Cracks in the Sidewalk(95)

“Would you like milk if I put chocolate in it?”

Chloe shook her head again.

“Do you like cookies?”

Chloe shrugged.

“Well, I was about to make some cookies. Do you want to watch?”

Chloe smiled and pulled the thumb from her mouth. “Can I help?”

“I don’t know,” Claire teased. “Do you have any experience?”

“Yes,” she said with childlike earnestness. “I used to help my grandma.”

Once she got started Chloe turned into quite the chatterbox, talking about things probably considered family secrets. As Claire tied an apron around her waist, the child told how her grandma had moved to Cincinnati because she’d married Grandpa Sam.

“He’s not a real grandpa,” she said, “but he’s like a real grandpa.”

~

By the time Rita returned Claire knew a fair bit about Chloe’s life, including the fact that her daddy, although he was dead, had hair the same color as her. They had also baked six dozen cookies and frosted them with swirls of pink icing.

“I hope she hasn’t talked your ear off,” Rita said jokingly.

“Not at all,” Claire answered. “She was a pleasure to have around.”

Surprised at her own words, Claire meant what she said. Chloe had turned out to be a delight.

Rita began fishing in her handbag. “How much do I—”

“Not a cent.”

Rita reached out and wrapped her arms around Claire. “Thank you so much. I just didn’t know where else to turn, and you were truly a godsend.” Rita said she would fire the unreliable babysitter just as soon as she could find a person more dependable.

Claire blurted out, “Chloe can stay here with me until you settle on someone permanent. After all, choosing someone to care for your child, that’s not something to rush into.”

Chloe’s face brightened. “Say yes, Mommy, please, please!”

And so Chloe began to spend every day with Claire. Rita insisted she pay for babysitting, and after a bit of bantering they agreed on thirty dollars a week. On the day she received the first thirty dollars, Claire took Chloe into Union where the two of them had lunch at The Chinese Garden then went shopping. Chloe came home with a brown-haired Cabbage Patch doll and a new pair of patent leather shoes.

~

Weeks went by, and any number of times Claire asked Charlie if he’d heard anything about their missing grandchildren. Perhaps he should have told her the truth and allowed her to take part in deciding the best course of action, but he didn’t. After the long months of watching her stumble through life like a dead woman, he enjoyed the newly-restored sound of her laughter. Finding Jeffrey was one thing, but convincing him to allow them to become part of the children’s lives would be quite another. Charlie feared the ugliness of a possible reunion, a reunion likely to open old wounds and render them even more painful. As long as they had a tomorrow to look forward to, Claire could enjoy the small measure of happiness she’d found. Charlie felt reluctant to take that from her.

~

And Claire did enjoy her days with Chloe, even though she continually reminded herself that the child was a temporary part of her life, someone simply passing through, much the same as Adam and the other children in her Sunday school class. In time, all of these children would move on to relationships with permanent people—blood relatives.

That was how life was supposed to be. Claire would also move on, once the detective located Elizabeth’s children. David, Kimberly, Christian—they were blood relatives, the permanent people destined to be part of her life forever. It was only a matter of time.



Frank Walsh’s report remained inside the desk drawer for nearly three weeks. Each day Charlie took it out, reread every word, studied the photographs, and tried to decide the best thing to do. Obviously, Jeffrey did not want to be found or he would not be using another name. But there was always the chance he’d done that simply to avoid creditors, to hide from people trying to take the little he had from him.

Charlie reasoned he and Claire were not looking to take but to give, to help with the financial problems, maybe assist Jeffrey in finding a better job, and help him with the children. Each time Charlie thought he’d found the right answer, another thought came to him. Was Jeffrey too bitter to be reasonable? What about the woman living with him? What about the fourth child? Each time he remembered such things, he’d force himself to think through things again.

~

Two days before Saint Patrick’s Day, Charlie finally reached a decision. While Claire taught Chloe how to make leprechaun-shaped ginger cookies, he took the report from his desk and turned to the last page with Jeffrey’s address and telephone number. The picture of Jeffrey, Kelsey, and all four children slid from the envelope. Charlie looked at it one last time, then shoved it back into the envelope and began to dial.





After the Winter


The moment he said hello, Charlie recognized Jeffrey’s voice. “This is Charlie McDermott,” he began.

“McDermott!” Jeffrey screamed. “What the—”

“Please, just give me one minute. I’m not calling to make trouble, I only want to—”

“I don’t give a crap what you want!” Jeffrey cut in. “What I want is to get as far away from you as possible, to never again set eyes on you or—”