A Way With Babies

Karli Danvers stepped out of the shower in her sister’s house when the doorbell rang. She wrapped herself in a towel and rolled the overlapping ends to hold it in place. She draped the second over her dripping hair.

Her nephew, Jeff, who’d been happy in his playpen while she bathed, had begun to cry.

“Hold your horses,” she called out in the direction of the front door as she settled him happily on her hip. He pulled on the towel covering her head as she scurried to the door.

She snapped the deadbolt lock off and opened the door wide. “Lose your keys? I’m...”

“Da Da,” the baby squealed.

But it wasn’t the baby’s father and it sure wasn’t her sister whom she’d expected. A tall, dark-haired man dressed in a suit and tie stood on the doorstep grinning at her. He didn’t miss a square inch as his gaze slid from her head to her toes.

If it hadn’t been for the tie, she would have screamed and slammed the door in his face. But the tie was silk and looked expensive. So did his suit.

The baby lunged toward him with both arms out. She grabbed the towel to keep covered. “Who the hell are you?” she asked, backing up to hide behind the open door while she retucked the towel ends under her arm again.

The baby didn’t like moving away from his intended target and pulled the door open past them. The corner clipped Karli’s bare toes. She let out a whelp and hopped out of the door’s way. Jeff began to cry.

The man’s hands went up toward her. “Hey, really, I’m here to help. Give him to me so you can fix the towel. I’m your baby sitter.”

“Come on. You can do better than that,” Karli insisted as she glanced at her toes to be sure she wasn’t bleeding on her sister’s floor. “You’re dressed in a suit that looks like it was made just for you, and you’re the sitter they sent?”

“Until my sister gets here, anyway. I’m Rand Wagner. My sister Joyce runs the service you called. The sitter she’d scheduled cancelled at the last minute so she called me at my office to fill in until she arrives. This has turned into a busy night for her.”

Karli frowned and Rand produced his driver's license. He held it up for her to see and smiled at Jeff who thought it was a toy being offered to him and stopped crying.

“I can see the family resemblance now. You have the same green eyes.” But Karli never felt mesmerized by looking into Joyce’s eyes as she felt now gazing into his.

Realizing she was staring, she let him in. “I’ll get dressed, and you get the baby.”

“Come on. We men will go sit in the other room and let Barbra get dressed.”

Karli clutched the towel’s overlapping corners in place as Rand took the baby from her, the back of his fingers accidently brushing the rise of her breast. She felt the heat rise up her neck and wanted to ignore it as he had done but couldn’t.

“He seems to like you already. You must have kids at home. No wonder Joyce called you.”

“No,” he said with a fleeting frown that said he wished he did.

“By the way, I’m not Barbra.” Karli introduced herself. “She’s due any minute and then she’s going out with her husband. I’m going to a small-business seminar, but I took a shower here because Barbra had to pick up her husband. He missed the train from downtown so he would be late. Oh, it’s very confusing. Listen, Jeff’s toys are in there,” she said with a wave of her arm toward the living room.

He nodded and walked in that direction with Jeff to find the toys. “Don’t worry about us,” Rand said over his shoulder.

Once he was out of sight in the living room, Karli ran to the master bedroom and pulled on her clothes. Opting to skip the pantyhose, she stuffed them into her bag with her other clothes and stepped into her sandals.

She could hear Rand’s deep voice and Jeff’s giggling responses as she hurried back to the living room. He seemed to be a natural when it came to entertaining toddlers. Why couldn’t the men she’d known be like that?

Rand had taken off his suit coat and held the baby on his lap. His tie was flipped over his shoulder. Karli knew from experience that he’d done it to take it out of Jeff’s reach. No respecter of silk, the baby loved to pull on neckties.

“I was on my way to that seminar, too,” Rand offered when she entered the room. “Joyce described you to me and told me I might see you there. She didn’t do you justice though.”

Karli laughed. “You said that so convincingly that I almost believed you.”

“I did mean it,” he said, looking up. His emerald gaze seemed to see right through her.

“Ah, are you starting a business, too?”

He chuckled. “No, I’m an attorney. I’m going to take notes for Joyce because she had to work tonight. I’ve been trying to convince her that she should expand her client base to include physically-challenged and older adults who need someone with them all the time. The live-in caregiver or family could get an evening off once in a while if there were competent sitters, or companions, as I’d prefer to call them in those cases, to come in for a few hours.”

“What a great idea.”

Karli watched as Rand smoothly lowered Jeff to the floor where he immediately crawled to his pile of blocks.

The front door opened and she heard Barbara burst in. “I’m sorry I’m late. The Thursday night traffic was awful for some reason,” she said in a rush. She dropped her purse on the hall table and turn to go to the bedroom.

“Ma Ma,” Jeff cried as he crawled into the hall behind Karli.

Barbra swept him up into her arms. “Can’t sneak by you, can I?”

Karli’s brother-in-law strode in the door, letting the screen slam behind him. “Hi and goodbye. Joyce just pulled up, Karli,” he said in passing as he darted directly to his bedroom.

“Leave the door unlocked and tell her to come right in, will you, Karli? And thanks,” she called as the bedroom closed after her.

“Talk to you tomorrow,” Karli called.

“I guess that means we can go.”

He’d put his jacket back on and adjusted his tie. A wave of dark hair had fallen across his forehead. Karli picked up her bag and clutched it to keep from pushing the strands back.

Joyce came in as they walked out. “Thanks, Rand.”

“No problem, sis, but I can’t wait to see how you’re going to bill my fifteen minutes here at my client rate,” he teased.

Joyce feigned a punch to his shoulder.

“Barbra took the baby with them while they change,” Karli explained.

Joyce nodded. “Thanks. Have fun you two.”

“You know, she’s right,” Rand said as they neared the street.

“About what?” Karli asked. “Having fun at a business seminar?”

“Not exactly, but we’re going to the same seminar. Why not go together?” He extended his hand toward the low sporty silver-gray car beyond the driveway.

Did she want to go to the seminar alone instead of with this tall, knight in shining armor that had just babysat a toddler in a suit and escaped unmarked?

“Sounds good to me as long as you can bring me back to my car afterwards.”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll just have to wait until next time to see where you live.”

Karli found it impossible to look away when a smile filled his face and made his dark eyes sparkle. “You think there’s going to be a next time, huh?”

“You can count on it,” he said, holding open the car door for her.

As they both fastened their seatbelts, Karli turned to study him. “You’re not going to turn out to be married or something like that, are you?”

“You don’t sound like you trust men.” She shrugged. His gaze held hers as he took a moment to digest her comment. “No, I’m not married, or anything like that.”

Karli frowned when she found herself thinking that from the way he handled toddlers, he should be married.

“As to why not, let’s just say that once I got to know the women I’ve dated, they weren’t all that they’d seemed to be.”

Suddenly, she couldn’t repress her grin. “Oh, sure. And since you’ve seen me in nothing but a towel and a few sprinkles of water, you feel you know exactly what I am already, so no unpleasant surprises, huh?”

Rand deep laughter harmonized with hers as they drove to the meeting together.

Copyright Lois Carroll

A Story To Tell - Blog Earns Award

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My Short Story

My short story for this month and next is the short amount of time I have before we move across country. Movers are due to pick up our possessions in three weeks. Talk about stress!

I just received copies of the last of my three new books this year: THE KEY.

Besides the new ones, I have some copies of all my print books. I'd love to sell them all and not have to pay to move them. If you're interested, you can read about them out at my website. Order any of them directly from me now and pay the retail price through Paypal, and I'll autograph them and mail them to you FREE. You can reach me now at lcarroll@twcny.rr.com, but after we move, I'll only be a lois@loiscarrollbooks.com.

Check out all the books at: http://loiscarrollbooks.com/ , and because I write under two names: http://loiscarrollbooks.com/indexLS.htm

Thank you.
Lois

PS: My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?''

"You're both old," he replied.

A Young View of Age

Today is one of my grandson's birthdays. I wish I could be with each grandchild to celebrate their birthdays, but with children scattered over two continents, a phone call has to be the substitute in most cases.

Enjoying his special day, my grandson sounded very excited. He told me about his party and some of the wonderful gifts he had gotten. With prompting from his mother in the background, he properly thanked me for our gift.

Knowing full well the answer to my next question, I asked him how old he was. He told me proudly, and without hesitation, he asked me how old I was.

I laughed and admitted how many years it had been since my birth well over a half century ago.

He took a moment to think about the number and then asked, "Did you start counting at one?"

Copyright Lois Carroll

Visiting Grandma

I love being a grandma. I have eight grandkids, and they all live airline flights or long drives away. It's very special when they come to see me. My camera can only begin to record the differences in the growing children from year to year. While they are here, I especially like seeing the world through their eyes.

Normally, I hate grocery shopping, but with one of my young grandkids in the cart seat and another one or two older ones advising me what to buy makes the trip fun. I was getting ready to venture out with the kids when I gave them each the order every mother gives their kids before they leave home. Following suit, one little one finished fast and came to find me still in the master bath to tell me she was ready.

At the mirror, I was putting on a little lipstick. My granddaughter watched me as she had several times before. Finished, I put the tube away in the drawer and turned to take her hand to leave the room.

Pulling my hand so I couldn't leave, she said, "Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper goodbye!"

Laughing as I turned, I grabbed a square and kissed it. I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about that sweet child reminding me to kiss the toilet paper goodbye.

Copyright Lois Carroll

http://loiscarrollbooks.com/

Omens

“Another mile and you can rest,” Liz Larson promised her aging car as she drove west on Interstate 94 across North Dakota. This was her fourth day on the road.

With everything she owned weighing down her car, she didn’t dare go over fifty miles an hour. She was even afraid to turn on the air conditioner despite the August heat, but a blue and white highway sign pointed her to a rest area exit.

“You can cool down while I get off my aching fanny,” she said as she parked. The one-sided conversation at least gave her ears variety from the roar of the wind through all the open windows that had made listening to the radio impossible.

She exited her small sedan to stand in the shade where she stretched her arms upward and arched her back. Staying in the shade, she ate the sandwich that she had resisted eating as she drove because her loose dental crown demanded that she chew it carefully. After drinking from her water bottle, she pressed on the crown with her tongue. The crown and anything else that needed to be fixed had to wait until after her new job started in two weeks.

A big sports utility vehicle pulled in beside hers and a good-looking couple got out and headed for the restrooms. He was tall, a powerful advertisement for his brand of shirt and jeans. The woman was cute and obviously pregnant. Both were blonde and blue-eyed like Liz and like so many others of Scandinavian decent in the state.

Someday, Liz thought with a sigh as she tamped down her hopes of one day looking up at a guy with as much love in her eyes as that woman had when the man helped her down from the car. But not today.

Liz glanced at her watch. She had to get to her apartment complex while the office was still open. She dropped the water bottle back into the ice chest and closed the windows and locked up her car to go to the ladies’ room.
When she returned, the couple next to her looked ready to leave. The man opened his window as she passed in front of his car.

“You know you’ve got a low tire, don’t you?” he called.

Liz felt a chill run down her spine despite the heat. She spun around to face him. “Me?” she said, panic strangling her voice.

He nodded and pointed to her rear tire that definitely looked low. Liz groaned. Calling a garage for help did not fit into her tight budget and waiting for the tow truck would make her too late to get into her apartment today. She would have to change the tire herself--and fast.

“Got a spare?” the blond hunk asked as he killed his engine and climbed out.

Liz opened her trunk, exposing her belongings that filled every square inch. “Yeah,” she said, shaking her head. “Under all this stuff.”

The man’s wife walked up beside him. They looked at each other and then the man shrugged.

“We’ll help, if you’d like,” the woman said cheerfully. “That is, I’ll watch while he does the work.” She extended her hand. “I’m Ellie.”

Liz gave her name and shook Ellie’s hand.

The man offered his hand, too. “Gene,” he said with a nod. Liz was surprised by the warmth his touch created in places totally unrelated to her hand.

“Do you have far to go today?” Ellie asked as she helped uncover the spare.

Liz explained briefly that she was heading to Dickinson for a new teaching job. Gene jacked up the car and took off the low tire.

“That’s where we live too,” Ellie told her cheerfully.

About then Gene insisted she get back into their car and turn on the air conditioner. Liz felt a twinge of envy for the sweet way he cared for her.

The tire changed, Gene put the low tire where the spare had been. “Get that leak checked right away so you’re not caught without a spare.”

Liz assured him she would, and silently hoped it wouldn’t cost much. “I can’t thank you enough, Gene. You’ve been great to change the tire for me,” she said as she started repacking the trunk.

After washing his hands, he wished her well and stepped up into his car. Before he shut his door, Ellie held out a sack of candy and called, “Would you like some caramels? You look like you could use a sugar boost.”

Liz shook her head. “Thanks. They’re my favorite candy, but I can’t. I have a loose crown on a tooth I broke when I was a kid. I’ve got to baby it until my first paycheck comes and I can afford to see a dentist.”

Liz noticed an immediate frown on Gene’s face, but she wasn’t surprised. He was a caring guy. Ellie rummaged in the tray between their bucket seats and found a small white card that she passed to Gene. “Give her this,” she insisted. Gene passed the card to Liz, looking somewhat reluctant.

“Family Dental Offices,” Liz read.

“My brother is one of the dentists there,” Ellie called as Gene started the motor. Liz thought that explained the reluctance on his part.

“Don’t wait to see him. You can pay later. He’ll know you’re good for it,” she added with a laugh.

Liz grinned and slid the card into her pocket. “Thanks.” She waved as they left and wished she could see them again to repay their kindness.

“The considerate good-looking men are always taken,” she muttered as she climbed in behind the wheel. Wiping the perspiration off her forehead, she took another swallow of water and started on her way.

Two mornings later, Liz was hunting through her dirty clothes for the jeans with the dentist’s card in the pocket. Her loose crown had fallen off at breakfast.

In pain, she swallowed her pride and went directly to the dental office without even calling. Liz explained her problem to the receptionist.

“I’m sure one of the dentists can fit you in,” the woman said. “They normally don’t start seeing patients for another twenty minutes, but one of them should be here soon.”

Liz thanked her, but didn’t have time to sit before the door opened. She looked back to see Gene staring at her. “Ah, hi,” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“You didn’t?” He sounded surprised.

Liz shook her head. “I came to get this glued back on.” She held up her crown. “Remember? Your wife gave me her brother’s card.”

“‘My wife’?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes, Ellie.” Liz frowned. The man certainly should remember his own wife.

Suddenly, Gene threw back his head and laughed. “Thanks,” he said several moments later. “A good laugh is a great way to start the day.”

Liz didn’t see anything funny and felt more than a little foolish. “Why don’t you tell me what’s so funny so I can laugh, too?”

A look of surprise crossed his face again. “I’m not married,” he stated simply with a shrug. “Not even close.”

“But...” Liz sputtered. She pulled the card from her pocket and saw Eugene Nelson in the list of dentists at the bottom.

“Ellie is my sister. Her last name now that she’s married is Ericson,” Gene said gently. “She gave you my card. She’s always giving it to pretty young women she meets and likes.”

Liz raised her hands to cover her hot cheeks.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” Gene stepped closer and took one of her hands in his. “I’m not and I probably should be.” He squeezed her hand. “I didn’t catch your last name.”

A new tingly sensation skittered down her spine as she told him. She smiled broadly, but when she inhaled air past her exposed tooth, she pressed her lips together in pain.

“Come on. Let’s get that crown glued on.” Gene led the way to his office where he cleaned the crown and checked her tooth. “Actually, I’m glad you came,” he said as he replaced the crown. “I was going to look you up.”
Liz could say nothing as she bit down and waited for the glue to dry.

“Being new in town, I thought you might like a tour around the area.” He removed the excess glue. “I even know a good restaurant where we can get buffalo burgers.”

“I’d like that,” Liz responded as she took the hand he offered to help her up from the reclining chair. “The tour, I mean. I’m not so sure about the buffalo.”

He laughed and walked with her to her car. They agreed on a time and he jotted down her address and phone number.

“See you Saturday,” he said, flashing his gorgeous smile as he went back inside.

Liz kept on smiling as she drove home. Who would have guessed that a flat tire and a dental emergency could be good omens?

Copyright by Lois Carroll

Double Dare

“Karilynn Hoskins Longworth, I love you.” Marchand Longworth watched as a weak smile pleated his wife's wrinkled cheeks. Her parchment like skin was as pale as the stark white pillowcase beneath her head.

“I’ll love you always,” she responded weakly as her eyelids floated shut.

His arms ached to comfort her, to suffer the deep pain for her. Rising from his station beside her nursing home bed, he turned off the harsh overhead lights. The low level lights at the ceiling would be easier on her eyes, he thought.

Returning to her side, he stroked her soft white hair and smiled. She was still as beautiful as the first time he saw her in the summer of 1927. The pink of her nightgown was the same pink as the blouse she wore back then. He smiled at remembering that detail when he couldn't remember to buy bread on his way home at night. But then he would never forget that day.

March, whose adolescent friends got slugged back then if they used his full name, had been convinced he knew all there was to know about girls--until the day Karilynn moved in to the stucco house across the street.

Trying his thirteen-year-old best to look nonchalant, he leaned against the big oak tree on the wide berm in front of his house as the movers emptied their van.

Karilynn never gave him a clue that she'd even noticed him watching. Her ash-blonde hair was braided into one long rope that hung down her back, almost reaching her jeans. Eager for a closer look, March strolled across the street to a tree next door and resumed his casual pose. His heart sped up when he saw her come out of the house.

Without even a glance in his direction, she ran to where her bicycle lay in the front lawn. She lifted it upright and sat on the seat but didn’t ride away.

Gathering up his nerve, he looked both ways down the street. Certain no one was watching him, he stuffed his fists into his jeans pockets and sauntered in her direction. A burly man jumped from the moving van with a floor lamp in each hand. Barely missing spearing March with the tops, he swore at the human obstacle in his path. March jumped back and the man strode on into the house.

March's cheeks felt warm. The girl must have seen the whole embarrassing incident, but all she did was fiddle with her headlight.

Sweat broke out under his arms and on his upper lip where the hint of a dark moustache had recently appeared. The sweat was not all due to the summer heat.

Nervous, he glanced at her house. No sign of anyone at any of the windows. Walking slowly, he repeated his surveillance in both directions on the street. Wouldn’t do to have one of his friends show up now and find him talking to a girl.

Turning back, he discovered he’d reached her side. Up close, her hair appeared lighter than he’d realized--so pale that it was almost white. Her skin looked as smooth as the china dishes he ate on at home on Sundays.

Without warning, she looked right up at him. Holy cow! Her eyes were bluer than a clear sky. She was beautiful.

Her gaze held his, and he didn’t want to look away. He cleared his throat and swallowed past the enormous lump that had suddenly grown there.

“I dare you to kiss me,” a voice that sounded exactly like his said boldly.

When he realized that the voice had been his own, March gasped. What was he thinking? He waited for her to drop her bike and tear into her house screaming for her mother.

But she kept on looking at him and then slowly, a smile curled up the corners of her mouth. “I double dare you to kiss me twice,” she said.

That snapped him out of his stupor. “You can’t change the dare,” he explained less than patiently. “And I’d be the one to double it because I’m the one daring you.” She should get her facts right, he thought with a smug look on his face.

She smiled again--as if she knew something secret that he didn’t know. That just annoyed him more. What could a girl possibly know that he didn’t?

“Like I said, I double dare you to kiss me twice,” she repeated.

Well, that did it. She didn’t know what was what when it came to dares. He’d show her. Without closing his eyes, he leaned down and planted a quick kiss on her smile.

Although brief, the warm contact knocked the wind right out of him. He opened his mouth and dragged in a ragged breath. He straightened, feeling all sorts of weird inside as if someone had just slugged him in the gut.

And Karilynn was laughing. How dare she laugh at him when he felt like he was drowning! He would wipe the smile right off her face. He stepped closer. The second kiss to respond to her dare was going to be one she would remember.

He reached out to take hold her shoulders when suddenly her feet pushed against the ground sending her bike backwards ten feet. He put his hands on his hips and frowned to let her know what he thought about her game.

“I double dared you to kiss me twice, but that doesn’t mean you get to give me both kisses now.” She pushed off again, forward this time, and rode off down the sidewalk.

Open-mouthed with shock, March stared after her. That girl had a lot to learn, but she could count on him to collect. He wouldn’t forget a dare--ever.

Just you wait, he’d warned her silently. I always get satisfaction on a double dare.

Remembering that long ago afternoon, March smiled, but his breath caught when his wife opened her eyes and struggled with another choking cough. Able to do nothing else, he held her hand and prayed. When she stilled, he wiped her forehead with a cool cloth.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered hoarsely, tears welling in her eyes. She wheezed more loudly with each breath.

“You won’t have to,” he promised, forcing his trembling lips into smile. “The Good Lord hasn’t let anything come between us in the sixty-eight years we’ve been married, Sweetheart, and I know He wouldn’t start now.”

"Hold me," she said in a hoarse whisper.

March rose and closed the door to give them more privacy before he slid onto the hospital bed beside her. Gathering her frail body into his arms, he tipped his head down, and gently kissed her forehead.

“I double-dare you to kiss me back--in heaven,” he managed to say through the pain he felt in his heart at losing the love of his life. He saw a faint smile return to her lips before the vision blurred from his tears.

A nursing-home aide found them lying there together late that evening. The doctor’s report stated that the congestive heart failure that had been getting worse for days had finally claimed Mrs. Longworth. Her husband, who had been spending the day and evening with her as he had every day for the weeks she’d been in the care facility, had succumbed instantly to a unexpected massive heart attack.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the aide, who discovered them together, told the nurse on duty. “They were both smiling.”

Copyright Lois Carroll