Mary and Halley (sequel to When Mary Met Halley)

thirty five

I woke up to Shiloh's voice. "Auntie Mary? Did Mama bring our baby back?"

Reality hit me like a splash of cold water to the face and I groped for my phone. Nothing. I focused on my niece standing just inside our room, her little face drawn up in a worried frown. "Not yet," I whispered, not wanting to wake Halley. I held a finger up to Shiloh and gestured for her to go out, meaning I would join her in a moment. 

Poe made a sound from his bed on the chair, then stretched his wings and jumped to the floor with a thump.

Halley was curled up on her side, Hank's blanket near her pillow, her thumb in her mouth. My heart twisted. I'd only seen her do that when she was under a lot of duress, like the day she'd moved into my house right after we'd met. Before we'd known it was fate. 

My sister Elle had sucked her thumb her whole life, in bed or while sleeping or for comfort, so it was something I was used to seeing. She'd tried to keep it private, though Hazel had of course found it a never ending source of torment material. 

I remembered when Elle had brought a friend from school home for the first time, around twelve or thirteen. I'd promised to make Hazel behave and failed utterly. She had strolled in, appraised the situation, perched on the arm of the couch and said blithely, "You really want to hang out with a baby who still sucks her thumb? Sure she's not wearing diapers too? If you have sleepovers she'll probably wet your bed."

Of course those other things weren't true, but the girl had been just worried enough about peer pressure and her freshly teenaged reputation to be completely alarmed by this information; she'd made an excuse to leave while Hazel sat and smirked. Elle had cried for the rest of the night, and the mean girls at school promptly came up with the completely imaginative nickname "Baby" for her when they heard the story. 

Half the fights Leif and I got into with people in high school had stemmed from us defending her, though she never wanted us to. She didn't really care when they called her Baby or made fun of her for being too weird or too smart. We, on the other hand, felt the need to make them pay.

I thought now how much she would have loved Halley, and the little kids. And how they would have adored her.

"Auntie Mary?" Shiloh whispered, breaking my reverie. It was still dark, only 5:55. I'd fallen asleep around three. Strong coffee was in my near future. 

I joined my niece in the hall, shutting the door quietly behind me. I wanted to let Halley sleep through as much of this as possible. Hopefully Hank would miraculously be home when she did wake up.

"You're up early," I told Shiloh, yawning as I turned up the central heater. My phone said it was a little below freezing outside, and we kept the house temperature lower at night as we all liked to sleep under a pile of blankets. 

Poe was perched on her carefully held arm, which he didn't often do. I peeked in at Jasper, tangled in the weighted blanket that helped him sleep better. PK lay sprawled across him too, and the crow croaked at him. Neither boy nor tuxedo cat stirred, and I pulled the door shut without closing it completely.

Poe flew from Shiloh's arm ahead of us into the kitchen as she chattered. "I just woke up and remembered what happened and I didn't see the baby in his crib but I hoped he was with you and Auntie Halley," the little girl said morosely, taking my hand in her little one as we followed my bird. "And he wasn't but I wondered did you know anything new?"

"Nothing new, but he'll be back today," I said with false positivity, switching on the too-bright light and calling Hazel on the off chance that she would answer. The call went to voicemail, which was still full. "Motherfucker," I said under my breath. If she let anything happen to that child . . . I focused on the one in front of me. "You want some waffles?"