Their Accidental Baby

She shook her head. “Justin, you’re not thinking clearly. The only logical thing to do is to turn this over to the police and Social Services. They know what to do.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. There are good people there, of course there are. Probably the majority. But there are no guarantees. He might also be neglected. He might be shuffled between places. He won’t know the security of one caretaker, one home, while he’s away from his folks. He’ll be much better off with us until we can find his mother.”

“I don’t know. I could really get in trouble. We could get in a lot of trouble.” Laura groaned. Calling the police, Social Services, anyone who would deal with the situation was suddenly imperative.

“Obviously this is someone you know, Laura. Probably an old friend. And she said she’d be in touch. She’ll probably call in a day or two, explain everything. Or come by and pick up the baby.”

“A day or two?” Frustrated, Laura bit her lip hard. “Do you have any idea how many diapers I’d have to change in a day or two?”

“No.”

“Me neither! I don’t know anything about babies. It’s for the best if we call the police. He’ll be safe then.”

“Look.” Justin looked grim and determined. “I’ll help, okay? Between the two of us we should be fine.”

“But what if this baby has been kidnapped? We’d be accomplices to a felony. His mother could be searching for him right this minute.”

“We’d have heard on the news if there was a baby missing.”

“Not necessarily. Maybe he was kidnapped and the parents warned not to call the police.”

“And the kidnappers just randomly choose an apartment, one apartment in this complex, to keep him safe meanwhile? So in a few days they’ll be knocking on your door asking you to return him so they can claim their ransom?”

She gritted her teeth. “Or, they are counting on us to return him through the police. So they won’t get caught when returning him.”

“Isn’t that a rather far-fetched idea?”

Why did he have to sound so reasonable and she so hysterical? Those were stereotypical roles she did not approve of, and besides, she was making sense and he wasn’t.

“It’s not a big deal, Laura. If nobody is in touch in a day or two, then we’ll go to the police, okay?”

There was a noise from the bedroom. Laura and Justin were at the door instantly. In the bed, the baby stirred. Laura held her breath and noticed Justin did the same, as the baby’s eyes fluttered open, revealing dark blue eyes. The child looked at them, surprise widening his eyes. Any time now, Laura thought in resignation. He would open that rosebud mouth and start screaming for his mother.

The baby opened his mouth and laughed. He had two tiny teeth in his lower gum and used both of them to hack at Laura’s heart.

Maybe he would be better off here with them after all. Just while they sorted out this mess with his parents.

“Looks like he’s quite happy to be here,” Justin said.

“We need diapers for him,” Laura said, giving in, just for the time being. “That first diaper change will not be the old-fashioned way, rain forests or not.”

“No argument from me.”

“And then once we have some diapers, we actually have to change his diaper.”

“We?” Justin stepped back. “Oh, no. I have to help with the diapers, too?”

Laura stared at him and sputtered. “This was your idea! You’re expecting me to handle the dirty stuff? Are you nuts? If I had my way, that kid would already be in the hands of professional diaper changers. Either you’re in, or I turn the kid in.”

Justin’s eyes narrowed at her tone. “Is this a joke to you?”

“Not even close. And we still have that diaper to change.”

“I don’t think I know how to.”

“Well, not to worry. We’re two fully competent professional adults. We can change a diaper. First things first: we need to buy some diapers.”

“That’s right.” Justin looked relieved. “We need some diapers.”

They were both at the front door when they noticed the other one was there, too.

“I’m going to buy the diapers,” Laura stated firmly.

“No, I am. You’re exhausted. Even if you make it to the store, you’re in no shape to make it back up the stairs. You can stay here and rest with the baby.”

Hah! Nice try. She could see the panic in his eyes. It wasn’t concern for her that made him want to be the one to escape for half an hour. No. He was just as terrified at the thought of being left alone with the child as she was.

“I’m not staying here alone with him. I don’t have a clue when it comes to infants. That wasn’t covered in law school.”

“How hard can it be? Just watch him, make sure he doesn’t…do whatever it is babies can do to harm themselves.”

Laura took a step forward, but he did, too, wedging them stuck in the open doorway.

Stalemate.

Laura gave up. “We’ll both go and take him with us, okay?”

Laura had never before realized what a huge section of the supermarket was dedicated to babies and all their paraphernalia. Just the diaper racks seemed to stretch for miles. The selection was daunting. She’d never imagined all the factors that needed to be taken into account.

“How much does he weigh?” She peered at a diaper package. “More or less than six pounds, do you think?”

“More. Definitely more,” Justin said darkly, adjusting the baby on his shoulder. He was still behaving, gurgling and smiling, and hadn’t screamed once. It couldn’t last. It was just a matter of time before he realized that there was something very wrong with the world. If he didn’t realize it sooner, he most definitely would in a while, when he had two novices trying to change his diaper.

“Okay. More or less than fifteen pounds?”

Justin lifted the child up and hefted him experimentally. “Hmm…fifteen pounds sounds about right.”

“That doesn’t help. One package is for babies who weigh ten to fifteen pounds, the other for babies weighing fifteen to twenty pounds. So which is it?”

Without looking at the markings, Justin grabbed one of the packages out of her arms and tossed it in the cart. “This one.”

Laura shrugged. “Fine.”

“What more? We need bottles, don’t we? And formula?”

“Definitely,” Laura chirped. “Unless you’re planning on breastfeeding him.”

Three kinds of formula landed in the cart and he didn’t even pretend to smile at her brilliant wit.

“What about baby food?” Justin asked, pointing at the opposite shelves. “That stuff in the jars? Do we need that?”

“I don’t know when they start eating baby food. And we don’t know how old he is.”

“We’ll just buy a few different jars, and see if he wants any of it, okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer before moving the cart to the baby food section.

“Diapers, food. What else do babies need?”

She gnawed her lip. “Wet-wipes? Pacifiers? Special soap perhaps?”

“Sounds reasonable. A few toys, perhaps. And a teddy bear. There is a toy department around here somewhere.”

“A teddy bear?”

He looked at her defensively. “Every kid needs a teddy bear. Especially when all on his own without his folks around.”

“You’re right.” She grinned. “I still have mine, sitting on top of the bookshelf in the bedroom. He even has both his eyes, but his front paw is bandaged. Do you still have yours?”

“I didn’t have one. We’ll have to find a sturdy one for the baby.”

“Yes.” She held her arms out for the baby, and pointed to a shelf too high for her to reach. “Get that lotion, please. Also the big box of wet-wipes over there. And you’re right, Patrick looks like an active boy. He’ll need a strong and sturdy teddy.”

“Patrick? Why are you calling him Patrick?”

“Well, we have to call him something, don’t we?”

Justin stopped in the middle of the aisle, wet-wipes in one hand, lotion in the other. He stared at her with a look of warning. “Laura, don’t get attached to this baby.”

“You’re warning me not to get attached? You’re the one who wants to risk imprisonment and a criminal record just to keep him with us.”

“Shh!” Justin hissed, looking around to see if anyone had heard her. “Are you trying to get us arrested? At least I’m not giving him a name.”

Laura’s arms tightened around Patrick. “I refuse to call him ‘baby.’ It dehumanizes him.”

Justin shrugged, tossing the boxes into the cart. “Okay. We’ll call him Patrick. Why Patrick, anyway?”

“He looks Irish. All this clothes are green.”

“Irrefutable logic,” he remarked dryly.

Patrick finally started crying on the way home. It wasn’t surprising, after all, the poor little guy hadn’t been changed, and hadn’t gotten anything to eat or drink since he’d woken up.

“Maybe we should go to my apartment,” Justin suggested, turning to the right without waiting for her to agree. “It’s not as…There’s more…room there.”

Laura rolled her eyes. “You mean less mess.”

“That, too.”

“I know, I live in a pigsty,” Laura sighed. “I’ve been working fourteen-hour days. I need a wife. I even had to go without underwear this morning.”

Justin looked back at her and she blushed. “I’m wearing underwear now!” she stated. “I already told you, I bought some during my lunch break.”

“Right.”

Great. Now she had her hunky, baby-loving neighbor imagining her naked under her prim working suit. She disguised her mortification by looking around Justin’s apartment. It was a mirror of her own, but a lot neater than her own place had been in months. Yes, he had definite potential as a housekeeper.

There was large microwave container sitting on a small stool by the front door. She raised an eyebrow. “Takeout?”

Justin followed her gaze and shrugged. She even thought he looked a bit embarrassed. “I was going to take it to you, when you screamed. You looked hungry.”

“You were going to bring me food?” Laura was touched. Something tearlike even made it to her eyes and she blinked, blaming it on exhaustion. “Justin, that’s so nice of you.”

“Yeah, well, you still haven’t eaten, have you? It’s cold by now, but if you still want it, we can reheat it.” He grabbed the container and made his way into the kitchen. “It’s not like it’s anything fancy,” he warned over his shoulder. “Just leftover pizza.”

“Homemade?” she breathed.

“Well, yes. How did you know?”

She dodged the question, not wanting to explain to him the way her nose had been picking up the wonderful scents from his kitchen for months now. “First things first, a bottle for the little one.” She looked at the child, squirming on Justin’s shoulder. “He’s really hungry. I’ll get the bottle, if you take care of him in the meantime. Where do you keep your kettle?”

“It’s right there on the countertop. We’ll be in the living room.”

She measured the formula carefully and before too long had a full bottle of warm white liquid. She tested the temperature and erred on the side of too cold, then hurried into the living room where Justin was busy being unsuccessful at calming baby Patrick down. “Here.”

Justin passed her the baby. “Feed him. I’ll go warm up the pizza for you.”

Patrick gulped down the milk, making Laura feel terribly guilty. The poor baby must have been starving.

“Here. Eat this.” Justin put a plate on the table, filled with the most delicious pizza Laura had ever seen, topped with enough cheese to fulfill her calcium requirements for a month. He’d brought a huge glass of milk, too. She raised an eyebrow. “Milk? With pizza?”

“It’s good for you. Give me the kid, and feed yourself.”

Smiling at his gruff tone, Laura handed him the child and started work on the pizza. Ravenous, she managed to finish before Patrick finished his bottle. But as soon as the bottle was empty he was crying again, and showed no interest in a second helping.

“Okay, diaper time. He’s probably wet, too. Or worse.” Laura felt more awake after her meal, and a lot stronger. Taking charge, she grabbed the baby out of Justin’s arms. Women had been handling babies since the beginning of mankind. She had to have some kind of instincts on how to do this. “Can you get some towels to lay him on?”

Before long, the baby was lying on the floor on top of two thick towels and they were getting ready to take that diaper off. It was a cloth diaper, wet and heavy. With a grimace Laura removed it from the baby’s sticky bottom and dumped it in the bag that Justin held ready. That was one diaper that wouldn’t be washed.

She was reaching for the wet wipes when she noticed Justin staring down with a funny look on his face.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, even as she followed his gaze and gasped at what she didn’t see.

“Isn’t there a little something missing?” Justin asked dryly.

CHAPTER THREE

“HE’S a girl!” Laura exclaimed.

Justin snorted. “You get top marks for observation skills, Laura. Why did you think she was a boy?”

“I just assumed she was a boy when I first saw her.” Laura shrugged, staring at “Patrick’s” face. “She looked like a boy to me. I don’t know. It didn’t even occur to me that she might be a girl.”

The little lady’s face scrunched up at this news, and she started crying again. Justin patted her cheek. “There, there,” he soothed the child. “She didn’t mean it. A dress and a bow in your hair and you’ll be as feminine as they get. We’ll get you something pink, promise.” He looked at Laura, gesturing at the baby. “Now that I look at her, it seems obvious that she’s a girl. Those eyes and the long lashes. Obviously a girl.”

“Exactly! Her eyes are the kind reserved for boys, who don’t appreciate them and spend most of their adolescence wondering if they can trim their lashes.” She pointed at him. “You’re a case in point.”

Justin blinked. “I trimmed my lashes?”

“I don’t know about that. But you do have gorgeous eyes.”

Justin looked at her with something unreadable in those dark eyes until she was biting the inside of her cheeks in an effort to keep from blurting out something no doubt as stupid as her last remark. “Uh, thank you,” he said at last and she hurried to change the subject.

“You’re welcome. Now, can we go back to the diaper business?”

“Sure.”

Laura rolled up her sleeves and turned her teeth on her lower lip in punishment for having actually gushed over the man’s looks to his face.

Especially the same day he’d called her scrawny.

But there was no time to wallow in bruised pride. There was important work ahead. A diaper had been removed and another one—this one not out of the middle ages—had to be installed in its place.

Procrastinating a minute, she lined up the wet-wipes and lotions, which was tricky since they needed to be within her reach, but out of Patrick’s…Pat’s reach. Then she got to work at washing and drying a bottom that was slightly pink.

“Darn it,” she muttered, feeling guilty. The new diaper was obviously long overdue. “She has a rash. I hope those lotions fix it. Poor thing.” She picked up the three bottles and examined the instructions. “Hey, we can choose between instructions in French, Spanish and Japanese.”

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