The Girl in the Comfortable Quiet Read Online Free PDF Page B

keep telling me that? It’s
almost like something is bothering him, but he won’t say it.
    I unbuckle my seat belt and climb from the car
before Jack can get to my door to open it.
    “Do you mind waiting for Linda? Settling her in a
guest room? I need to get these shoes off and sit down for a moment and catch
my breath.”
    He drops a kiss on my forehead. “Go. Take care of
you. I’ll take care of Linda.”
    I hurry into the house, down the hallway to my
bedroom and close the door. Alone at last. I sink on the bed and kick off my
sandals. Those were definitely a mistake. I pull off my dress then reluctantly
rise to my feet and go to a dresser drawer for a comfy, loose-fitting nightie.
    I catch a glimpse of myself in the wall mirror. I
pause. Jeez, I’m enormous. I run my palms over Kaley, joy and sadness
whispering through my veins. Another month and she’ll be here.
    What will I see when I see her? At that moment of
truth, will I finally know for sure — I stop myself. I don’t want my
thoughts to go there.
    Some things are better left in lockboxes, never
to be retrieved, never spoken of, especially when they don’t matter. Neil and I
are happy. We have no secrets from each other. We have things we do not share
about ourselves, yes, we have that, but in a mutual, caring kind of way. There
are parts of Neil’s past he doesn’t talk about with me. There are parts of my
history I do not share with him. To protect us. Or as Neil says, part of
loving unconditionally . The past doesn’t matter. Not if you love today. Sometimes Neil sounds just like Jack. Heck, it works for us. And I want this
baby girl more than I’ve ever wanted anything.
    I pull on my nightgown, run a brush through my
hair and leave my bedroom. I find Jack and Linda in the family room sitting
side by side on a couch, talking quietly.
    “Have you got Linda all settled into a bedroom?”
    They both look up as if I startled them.
    I sink onto a chair. 
    Jack stands up. “I put Linda’s things in the
first bedroom next to yours. I know it’s not a guest room, but I don’t want her
downstairs while she’s staying here. I want her close to my baby girl in case
you need her.”
    I roll my eyes at his ridiculous, relentless
fussing over me, and Linda laughs.
    Jack smiles at us both. “I should cut out,
Chrissie. You’ve had a long day.”
    My eyes widen. “You’re leaving?”
    Jack drops a kiss on my head. “You need your
rest.” He laughs. “I need my rest. Christ, I’m going to be a grandfather in
five weeks.”
    He says that in a silly way and I laugh.
    I struggle to rise from my chair.
    Linda springs from the sofa. “Don’t get up,
Chrissie. You’ve been on your feet too much today. I’ll walk Jack out.”
    “Thank you, since I don’t think I can get
up. I hate this chair. I should never have sat down in it.”
    They leave me. I sit there, wondering why it’s
taking so long to hear the door open and close, and for Linda to return. Then I
see something on the coffee table. Crap. Jack’s keys. He’s so forgetful. I grab
them and push myself out of the chair.
    In the doorway to the living room, I halt and
stare. Jack and Linda are standing face-to-face, quietly talking.
    “It means a lot to me that you did this,” Jack
says earnestly.
    Linda’s dark brown eyes are doe-wide as she
stares up at him. “It means a lot to me that I got to.”
    They are smiling at each other in a very familiar
kind of way. What are they talking about? They look so serious and something
else I can’t put my finger on.
    “Daddy, you forgot your keys,” I say, and they
step back from each other quickly.
    Jack laughs and comes to the edge of the landing,
crouching down. He holds out his hand to me. “Why didn’t you just shout for me?
I would have come back and gotten the keys myself.”
    His voice is normal, affectionately chiding, but
for some reason he looks a little flustered.
    I crinkle my nose. “I was getting up anyway.”
    “Jack, stop