Kaleidoscope (33 page)

Zack and I both slept well that night. I awoke at my usual time and dressed for a run on the basement treadmill. I was tying my running shoes when I heard a soft knock at the door. It was Declan.

I smiled at him. “Change of heart about cutting your hair?”

Declan’s face was grave. “No, it’s Laurie.” His face reddened and he lowered his voice. “Her water broke – I didn’t even know … anyway, the baby’s coming. Margot called Steve and he’s on his way, but we’re taking Laurie to Regina General. Margot thought you’d be worried if you checked our place and we weren’t there.”

“She’s right. We would have been worried. Declan, there’s nothing Margot can do, and she has to take care of herself. She should go back to bed. So should you. You have that meeting this afternoon. The baby could take hours. I’ll go with Laurie and stay at least until Steve gets there.”

Declan looked relieved. “I would have done it, but if things got out of hand, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

I smiled. “Delivering a baby and learning the inner workings of a multinational corporation would be a lot for one day.”

He turned to go, then stopped. “Oh. Margot says I can do what I want to do about my dreadlocks.”

“Good.”

I went down the hall and stuck my head inside our bedroom door. My conversation with Declan had awakened Zack. “It’s too early for a crisis. So what’s going on?” he said.

“Laurie’s water broke.”

“Jesus, when did this turn into a soap opera?”

I kissed Zack’s shoulder. “There are two pregnant women across the hall. That ups the odds. Anyway, I’m going to tell Margot to go back to bed. Babies are unpredictable. There’s no point in her sitting around in a waiting room when she could
be getting some sleep. She’s having a good pregnancy, but her risk factors are high: she’s forty-two, this is her first pregnancy, and she’s under enormous stress. I’ll take Laurie to the hospital and stay with her until her husband gets there.”

“You ready to drive again?”

“Yes. I think I just needed a boot from the life force.”

“Give me a call when you know what’s happening.”

“I will. Now go back to sleep.”

Laurie was waiting for me in the hall wearing a flowery dress and sandals and holding an overnight bag. I took it from her. “I can carry that,” she said.

“So can I,” I said. “You only have a couple of hours left as a sacred vessel. Take advantage of it.” I pressed the button for the elevator. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” she said. Then she grimaced. “Except for the contractions. They’re close. I think we’d better gun it.”

“The hospital’s five minutes away. Another advantage of living in the Warehouse District.”

Laurie’s only response was a barely suppressed moan.

“If you want to holler, holler,” I said. “The streets are deserted. I’m the only one who can hear you.”

Laurie took me at my word.

I pulled up to the emergency entrance and ran inside to get a wheelchair. Laurie collapsed into it gratefully. The staff took over, and I settled in with an old copy of
Architectural Digest
. The design of Woody Allen’s Upper East Side apartment was surprisingly conservative, and I had just learned that Woody typed all his scripts on his first typewriter when a nurse came out and told me that Laurie wanted company.

I followed her to Laurie’s room in the second floor mother-baby unit. Laurie was propped up in bed with an electric fetal monitor strapped around her stomach. “This baby is on its
way,” she said. “If Margot wants to see the miracle of birth, she should get here pronto.”

“I’ll call her,” I said. I went out to use the landline at the nurse’s station. I called Margot’s. Declan answered. He said he’d awaken Margot. “Tell her to hurry,” I said. Then I went back and held Laurie’s hand as the contractions intensified. Margot arrived just in time to see the baby’s head crowning. The head came out quickly. The doctor tilted it down to release the highest shoulder and then the second shoulder. Finally the baby’s body slid out. It was a girl and she had a lusty cry. The nurse cleaned her nose and mouth with a syringe and placed her on Laurie’s stomach. The umbilical cord was clamped and cut, and Laurie introduced herself to her new daughter.

Margot’s face was transfixed. “That’s really something,” she said.

“It really is something,” I agreed. “Now, I’m going to go home so you two can have some time together.” I leaned down and touched the baby’s head. “Welcome to the world, baby,” I said.

“Her name is Hunter,” Laurie said.

Margot’s breath caught. “Thank you.”

“Steve and I couldn’t decide on a name,” Laurie said. “But I called him last night and we agreed that Hunter would be great for either a boy or a girl.” As I left the room, Hunter’s mother and aunt were exclaiming over her perfection.

It was a nice moment, and as I walked along the dimly lit hall, smelled morning coffee, and heard the kitten cry of a newborn, I felt at peace. When the elevator doors opened, an orderly pushed out a gurney. carrying a rail-thin blonde. Her hair was patchy as if she’d torn at it and her eyes were frantic. A nurse followed behind, holding a newborn. When she tried to hand the child to the mother, the girl closed her eyes and turned on her side.

“You’ll have to take your daughter,” the nurse said. “We’re short-staffed. They need me downstairs.” She tried again to give the child to her mother, but the girl hugged her own body tightly. “I don’t want it,” she said.

The nurse hesitated, then she nodded to the orderly. “Take Keeley to her room. I’ll send someone up to help her settle in.” She turned her attention to the girl. “Get some rest,” she said. “They’ll be bringing breakfast soon. After you’ve eaten, we’ll bring your little girl up.”

“Don’t bother,” the girl on the gurney said.

The nurse and I stepped into the elevator. I stood close enough to see the child. The nurse adjusted the blanket so I could see the baby’s face. She was tiny but very pretty. When she began to cry, the nurse and I exchanged glances, but neither of us said a word.

Declan and Zack were in our living room poring over spreadsheets when I got back to Halifax Street. “It’s a girl,” I said. “She’s healthy, blond, and beautiful, and her name is Hunter. Everyone is doing well.”

Zack’s smile was warm. “And you were there to see it.”

“I was. More importantly, so was Margot. Thanks to Declan, Margot made it for the grand finale.”

“I’ve never seen a new baby,” Declan said.

“My guess is that Margot will want to go to the hospital again tonight, and I’ll bet she’d like some company.”

“Is that allowed?” Declan said.

“Family’s allowed, and you’re family,” I said. “Incidentally, are you men just about through here?”

“We can be,” Zack said. “What did you have in mind?”

“Why don’t the three of us drive up to Crocus and Ivy and find the most elegant dress in the store for Hunter?”

“I’d like that,” Declan said, and for the first time in a long time, he looked like a teenager.

The trip to Crocus and Ivy Kids was more diverting than any of us could have anticipated. The sight of a notorious and powerfully built trial lawyer in a wheelchair and a teenaged boy with dreadlocks discussing the quality of pink sleepwear (0 to 3 months) from a company called Mini Vanilla garnered more than a few stares and surreptitious smiles. After some spirited discussion, we chose a half-dozen soft and airy onesies, two sunhats, and a tiny summery dress that was appliquéd in apple blossoms.

When we got back to the condo, Zack and Declan headed off to change for the meeting, and I knocked on Margot’s door to see if she was home from the hospital and up to checking out the baby clothes. Her face was wistful as she examined them. She held up the apple blossom dress. “I can’t wait to see Hunter in that dress,” she said.

“If you have a little girl, she’ll be in line for hand-me-downs.”

Margot smiled. “I hated hand-me-downs, but this one is definitely a keeper.” She folded the dress and slipped it back into the box. “Hunter’s early arrival was serendipitous. When I was holding her, everything else just melted away. Of course, then I have to come back to reality. Norine’s been a godsend, but it’s difficult to plan a funeral when you don’t know when the police are going to release the body.”

“Margot, I know you’re dealing with a great deal right now, but Riel Delorme would like to come to the funeral. He wants to honour Leland and the work he was doing. It’s your call. If you think Riel’s presence would be a distraction, he’ll understand.”

“No, I want Riel there. I’m going to follow the path that Leland chose – Peyben will continue to work with North Central. That’s what I’m going to tell the board today.” Margot was pensive. “Leland was never a bullshitter. The
Village Project came into being because Leland wanted to make money, but the assault on that little girl shook him. Seeing a child suffer like that …” Margot’s sentence drifted off and her eyes filled with tears. She brushed them away impatiently. “Anyway, Leland felt that he had an obligation to do something, and he also had the resources. This facility could end up being the most significant thing Leland will ever achieve,” Margot said. This time when her eyes filled, she let the tears flow.

CHAPTER
18

The meeting with the Peyben board of directors was being held at Falconer Shreve. “Home turf advantage,” Zack said.

He and Margot and Declan had just left when Debbie Haczkewicz called. Reasoning that Margot had enough to deal with, Zack had volunteered to be her liaison with the police, and Margot and Debbie had agreed to the arrangement. Obviously, Debbie had news. I could have told her that if she phoned Zack then, she could catch him before his meeting, but I didn’t. Whatever information Debbie had would not lighten the burden of Leland’s widow and his son.

The message Debbie asked me to deliver was to the point: Leland’s body would be released on the weekend and the police had a lead about the identity of the shooter. Debbie didn’t volunteer anything about the suspect, and I didn’t ask. The truth was I didn’t want to know.

There was a staff meeting at Willy Hodgson, so Taylor was just working a half-day. As always, she came out of the rec centre ebullient.

“So what do you want to do with the afternoon?” I said.

“Mieka texted me that Riel finished the ice-cream stand and put a base coat on. I thought I might go over there and see what Madeleine and Lena want me to do. And I wouldn’t mind a swim in their pool.”

“I’ve got an old suit over there, but we’ll stop by the condo to get one of yours. Let me call Mieka and see if that works for her.”

“I’ll borrow one of Mieka’s,” Taylor said. “Since Riel came on the scene, she’s buying some pretty cool stuff.”

Mieka suggested we come straight to the backyard, where Riel and Lena were finishing off a game of croquet. As soon as the girls saw us, they raced over. “Mimi, I’ve only got two hoops to go,” Lena called out. “Mummy and Madeleine are already finished.”

Riel was leaning on his mallet, looking disconsolate. “And I’ll never finish. Put me out of my misery, Lena.”

Lena flashed him a smile and smoothly hit her ball through the final hoops and against the stake. “Game’s over,” she said. “Now everybody come see the ice-cream stand and the surprise Riel made.”

Riel had done a good job – the stand looked sturdy – and the surprise was a child-sized picnic table where imaginary customers could enjoy their purchases.

“It’s great,” I said.

Taylor eyed it speculatively. “What did you girls have mind?”

“We thought we’d call the ice-cream stand ‘CONES!’ ” Madeleine said. “Does that sound good?”

“It sounds perfect,” Riel said.

“And easy,” Lena said. “All we have to do is paint a bunch of ice-cream cones everywhere. And then we can have the party.”

While Taylor and the girls had a final confab about design, Riel, Mieka, and I found a shady spot on the deck. Mieka
brought out a pitcher of iced tea and poured us each a glass. “I know Taylor’s morning was great,” she said. “Lisa gives me daily reports. What have you been up to, Mum?”

“Something amazing,” I said. “Margot’s sister, Laurie, had her baby this morning. I drove her to the hospital, and I saw the baby being born.”

Riel leaned forward. “And everything went well?”

“Everything went the way it should. The labour was short – which is how I ended up being there for the birth. My ob-gyn once told me that nobody can predict what happens during a pregnancy and delivery.”

Mieka chuckled. “Doctors don’t usually admit that.”

“She was a friend,” I said. “And we were at a dinner party where the wine was flowing. Anyway, I should have listened to her. When Laurie’s water broke this morning, I told Margot that these things took hours, so she might as well catch some more sleep. Hunter was born less than an hour after we got to emergency.”

“Margot must have been touched by the baby’s name.”

“She was, and holding a beautiful, healthy newborn did wonders for her. By now, Laurie’s room at the hospital will be filled with pink flowers, pink onesies, and dresses that are so sweet they’ll make your teeth ache.”