Goldilocks Forever

Chapter 56

Washington, D.C.

February 9, 2007

On most nights, the house seemed to belong to her alone. Alex and Cleo went to bed and then she was alone with the sounds of heat rushing through the vents, the occasional whoosh of a car driving by—a beam of headlights past the window—and the ticking of the cuckoo clock on the wall in the hallway. Her thoughts and regrets kept her company on those nights.

But now, even after midnight, the house was full of light and new noises. Still, she lay in the bed, listening, her thoughts and regrets replaced by pain.

Alex's voice came louder as he passed by the guest bedroom. "I just got a text from Toby. He's here."

"He's here?" Cleo peered down over the top of the stairs.

"He's outside the door. He didn't want to ring the bell and wake everybody up."

Anna sat up in bed and listened.

Alex opened the front door. "Hey." She could hear the smile in his voice. "How was your drive? You hungry?" The door closed almost as quickly and she leaned forward, straining to hear the sound of his voice.

"Nah, not hungry, but I should probably eat anyway." Relief flooded through her. A tear pricked the corner of her eye. She let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Of course." Alex let out a little what-was-I-thinking kind of laugh and clicked the door locks in place. "Come on in. Make yourself comfortable."

"Sorry I got in so late, I—"

"Toby!"

"Hey, Cleo." His jacket rustled as they hugged.

"Ooof, you're cold! You want some food? I'll make you something."

"No, no, I don't want to trouble you." He sounded tired and disoriented. "So, what's going on? It's late and both of you are still up. Did everything go okay?" Nervous, he sounded nervous, too.

"Everything went well, really well." Alex yawned. "No problems."

"Yeah? How's Anna?" A warm flush spread through her at the sound of her name from his mouth. She got up and stood at the door to the guest bedroom.

Alex lowered his voice so she could barely hear him over the sounds of Cleo microwaving in the kitchen. "Physically, she's fine. There were no complications, no excessive bleeding. She'll probably recover quickly."

Cleo chimed in. "She hasn't come out of her room in days. I'm not sure if she's eaten anything today. Maybe I should heat up a bowl of soup for her, too." Her voice came nearer.

"But she's okay, though?"

"As far as we can tell." Alex cleared his throat. "We've been letting her rest, letting her recover—"

A distant newborn wail breeched their conversation. Anna sucked in her breath at the tingling, needling sensation in her breasts. She went to the bathroom, stripped off her clothes, and turned on the shower. The rushing water drowned out the sounds of her whimpers as hot tears ran down her face.

"What about the baby?" Toby watched as Cleo left to attend to the cries.

"He's absolutely perfect. We already tested him. He's healthy. No virus." Alex smiled and set a spoon and bowl onto the kitchen island. "Seven pounds, two ounces."

"A seven pounder, huh?" Toby smiled awkwardly, like he had no idea how to talk about babies. He turned to the container of soup turning and bubbling in the microwave. He took it out and stirred it with the spoon.