I put her in the sling so I could hunt down a few books I wanted for my research. She seemed to enjoy the movement, and she made happy little sounds as I walked around the stacks.
This kid was really too cute for words. I pinched her cheek as I finished putting the books in my backpack. It was a real crime that her mom didn’t seem to want her. These first few days of her life were so important, and this Amanda person wasn’t even attempting to love or care for her. I wished there was something more I could do.
To think I’d been thinking about getting a pet soon! I’d been halfway tempted to at least get a little ferret or something. Well, that plan was going to be on hold indefinitely. Gretchen would fill the “small, needy things you have to take care of”-shaped void in my life.
As I got in my car, I remembered the baby store at the mall. I’d been in a couple of times for gifts. All right, occasionally I glanced in as I walked by. Baby clothes were cute, all right? I had a soft spot for kids—probably because I was just a big one myself.
Fuck it. I’d take Gretchen to the baby store. She needed a couple more things, like a car seat. Even if Faye didn’t keep her for long, her mom could use the seat later.
When I got to the store, I deliberated between choices for what felt like an hour. There seemed to be an infinite variety of car seats—different ones for different ages, weights, and heights. After all of my looking, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they made different ones for every personality type and zodiac sign.
At last I made my choice, a rear-facing car seat that could be used from birth up to a year. It looked easy enough to install, and it would fit in a standard back seat.
I moved toward the cash register… then saw a rack of sparkly soothers. I popped one into my cart in case Gretchen started crying when I wasn’t around to give her my thumb.
All right, one more circuit around the store to be sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.
Those tiny shoes were pretty adorable. Poor kid was going to need to keep her feet warm. She might as well do it in a miniature pair of Converse.
And she’d need some cute little socks to go with the shoes. Those frilly pink ones would be a nice contrast with the black and white.
What about a pink hat to match? It was going to get cold pretty soon.
And she’d need a blanket… and pajamas…
By the time I got to the front of the store, the cart was overflowing. Literally. I almost dropped Gretchen out of her sling as I bent over to pick up the things that’d fallen out.
The man ahead of me in line was startled when my head bumped into his ass, but she gave me a sympathetic look as I straightened up. “New baby? How old is she?” With the gift set he was holding, he appeared to be a grandfather.
“She’s not mine, so I’m not sure. I’ve only had her for a few hours.” Great, that sounded like I’d kidnapped the kid. “It’s complicated.”
The grandpa gave me a confused smile and moved forward in line.
When the cashier rang me up, I took a deep breath. The total was more than a teaching assistant made in a month… or several. But Gretchen needed the Mario Brothers T-shirt in five colors.
I handed over my credit card.
* * *
&n
bsp; When I met Faye at her office at the end of the day, she looked overwhelmed by the mere sight of Gretchen, as if by having her out of sight, she’d managed to suppress the fact that the baby existed.
She pushed her glasses to her forehead to massage her temples. “How’d it go with her?”
“Not bad. She slept most of the day, really.” I smiled, hoping to cheer her up.
“Which means she’ll be up half the night, no doubt.” She dipped her head to massage further back. “I suppose I’ll bring her home with me. I still haven’t been able to get in touch with her mother.”
“Do you need any help?” I set Gretchen on the desk and stretched. As light as she was, carrying her around for so long was hard on my back. “I got her some more stuff, but I just realized I forgot it in the car.”
Faye steepled her fingers and rested her chin on top. “You’ve been shopping? Did you get much research done today?”
“Not exactly.” I cringed to admit it. “I took out a few books, but I haven’t had a chance to look at them.”
“All right. Go get some food—I assume you haven’t eaten either—and go to the library. Get some work done and bring Gretchen’s things in the morning.”
But I wanted to see more of her now. Plus… “One of the things I got was a car seat,” I said. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to drive without one.”