor and Blueberry Bay.

“You got it in one,” Darla said.

He shrugged modestly. “Small town means really small medical pool. I know most of the small-town docs from here to Boston from medical conferences and consults and stuff. But…” He looked briefly puzzled again. “What are you doing out here when the bundle of joy is in there?” He jerked his thumb behind him in the vague direction of the maternity wing.

“Rick forgot our baby gift at home, so we’re waiting for someone to drop it off.” She paused, her tired brain finally catching up, finally putting two and two together. “Actually, if you wait around for a few minutes, I think you might like seeing who shows up.”

When Emily had been thirty-two, she’d caught the heel of one of her favorite shoes in a grate on the sidewalk and had fallen awkwardly. She’d fractured her ankle… and lost her shoes.

What she remembered though, was the wait in the emergency room in New York City which, in her memory, felt like it had taken about two hundred million hours.

In Whale Harbor, she found a parking spot in under a minute, and it only took her another thirty seconds to walk to the front door. Unlike the grouchy, overworked staff at the New York hospital, the front desk worker here greeted her with a smile.

“Hello,” she said brightly. “How can I help you?”

Emily hefted the adorable striped gift bag in her hand. “My friend just had a baby, and I’m dropping off a gift.”

The woman clasped her hands together. “Congratulations! The mother and baby ward is just?—”

“Emily!” Darla’s voice interrupted the woman’s explanation. She looked to see her neighbor waving…

And standing next to Xavier.

Emily felt her cheeks grow pink and then pinker when he raised a hand himself in a shy little wave.

“Oh, do you know Doctor Lofton?” the worker asked. “You’re in great hands, then. He’s just the nicest. I’m sure he can help you, but don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything else.”

“Um, thanks,” Emily mumbled, wondering if she was about to become grist for the hospital gossip mill, or if that was just something that happened on medical dramas.

She walked over to them. Darla looked tired but happy, like a miniature version of what the new mom must look like. Xavier just looked happy to see her.

Emily hoped she wasn’t still blushing.

“Hey, guys,” she said, cringing inwardly at her own awkwardness.

You weren’t supposed to call someone you’d gone on a date with a guy, were you? At least not like that.

She turned her attention to Darla, comfortable in the social script for that moment, at least.

“Congratulations, Aunt Darla! Here’s the baby gift.” She handed over the bag.

“Oh my gosh, Emily, you’re my hero, seriously,” Darla gushed. “Or, really, you’re Rick’s hero, because he’s really set on the idea of giving baby Trevor the gift on his birthday. Sorry to ask for the favor and then bolt, but I want to go give this to Marty before she or Trevor needs to nap.” She wrapped her arm around Emily’s waist in a quick squeeze and then darted off.

Leaving Emily alone with Xavier.

“Um, hi, Xavier,” she said, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Then she thought of something. “Or, shoot—should I call you ‘Doctor Lofton’ since we’re at the hospital?”

He smiled kindly. He really did have such a kind smile.

“Not necessary,” he reassured her. “You’re not here as a patient. We’re just running into one another as friends.”

He put the slightest bit of hesitation on the word friends like he wasn’t sure that was the right way to characterize them… or maybe like he didn’t want it to be the right way to characterize them. Emily wasn’t sure how she felt about the term either.

“Okay,” she said, nodding and keeping her gaze fixed on a random spot on the wall. “Cool. Good. Great.” Then she shook her head at her own silliness and looked back at Xavier. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m being weird. I was just surprised to see you and then felt silly for feeling surprised because…” She waved an arm. “Hospital. Doctor. They kind of go together.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m surprised to see you too. Darla was very mysterious about the gift delivery.”

This was more comfortable ground, and Emily laughed. “She’s having fun setting us up, I think.”

“The most fun,” he agreed. “But it was a good surprise when it turned out to be you. I hope running into me was a good surprise for you too.”

“Oh, yes!” The words burst out of her, marking them as true. She sounded overeager, but he looked pleased by it.

“Good,” he said again. “You know, Emily, I had a really great time on our date. I was hoping that you’d be willing to go out with me again sometime. Do you think maybe dinner again?” He squinted and scrunched up his nose as he thought about his schedule. “I don’t think I have any late appointments on Thursday, if a weeknight works for you.”

Working as a teller at Whale Harbor First National Bank isn’t the most exciting or creative job that Emily had ever had in her life, but it did have one quality that she enjoyed very much: the hours were really reliable.

Before she could tell him that she’d love to go out with him again, however, another doctor came around the corner. She was a stylish woman in her late fifties or early sixties. She sported a sleek silver bob and a neat dress that Emily would have worn herself, back when she’d been working in the corporate world.

“Oh, Doctor Lofton, hello,” the woman said, smiling pleasantly at Xavier. “What a surprise to see you here! You’re not often in the hospital.”

Xavier’s customary smile was wide and open, although he did dart a quick glance at Emily before stepping back just enough to let the other woman feel welcome in their conversation.

“Doctor Merriweather,” he greeted. “I was just talking to a family member of your most recent delivery. Congratulations on another successful birth. This is, what, your millionth?”

The older woman swatted at Xavier’s shoulder. “Watch yourself, young man. That much hyperbole makes it sound like you think I’m old, not just an incredible doctor.” She gave Emily a conspiratorial wink. “Are you the family member in question?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” Emily said. “Just a neighbor dropping off a baby present.”

“Sorry,” Xavier said. “Where are my manners? Emily, this is my friend and mentor Doctor Susan Merriweather, who is both young and accomplished.”

“There you go,” Doctor Merriweather said approvingly.

“Susan, this is Emily Harper, a friend of mine.”

When Doctor Merriweather first turned to look at Emily with an appraising glance, Emily thought it was due to the slight hesitation before Xavier said “friend.” The idea made her feel a little nervous, but in a giddy, nice kind of way, like she was a teenager again, meeting her first boyfriend’s parents for the first time.

But then Doctor Merriweather tapped her chin and said, “Emily Harper? Why does that sound so familiar?” and everything came crashing down.

Later, when Emily was safely home, she would chide herself for growing complacent about her new life in Whale Harbor. She’d started to think she could have a normal life, be a normal person. She’d been acting like Whale Harbor was in another world, not only a few hours north of New York City. She would castigate herself for not remaining more vigilant about her personal details, although goodness only knew how she’d thought she would do that. She wasn’t the “adopt a fake name” kind of person, if those kind of people even existed outside of movies.

In the moment though, as Doctor Merriweather looked at her curiously and Xavier glanced in her direction without the tiniest hint of suspicion in his eyes, Emily felt nothing but panic.

“I have to go,” she blurted, unable to correct her course as she watched Xavier’s pleasant expression meld into shock, Doctor Merriweather’s curiosity become confusion. “Sorry. Bye!”

And then she was out the door, and the convenient parking spot she’d admired on her way in became an easy way to beat a hasty retreat.

Her heart didn’t begin to slow until she was back in her own house, the door safely closed and locked behind her.

And even then, she didn’t feel calm. She didn’t think she’d feel calm again for a long, long while.