Read Online Baby Talk by Mike Wells - Free Book Online Page B

say about it behind her back. Yet, “Mrs.” Paula
Crawford wasn’t even married anymore—Annie’s father had left them
when Annie was eight years old—but Paula had no problem sleeping
with whomever she pleased. Before Doug it was Charlie, and before
Charlie it was Wallace, and before him...well, Annie had lost track
of them all. But for her daughter to have a baby without being
married... no, we couldn’t have that, could we!
    But now, Annie regretted cutting off
communications with her mother. She didn’t think she could tolerate
another night with Neal, and there was nowhere else she could go.
Having an infant to care for, she couldn’t just drop in on a friend
and spend the night. Not that she had many friends in Atlanta,
anyway—she had only moved there a few months before she met Neal.
She had grown up in Chattanooga, and most of her childhood friends
had moved away. She hadn’t made any real friends since she had
moved to Atlanta, just a few other single girls she had met at the
dance clubs. She had painfully discovered that when you get married
and have a baby, all your single friends slowly but inevitably
distance themselves from you. Shellie, her old roommate, hadn’t
even called once since Annie had married Neal.
    Her mother’s phone rang and rang and rang.
Just before Annie hung up, somebody answered.
    When Annie heard that old familiar voice,
the voice of Mother, the voice of the prim-and-proper “Mrs.” Paula
Crawford, her vocal cords seem to freeze solid. She hadn’t expected
an answer this time, either, and she didn’t know how to begin.
    “Hello?” Paula repeated in an annoyed tone,
as if she thought it was a prank call.
    “Mama?” The word just sort of squeaked out
of Annie’s mouth. And though she hadn’t intended it, her voice
sounded very childlike.
    “Annie! Is something wrong?”
    “No,” Annie said, struggling to compose
herself. “Nothing’s wrong.”
    “Oh.” Her mother’s tone immediately shifted
from concern to
I’m still angry and hurt.
    There was an awkward silence.
    “Listen, Momma...I...I don’t know what to
do...I’m
scared
.”
    “Annie, what on earth is the matter? I
thought you said nothing was wrong.”
    “Nothing’s wrong, really. Not yet, anyway.”
Annie paused, not knowing how to continue. “It’s Neal, Momma.
He...well, I think he’s going crazy or something.”
    There was another long silence. Annie had a
feeling her mother was fighting the impulse to say “I told you so.”
But instead, she said, “Why don’t you just tell me exactly what
happened, honey? You’re about to give me another ulcer.”
    Annie stalled for a moment, not knowing how
much detail to provide. If she was completely open about everything
that had taken place, her mother’s already low opinion of Neal
would plummet to rock bottom. On the other hand, if she glossed
things over too much, it would make Annie sound like a
“complainer,” something her mother detested, especially in a
wife.
    Annie opted for a compromise. “Neal thinks
Natasha hates him. Every little negative thing she does, he blows
out of proportion.” Annie tried to laugh lightheartedly. “He thinks
Natasha’s out to get him.”
    “Out to
get
him?”
    Annie glanced down at her sleeping baby,
feeling silly now for even calling. But she was still afraid.
Very
afraid.
    She bit her lip, then launched headlong into
a detailed account of everything that had taken place. “Yesterday,
Neal was convinced that Natasha had started talking to him...”
    When she finished, there was another long
silence.
    “Annie, a five-month old baby can’t even sit
up by itself, let alone t—”
    “I
know
, Mamma.” Annie was fighting
tears. “What am I going to do? I don’t have anyplace to go.”
    “Doug and I were just getting ready to drive
down there.”
    “Down where?”
    “To Atlanta. Doug got tickets to the Braves
game this weekend.”
    A prick of sadness touched Annie’s heart.
Her mother had been