Other parts of Vermont had been hit hard. Rural communities were shrinking, the mills and factories that once sustained them closing down and being boarded up. Maplewood had stayed strong all these years, luring visitors with postcard-perfect streets, its colorful history, and above all, maple syrup.
“Did they catch the person who did this?” I asked, breaking the silence that had stretched since we left the hospital.
Jasper couldn’t have been driving more than fifteen miles per hours, his hands at ten and two as he obsessively watched the road. I appreciated the care he was taking in transporting us.
“Not yet. But it hasn’t even been three days.”
Huh. Three days? It felt as though I’d lived a lifetime in those sixty something hours.
He turned onto my street and eased into the driveway behind Frankie’s truck. Weird. She hadn’t mentioned that she’d be here. But Frankie wasn’t the type to wait for an invitation.
Ruby’s car was here too, along with several others.
“What is going on?” I asked as Jasper put the car in park.
He pointed at the basketball hoop hanging over my garage door. “I didn’t see that.” He trailed off, the tips of his ears turning red. “Um, last time.”
“It was dark.” I added, nerves coursing through me as I referenced the night we conceived Vincent.
“Do you play?”
This was an extremely awkward conversation to be having at the moment, but I replied anyway. “Yes. I played through high school.” As a tallish girl, everyone always told me I should play. So I did. And it made my mom happy, because she thought I needed to be “more active and burn more calories.”
“We should play sometime.”
The front door opened, and Ruby waddled toward the car.
“Focus, Jasper,” I snapped. “What is going on?”
He chuckled. “You didn’t think we’d let you bring Vincent home to an empty house, did you?” With that, he climbed out of the car and offered me his hand.
When I was steady on my feet, he effortlessly unlatched Vincent’s bucket seat from the base and lifted it from the car.
Ruby spread her arms wide as she approached. She was wearing a fuchsia shirt paired with a fifties-style circle skirt covered with giraffes wearing sunglasses.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Nothing you wouldn’t do for me.” She threw Jasper a wink. “Plus, we had help.”
I turned to the man at my side, but he was busy fussing with the sleeping baby in the car seat he was now carrying.
Inside, my tiny house was a blur of activity, the living room overflowing with diapers, clothing, bottles, blankets, some kind of space chair for babies, and a bassinet.
Tears once again threatened, making my nose sting. “This is too much.”
“It’s not.” Ruby turned to face me head-on. “And besides, you know Frankie. She made it easy. All she had to do was terrify everyone into ponying up.”
Frankie waved from the kitchen where she was unpacking a box. “This was just delivered. Top-of-the-line video monitor. You can keep your eyes on the little bean round the clock.”
My vision went blurry, the tears winning out. “Thank you,” I said, a sob catching in my throat.
She walked around the island, pulling me into a fierce hug. “You deserve everything,” she said into my ear. “And we’re your friends,so we’re gonna make sure you get it.”
Rather than calm me, the twinkle in her eye put me on high alert. Frankie Dunne was legendary. I had no doubt she’d have the monitor set up, synced to my phone, and probably watering my lawn in ten minutes.
“Sit down and rest, Mama,” she said. “We’re almost finished.”
Jasper had Vincent in his arms, and my little guy was already rooting. Damn, this kid could eat.
