Serendipity Strikes

12

Emmaline

I had everything arranged perfectly so that I could go to Shawn's Halloween bash baby-free.

The biggest hurdle had been finding a sitter. Mike couldn't stay with Jax because hockey season was in full swing, and he had a home game that night. My parents had to stay in Osgoode since my dad was still recovering from his surgery. Weeks before the party, I asked around at yoga to see if anyone had a babysitter that they recommended. Several people got anxious and said that excellent sitters were hard to come by, so they didn't like to give out their names. When I asked why, I was told it was because they didn't want any competition. God forbid someone book their sitter on a night they needed them. Finally one woman told me that her daughter was an experienced babysitter and could possibly squeeze me in on the rare occasion I needed help.

I called Ruth that afternoon to see if she was free on the Saturday before Halloween. Thankfully she was, so I arranged for her to come over several times before then to get to know Jax and become familiar with his routine.

She turned out to be a total sweetheart, and Jax loved playing with her during those two visits. I explained that the night of the party I'd still be in the building and that I'd pop down midway through the night to feed Jax. If he got hungry more often, she could text me. I was definitely nervous about leaving him, but I was only an elevator trip away so I knew he'd be fine.

The afternoon of the party, I took a long bath while Jax napped. I then proceeded to do my hair and make-up.

I was dressing up as Rosie the Riveter, the empowered American poster woman from World War II. I'd bought a dark blue denim jumpsuit online that I rolled up to my calves and paired with a red belt. I had thick socks and combat boots from my college days and a red and white polka-dotted kerchief to put around my hair, which was pinned up except for a little spiral bun over my forehead. I rolled my sleeves to my elbows and put on fairly minimal make-up.

I'd just finished getting ready when my cell phone started to buzz. Jax had woken up and was laying on his back in his crib, and he babbled at me as I walked by him to grab my phone.

It was Ruth. She'd just gotten home from her job at Starbucks and was running a fever. Her mom was taking her to a clinic to get checked out, and obviously she couldn't babysit tonight if she was ill.

There went my plans.

I texted Shawn and told him I no longer had a babysitter and that at best, I could pop by with Jax for an hour or so. Given that this was a much bigger party than the one he'd held in July, I knew it would be too loud for a baby once things really got started.

I was surprised when many minutes passed and he hadn't replied. Jax was hungry so I took him out of the crib and changed him before putting him in his new high chair. I fed him a small bowl of rice cereal which he wasn't very enthusiastic about. This was strange since normally he gobbled his food up with joy. Since he hadn't eaten much in the way of solids, I nursed him and put him on his activity mat in the living room.

It was now 7:00 and Shawn's party started at 8:00. I plopped onto the couch and relaxed, thinking we'd go up around 7:30.

A thought passed through my mind. He might mind me coming early if his sex-pal Kennedy was there. They might be getting his place ready together or maybe getting it on. We hadn't discussed her since my birthday, but I'd assumed she'd be at the party tonight after he'd said it was a possibility. Maybe it was for the best that I wouldn't be there for long, because I didn't know how I'd feel if he was cozied up to her.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. I got up and answered it and gasped loudly at what I saw.

Shawn stood in my doorway in full zombie make-up.