“Screw it! I’m not going to beg for my job. Ungrateful bastards!”
I stared at the mallard print that hung above our fireplace. A bird in flight. I love that picture simply because it’s an incredible act of nature. Such a small creature defying nature’s biggest law. Gravity.
I mustered the most courage I could. “Honey, we’re a team. We’re going to figure this thing out. Together!”
Jim’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve never been fired before.”
Pain shot through my temples. “You think I should go back to the office?”
His eyes searched out mine. “I don’t know what I think. I know how you feel about being home with Laurie.”
We sat in silence. I unbundled Laurie from the baby carrier and placed her on the little play mat. She was happy again, and played with a little witch rattle Mom had brought her in preparation for Halloween. Laurie clutched the rattle and studied her hand in surprise, as if wondering how the witch had gotten there.
Jim and I looked at each other. I covered my face and burst out crying, shaking all over. It seemed every time we took one step forward, we managed to take two back.
He hugged me tight. “Don’t cry, honey. We’re going to figure it out. We have our savings and I’ll have unemployment, for all that’s worth. Don’t worry, Kate. Please don’t cry.”
Miraculously, we ended up getting a good night’s sleep. Laurie must have tired herself out playing with the little rattle and ended up sleeping for a blessed six hours straight, which all the medical books comically term “sleeping through the night.”
In the morning, Jim awoke at his normal time-6 A.M.-in a panic. “Oh! Oh. This is weird, honey, really weird.”
“What is?”
“Not having to get up and go to the office.”
He turned over in bed and looked straight into my eyes. “I’m sorry, honey. I feel guilty. If I hadn’t picked a fight with George-”
“No! You didn’t know. How could you know that you would be fired over that? And by the way, George had it coming for getting us involved in all of this in the first place.”
Jim smiled. “You’re finally starting to see things my way.”
“Let’s look at the bright side,” I said. “At least this will free you up to help me solve the murders.”
Jim nodded. We peeked at Laurie, nestled in the bassinet by our bed. She was still sleeping.
I snuggled into Jim. “Let’s go back to sleep.”
“Yeah.” Jim said, putting his arm around me. “I’m depressed. It sucks to be fired.”
I hugged him tight. “Oh, honey! Don’t worry. Things always work out for the best.”
“How can this be for the best, Kate?”
I sighed. “I dunno. I have to say that to keep from getting depressed myself.”
Jim fluffed up a pillow and pulled the blanket around himself. “You’re right, we should go back to sleep. Maybe it’s all a dream.”
We dozed until what felt like a decadent hour-7 A.M.! Then our little Laurie alarm went off.
Wailing.
Jim seemed in better spirits after the additional hour of sleep. “Better start looking for another job.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll find something soon. You’re the best ad executive I know.”
“I’m the only ad executive you know.”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re still the best.” I winked at him. He nodded back at me. “If you don’t find another job soon,” I continued, “I’ll go back to work. We can swing it on my salary for a while, until you find something.”
I tried to keep the panic out of my voice and my eyes free from tears at the thought of going back to the office. Something must have shown because Jim’s lips tightened into a line.
He stared at me, then we both nodded solemnly together, trying to convince each other that we believed everything would work out.
I snuggled with Laurie while I listened to Jim tap on the computer keyboard in the other room.
At 8 A.M. the phone rang. A refined gentleman’s voice asked, “Is Mr. Connolly available?”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“This is Dirk Jonson, with Jonson, Mayer, and Ritler.”
Could this be a recruiter already?
With Laurie in tow, I walked to Jim’s office and handed him the cordless phone. Before I could tell him who was calling, Laurie began to wail in my ear. I took our screaming daughter out of the room and closed the door behind me, ruining any chance of my eavesdropping, but giving Jim an opportunity to hear something other than Laurie’s caterwauling.
I put a pot of decaf on and scrambled around the kitchen looking for anything that vaguely resembled breakfast fixings. I made toast.
I added sugar to my cup and revised my to-do list:
To-Do List:
1. Help Jim find a job.
2. Find Brad and/or Michelle and Svetlana’s killer.
3. Get more sleep.
4. Figure out how to launch this PI business-How do I get more clients?
5. Research day care for Jelly Bean.
6. Get a manicure and pedicure.
7. Where is that parenting book?
8. Organize house.
9. Mail thank-you cards.
I grabbed the stack of thank-you cards and popped them into the diaper bag. I would mail them today no matter what.
I called Jim for breakfast.
“All we have is toast,” I muttered. “I’ll shop today.”
“I’ll go,” Jim said, gobbling every crumb on his plate.
“Who was that on the phone?”
“The client I landed for Fortena and Associates.”
“What was he calling about?”
“They told him I got fired yesterday. He wasn’t very happy about it and wants to meet with me today.” Jim raised his eyebrows.
The phone rang again. Mrs. Avery wanted to take me to brunch and get a status report.
The brunch part sounded fabulous, because, of course, I was still hungry, even after two slices of toast. The status part. .?
What would I report?
After breakfast, Jim put Laurie into her bassinet and tapped away at the computer. I showered, trying to pull energy and ideas from the water.
Jim’s appointment wasn’t until the afternoon, which left me plenty of time to meet with Mrs. Avery without having to worry Mom about babysitting.
I fumbled through my closet and found the best clothes I could that would fit. Dressier slacks that I could almost button and a pink silk blouse, which was designed to tie around the waist, camouflaging my sins.
I even had time to apply makeup. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Wow! Makeup really did make a difference. Especially at age thirty.
I crept into Jim’s office. Laurie was sleeping peacefully in the baby carrier with her thumb in her mouth.
“She’s discovered her thumb,” I said.
“I noticed,” Jim replied.
“I hope she won’t develop nipple confusion.”
Jim laughed. “I doubt it.”
“Right,” I said, reassured. “The breastfeeding purists will tell you anything to keep you nursing.”
I edged Jim away from the computer in order to prepare my report for Mrs. Avery. What could I possibly put in it, when I didn’t have a clue who killed Brad? I fell back on my old corporate skills: “If you have nothing of substance to report, at least make it look good. And when all else fails, overwhelm the reader with information.”
“When will you be back?” Jim asked, looking over my shoulder as I typed.
“In time for the next feeding, don’t worry.”
“What do I do if she cries?”
I looked up into Jim’s face. His brow was creased in concern.
“You’ve been alone with her before.”
“Once, and you left me with a bottle. When she cried, I gave it to her and she stopped. What do I do this time?”