A Family Affair(20)

He was a gift. A joy. He made her feel she’d mastered motherhood; he was that wonderful.

Jessie was hard on her, often critical and difficult to please. Jessie filled her with nervousness because Anna was always afraid of saying the wrong thing and being the victim of Jessie’s sudden and impossible anger. Jessie, like her brother and sister, was very attractive and smart. All three kids had dark hair and amazing blue eyes, like Chad’s, and had excelled in school. Yet they were as different as night and day.

Bess, the reward for putting a fractured marriage back together, was an enigma. She was solitary, introverted, brilliant in school, even skipping a grade, but she didn’t always play well with other children. Three seemed to be her limit and then only if the spirit moved her. Crowds, even a normal-size classroom, made her anxious. She never seemed to be lonely when her older brother and sister ignored her; she was independent and self-oriented but she could be convinced to share nicely. She was absolutely no trouble at all and there might lie a problem—she didn’t seem to need anyone. No one. There were times she seemed withdrawn but it would turn out she was only entertaining herself with a book or experiment. One of Anna’s friends asked if it was possible she was on the spectrum, but by the time the question came they had already concluded she might be, and she was high-functioning and a happy child. Bess was incredibly literal. You said I wasn’t to go out but you didn’t say out of what, so I didn’t go out of the yard but I did go out of the house because, frankly, I was feeling stuffed inside. That was when she was eight.

Anna had immediately done some research and her brilliant conclusion was that it was probable Bess was mildly autistic and she watched for problems associated with the disorder. But Bess was content and rarely frustrated. She was perhaps a little odd sometimes, compared to other children, but she was also brilliant with an amazing memory and—

Anna’s mind skidded to a halt right there as she recognized a woman, the young woman from the memorial service. She was pushing a stroller across the grass. In the weeks since Chad’s death, she had given birth.

She found a spot not too far from Anna, parked the stroller and pulled out a blanket. She settled herself on the ground beside her baby. She was so beautiful, sitting on the blanket in her slim jeans and sandals, her blondish hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Anna rewrapped what was left of her sandwich and put it in her purse. She found herself walking toward the young woman and baby, unsure what she would do or say when she got to them.

“What a beautiful baby,” Anna said, and meant it. “How old is she? I assume she’s a little girl, given the amount of pink all around her.”

“Thank you. Yes, this is Gina. She’s six weeks.”

Anna took a deep breath and looked skyward as if enjoying the summer warmth. So, she had given birth not long after Chad’s death.

The park wasn’t large by San Francisco standards and was up on a hill with a partial view of the bridge. There was a bike path at the bottom of the hill and some wonderful Victorian-style townhomes.

“You picked a beautiful day to introduce her to the park,” Anna said. She dropped one knee to the ground in a semicrouch. “I promise not to get too close.”

“Thank you.”

“She has the most amazing rosy complexion, doesn’t she? And that beautiful dark hair.”

“My husband is dark. He’s Indian.”

“I am that,” said a male voice. Anna started to rise and a very handsome man said, “No, stay where you are and continue to admire my daughter.” He held a take-out cup toward her while he handed one to his wife. “It’s coffee, black with cream and too much sugar.”

“Oh, I couldn’t! I’ve invaded your family time long enough!”

“Stay,” the young woman said.

“Stay,” said the man. Then, looking at his wife, he said, “I apologize, there was a call while I was in the coffee shop and I must step away and return it. I won’t be long, I promise. I’ll just return the call and walk back to the shop at the same time and get another coffee. If you’re all right?”

“Perfect,” she said. “Take your time.”

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She reached up and clasped his hand. There was such love between them that Anna knew she’d been wrong about her suspicions. Then off he strode, leaving the baby and mother to Anna and she couldn’t imagine this young woman ever being unfaithful.

“Your husband is a very kind and trusting man,” Anna said.

“Nikit is good to the soles of his feet. And I don’t think you mean us any harm,” she said, adding a lovely smile.

“Is this your first baby?” Anna asked.

“She is, and it all happened much faster than either of us expected. We got married, talked about starting a family and zip! Here she was. And everything about it was fast!”

They talked for a while about children and families. This charming young woman, Amy, was a nurse practitioner. Her husband a doctor. They met at work. It was a first marriage for both of them but they had quite a lot to overcome since Nikit’s family had promised him to another Indian woman, even though Nikit had warned them he wouldn’t cooperate.

“I’m pretty sure my mother-in-law still resents my intrusion,” Amy said.

“You appear to be very secure in your husband’s devotion,” Anna said.