Baby Blues: Escape From Reality Series, #16

By Rita Delude

Alice and Scott have everything, except the baby of their dreams. Barbara and Derek have nothing, except their baby. The two couples meet in Escape, CO, where any magical thing can happen and often does. Follow these couples as they fight to make things right, to love each other despite all odds, and to do the right things.

Baby Blues is book sixteen in the Escape from Reality series. It can also be a standalone novella. Escape into the beauty of love in all its forms in this love story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Aug 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781987757262

Book preview

Dedication

Baby Blues is dedicated to all mothers, young, old, frightened, or delighted who make the conscious decision to bring another miracle into this world. And especially to these mothers:

My grandmother, Florence Van Auken, who had five children, yet told me that being pregnant and delivering babies was the closest thing to Hell on Earth.

My mother, Eleanor Riggione, who had five children and glowed with happiness while maintaining her busy schedule and doing some hard physical work during each pregnancy.

My daughter, Erin George, who has suffered so many losses, especially our Ellie, and delivered two of my wonderful grandsons.

To Stephen Delude, the loss my husband and I suffered.

May each baby be accepted and loved as a true miracle by someone who deserves that love in return.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Crazy Ink Publishing and owner Erin George for this opportunity and so many others she has afforded me. Without her talented cover design, team of editors, proofers, and ARC readers, this book would not be possible.

Many thanks go to Kimberly Lee and Sara Schoen, who always make themselves available for my many questions and offer so much thoughtful advice in the process.

The Crazy Inklings Tribe supports me, reads my words, encourages me, and gets out the news about my books. Wanda loves them for all that they are and all that they do for me including opening their community and making me a Tribe member.

Thank you to Ron, who is now my first reader. This one is his favorite. I hope to make him cry again someday because of the words I write.

Thank you to my faithful and new readers who use their hard-earned funds to purchase my stories. You inspire me to work harder to touch your hearts.

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BABY BLUES

Chapter One

Barbara

Derek holds my hand as we sit on the loveseat waiting for Mother to join us. She carries a pot of tea and three tea cups she inherited from her mom, whose grandmother buried them during the Civil War to save them from the rattling of the bombs that shattered lives and windows at that time, so I know she considers this visit important. There are cookies placed evenly on a matching luncheon plate. These are homemade, but not by Mother’s loving hands. They’re made by our forever faithful maid, Rose. Derek gets up to help Mother with the tray, but she declines his help. He sits back down and, again, holds my hand. We’re both sweating.

Well, I’m so happy to meet you Derek. Barbara never brings any of her school friends around, Mother says as she pours tea into each of the cups.

It’s great to meet you, too, Derek says, and he squeezes my hand. Barbara and I want to talk with you about something.

Yes? Mother asks as she leans deep into her Queen Anne style chair and sips at her unsweetened tea.

Mother, we want to get married, I blurt out.

Yes, she, I, we both do. We both want to be married, Derek says.

Mother gulps hard on her swallow of tea and stands up more suddenly than she sat down.

Married? Are you kidding me? You’re graduating this year. You’re off to Barnard. Don’t be ridiculous.

She is pointing her finger inches from my nose.

Mrs. Medcalf, Barbara is, we are pregnant, Derek says.

My mother spins around to face him directly.

There is no ‘we’ in pregnant. You got my baby girl pregnant, but it’s her body that’s carrying your foolishness. This is the first time I’ve seen your face in our home, and you’re telling me you got my daughter, my only child, pregnant?

Yes, and I’m sorry, but...

She turns to me again.

You see, Barbara, he’s ‘sorry;’ he doesn’t want this baby any more than I want it for you. You are not going to ruin your life.

But, Mother, I do want it, I plead.

You’re too young to know what you want. I’ll take you to Dr. Spencer and if he won’t make this go away, I’ll bring you to Planned Parenthood myself, and they’ll take care of this, this problem, and you can forever forget about this, this boy.

She turns to Derek, again, with her dozen jeweled bangle bracelets jiggling and points. You, get out, and don’t breathe this news to anyone else, or I’ll have my lawyer take you to court for defamation. Get out, now," she shouts.

I stand up and almost knock her over by my sudden move.

If Derek goes, I go. We’re doing this with your help or without it, I promise. Come on, Derek, let’s go.

We exit through the huge foyer with the giant crystal chandelier, and I slam the door behind me as hard as possible.

Once outside, we climb into Derek’s beat up pick-up truck. He uses it to collect metal and other recyclables and then cashes them in for money. With so much time spent on school work and three seasons of sports, he doesn’t have much time for any other kind of regular job.

I scoot in close to him as he turns on the engine, and he drives us slowly down the long driveway with its well-manicured flowers and bushes dressing it on both sides. I look back. Mom isn’t at the door; she isn’t peeking through a window; she doesn’t care.

Derek and I pull into our favorite make-out spot overlooking Meyer Lake from high above on our secluded hilltop. The lights on a few lake cabins are shining, and the reflection on the lake makes it look like diamonds on the water. Normally, this place calms me, but not so much tonight.

I’m crying as I beg Derek, What will we do? I don’t want to kill our baby. I can’t.

Derek pulls me into him, and I weep into his chest.

Shh. It will be all right, he promises, but I don’t believe him.

Our lives are ruined. I was on my way to Barnard, my mother’s alma mater, and Derek has a full lacrosse scholarship to Colorado State.

If we keep this baby, we’ll have to give up on college, I say.

"I know, Hon, but it is worth it. Imagine. Our baby," he says, and rubs my belly as though I’m made of glass.

There’s a long silence between us, and I wonder what he’s thinking.

No. We both can’t give up on our dreams. You go to Colorado; I’ll come with you. I’ll get a job to help with expenses. Maybe I could even take a class or two, I offer.

He gasps, and his mouth drops open.

You’d do that for me?

I’d do anything for you. I, I already have, I answer and look down at my still tiny belly.

With just two weeks of school left, we make plans to finish out the year, gather as much money as we can, and move to Colorado early to get an apartment and jobs before the fall semester begins.

I’m excited and nervous and nauseous, because of the baby, but am sure our plan will work.

Derek’s parents aren’t any happier than my mom was when we break the news to them, but they at least understand us wanting to keep the baby. They can’t help financially, but we assure them with Derek’s scholarship, we’ll be able to handle the apartment expenses on our own.

I pray we’re right.

BABY BLUES

Chapter Two

Barbara

When we arrive in Colorado, we can’t find off-campus housing because it’s so late. Apparently, these things are booked months and sometimes years in advance. Who knew?

So, we search around the area and find a one bedroom apartment in a place called Escape. We immediately both feel it is a good omen. We’re escaping from my mother, from friends and neighbors who will surely gossip when I start to show, and from the prospect of Derek not making use of his scholarship.

Besides, the weekend we move in, Madame Scarlet’s Carnival comes to town, and we feel like it’s a celebration in our honor. When we buy tickets, we even meet a local mechanic named Deacon. We couldn’t believe how friendly he was. Yet, his friendliness seemed sincere; he wasn’t just looking for customers. Turns out Deacon’s place is the only one in town. It’s a small town with a warm feel. Maybe it’s the perfect place to bring up a baby. I hope so.

The landlady, Joyce Wilcox, is a widow who rents the upstairs unit to make ends meet. The rent is low enough that we feel we can afford it for at least six months and with my working full time and Derek working part time, we hope it will last until he graduates four years from now.

It becomes like a game of playing house. We get an old bedroom set from a flea market sale, pick up a couch for very cheap from an old lady who’s moving into a nursing home, and make several trips to Walmart to get the basic utensils, dishes, towels, and sheets we need to make our place a home. There’s no Walmart in this cozy town of Escape, but we travel to nearby Peak’s View where there is one. We treat ourselves to a new mattress and box spring. This will be our place to make love, dream dreams, and care for each other. We want it perfect.

Even without any frills, this place feels like home more than my mother’s house ever felt. That’s because Derek’s in it. Who needs her fancy furniture and fancier house? Not us.

After spending our first weekend in Escape, on Monday, we decide to splurge on lunch and step into Ellie’s Diner.

The owner greets us like we’re old friends.

Welcome to Ellie’s Diner. I’m Ellie. You two here on vacation? she asks.

Derek and I sit at the counter because it seems unfriendly to move away from Ellie while she’s talking to us.

"No.