“Oh, he’s such a little love,” cooed Maggie. “Look at him, just glancing around at the lights and the people like he’s ten years old instead of—what’s his age now, Hallie?”

“Nine months.”

“Yes, instead of nine months. So alert, and interested in everything!”

Hallie’s burble of laughter came out half-amused, half-wry.

“I warned him that he would have to be on his best behavior today. You know how they are when they’re out in public.”

“Well, no, sweetie, I don’t know. But I’d sure like to find out.”

The two women had met three years ago when Maggie Roskum, head of HR at a local small grocery chain, had ended up at Cranston Memorial ER, after a car accident had left her with a broken leg and multiple cuts and bruises. Some hours of care later, a transfer for Maggie to be treated more extensively upstairs, and a follow-up visit by Hallie had initiated and sealed their friendship.

They visited with each other as time allowed, which wasn’t often. Single and childless, Maggie seemed to be on call and in demand about as much as a presidential aide, or a surgeon, with her cellphone always within arm’s reach and few hours to call her own. As for Hallie, when she wasn’t working her regular shifts (and occasional overtime), she was busy taking care of Aaron or the usual household chores.

Today was that rarity of rarities: part of an afternoon stolen out of impersonal schedules that allowed so seldom for the personal.

They had decided to meet at Café Mud. Maggie, because she hadn’t yet visited the place, despite it being located a mere five blocks from her office; and Hallie, in the hope that a pleasant experience here might negate the disappointing one of just a few days ago.

Into the trunk of her car she had loaded the stroller, diaper bag, bottles, toys, an extra onesie, and every sort of paraphernalia that a baby requires. She’d even been able to park in a city lot adjacent to the building.

Aaron, like so many small children, possessed two personalities: his public face, and his private one. For the moment, beguiled by so many new sights and sounds, turning this way and that in the stroller, he was simply being his sweet and lovable self. That, however, might change at any minute, depending upon mood, condition of diaper, intensity of hunger, or boredom.

“Do you ever see…y’know…his father?” asked Maggie.

She had lowered her voice, even though the café wasn’t crowded, and they had deliberately chosen a corner table out of the way.

“Eduardo?” With a sigh, Hallie picked up part of the date roll she had decided was just a little piece of heaven on earth. “Ha. Catch him being seen anywhere near his son. No, the day after I let him know I was pregnant, he was gone.”

“Wasn’t he in college here?”

“He was making a stab at it. He quit there, quit his job at the bar where we met, and disappeared.”

“What a jerk,” said Maggie with feeling. “And never a penny of support, either.”

“Nope. It’s hard to get money from someone when you can’t track him down. And you know the financial circumstances of the whole Jameson family—neither I, nor my folks, could afford to hire a detective to find him.” Hallie sighed again.

Maggie took a sip of her coffee. Excellent brew. Just what she needed.

“And there’s poor Aaron, growing up without means and without a father, too.”

A squawking command from the stroller informed Hallie that attention was needed. She rose, bent over the baby, and not only shifted his position but rearranged the zoo animal mobile hanging above his head. His dark, wavy head of hair, along with the smooth olive complexion and soulful brown eyes reminded Hallie of his deadbeat father, but still, she loved him with all her heart.

“There, all better now, sweetheart? I think he was scared,” Hallie added, resuming her conversation with Maggie.

“Who, Aaron?”

“No, no. Eduardo. I think the idea of so much responsibility, coming out of the blue, just scared him to death. Eduardo himself grew up in a fatherless household; he’d had no role model. So, he ran.”

“And dumped everything on you.”

“Yes. But I don’t wish him ill, Maggie. Not now, anyway.” Hallie managed a short laugh, laced by bitterness. “For a while, I was so mad, I would have said and done some pretty nasty things, if I could have gotten hold of him. Then, I realized so much hatred wasn’t good for me. Or the baby. And, of course, once Aaron was born”—she smiled at the baby, who smiled back with a set of dimples as stunning as her own—“he brought his own welcome.”

Her friend looked from one to the other with sympathy and understanding.

“Of course he did. I can’t believe how much he’s grown, and what a prince he is!”

“Oh, yes…for the moment. Give him time, though; his devilish side will shine through. So, tell me, Maggie, what’s new in the corporate world?”

“Lots of crap,” said Maggie frankly. “Let me get another one of those thingies with all the frosting and jelly, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

It seemed that the Shop-Rite grocery chain was in a state of flux. A couple of stores would have to be closed within the next few months, and another conglomerate was already sniffing around to see which and what might be up for sale. While Maggie had not been involved in any preliminary negotiations, she was trying to put out fires and calm down anxious employees even as rumors were flying.

“Things have been stressful,” she confessed, using her napkin on sticky fingers. “I’ve had to do a lot of traveling—just to other towns in our marketing area, thank goodness, and not out of state. But there’s so much going on, and everybody and his brother seems to have a problem of some kind.”

Hallie frowned. “Is your job in jeopardy?”

“I don’t think so. But, you know, with corporate fever spreading, and in today’s economy, anything can happen. It’s best to be prepared for any contingency.”

“And are you?” she asked quietly.

“Oh, honey, as much as I can be,” Maggie sighed. “I’ve been working at Shop-Rite since I was a kid, so I’ve got some pension money built up, but not much else. Living expenses alone are so darned high, as it is. I don’t know how you manage it, on your own, with a baby.”

“Well, it helps that my mom does what she can for childcare. And I pay her what I’m able to afford, although she hates to take any money. But with my dad…”

She paused for a moment to stir her coffee, while little Aaron, who had been lying still and angelic for far too long, suddenly began a series of rocketing kicks that set his toys and stroller bouncing.

Hallie’s father was afflicted with a debilitating case of rheumatoid arthritis, with painful, weakened joints and a crippled gait. Unable to work, he and his wife subsisted on a small monthly disability payment and a deteriorating savings account. The senior Jamesons had remortgaged their modest home twice, with the proceeds acquired only to pay mounting bills.

Hallie was well aware that the cash she gave her mother weekly for childcare provided only a buffer, mainly to put food on the table. She also knew that, were her mother not watching Aaron for so many hours, she might have been able to work outside the home to earn a more substantial paycheck. Her parents were sacrificing so much, just to help their daughter and grandson get through life. Hallie was afflicted by mixed feelings of gratitude and guilt.

It wasn’t fair.

There was that evil star again, leering down at her.

“Do you want to hear about my exciting date, right in this very coffeehouse?” Hallie asked then, deciding it was necessary to change the subject.

“You met a guy here? Do tell.” Maggie’s eyes widened excitedly. “My love life is as empty as the desert sands; it would be nice to hear something good about somebody else’s. What was he like?”

“Oh, not bad. Not bad at all. Cousin of one of the girls I work with at Cranston.”

Maggie was finishing off the last few crumbs of her pastry in anticipation.

“No, no, those deals never work out right. Family can never choose blind dates.”

“That’s for sure. We were having a nice conversation until I mentioned something about childcare.”

“Whoops.”

“Uh-huh. He just about broke a leg getting out of here.” Hallie brushed a lock of hair behind one ear and began to chuckle. Enough time had passed since the incident that she could now look back on it with just a glimmer of humor. “The poor man turned white as a sheet; I was afraid I’d have to use CPR just to get his heart started again.”

“Definitely not a guy interested in being a stepfather, huh?”

Just then, Maggie’s cellphone rang. Letting out a groan, she glanced at the number, shook her head in resignation, and answered. It was a stilted, one-way, unenlightening conversation, comprised mostly of, “Yeah.” and “Rats.” and “Oh, fudge.”

Finishing quickly and brusquely, Maggie hung up and stood up.

“Sorry, Hals, I’ve gotta run.”

“Oh, Maggie.” Disappointment covered the young woman’s face like a dark shroud. “Not work again.”

“An emergency. People threatening to quit right and left over some ham-handed guy who just walked in and took over. Here, honey, lunch is on me today.” Fumbling in her purse, she laid a few bills on the table and began making her way through a line of customers. “I’ll call you later and let you know what’s going on.”

“But, Maggie, if you could wait—just a minute—”

Hallie’s words fell on empty air. Her friend was already through the door and gone, leaving behind only the scent of her perfume and a few crumpled napkins. The place was starting to fill up as a late-afternoon clientele trickled in to place orders and take seats.

“Well, that’s a pain. I only wanted to ask her to watch you for a few minutes, while I used the ladies’ room,” she told Aaron. “In case you weren’t aware, my darling son, everything in life is made more difficult by having a baby around.”

Aaron didn’t take well to criticism, even that made in a half-joking way. Watching his mother intently, with increasing trepidation, he puckered up his tiny, angelic face and burst out with an ear-splitting roar of rage.