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It was another sunny day, and Maryellen sat on the sofa, gazing out at the yard and folding a batch of towels still war in his downstairs office That here he had his darkrooraphs He’d willingly stayed in the san that his attitude had changed, at least a little

Joe and Ellen had taken Katie outside to enjoy the sunshine Like any toddler, Katie loved exploring her world Through the sliding glass door, Maryellen could see the three of the at the flowers and studying each blade of grass

Katie had not only grown close to her grandparents, she talked about thee the subject He never spoke against his parents to Katie, but he didn’t discuss them with her, either

Recently Maryellen had noticed the slightest softening toward his fa with Katie as she chased butterflies That was the day they’d first spoken They’d exchanged a few brief remarks since then, friendly but nonco and Maryellen automatically reached for it Now that her due date was almost upon them, her mother called twice a day and visited often Her sister, Kelly, was due in a feeeks, and they kept in frequent touch This was probably Kelly; she usually phoned in the early afternoon

"Hello," she said, expecting to hear her sister’s voice She did

"How are you feeling?" Kelly asked

"How are you feeling?"

"Pregnant," Kelly said, giggling

"Me, too" Only Maryellen wasn’t laughing

"My goodness, who knew nine ," Kelly co pregnant, but--again unlike Maryellen--she had no difficulty staying pregnant "Nothing fits anyot new stretch , nancy can be"

Maryellen was hard pressed not to renancy trapped on the sofa in their living rooed for were the simple, ordinary aspects of what used to be her life She yearned for the time she could crawl into bed and cuddle with her husband The pleasure of a real bath was a forbidden luxury Cli stairs was out, too, and since the baby’s bedroo to her ht not to be personally involved She hadn’t even seen it yet

If that wasn’t enough to unnerve Maryellen, she endured constant worries about the baby She tried to be positive; nevertheless, she worried Because of the problenancy, she was deathly afraid that so with her baby

Early on, there’d been numerous blood tests and ultrasounds, and then, as the fetus developed, fewer and fewer The physicians assured both Maryellen and Jon that everything appeared to be normal, but their words were always followed by a stateuarantee

Maryellen had already accepted that because of her age and the problenancy would be her last

As was their habit, Kelly and Maryellen talked for about ten minutes When she turned off the phone and set it aside, she was surprised to see Ellen in the kitchen, preparing a salad for dinner

"Where’s Katie?" Maryellen asked as she folded a thick yelloel

Ellen glanced up, lettuce in her hands "She’s still outside with Joe"

Thinking she ain The yard was empty, and she saw no evidence of either her father-in-law or her daughter

"I don’t see the aardly to her feet

"I’ the dish toith her, walked outside

Maryellen stood at the open glass door, watching Ellen as she strolled casually about the yard When Ellen didn’t see her husband or granddaughter, either, she ht

After a fewtheir naly shrill when she couldn’t locate the rong She could feel it Everylight-headed, she made her way to the stairs that led to Jon’s office

"Jon," she called, trying to sound calht away?"

Her fears must have been evident in her voice, because he was up the stairs in a flash

His eyes immediately locked with hers "What is it?"

She sed hard, fearing his reaction "Joseph and Katie areher shoulders "What do you ?"

"Katie was outside with Joe and Ellen I was on the phone with Kelly When we finished, Ellen was in the kitchen and I couldn’t see Katie or your father You kno et a chance to finish

Jon was out the door, and she saw him dash across the yard toward the creek at the back of their property The rushing water flowed down the ee If Katie had fallen in the swollen creek, it could carry her all the way to Puget Sound

Standing on the deck, Maryellen pressed her hand against her forehead Breathless, Ellen eed from the bushes that lined the far end of the property She looked at Maryellen and shook her head

"Where’s Jon?" Maryellen shouted

"He went down to the creek I couldn’t make it"

"Joe?" she asked

"I--I don’t know He couldn’t have made it to the creek, either The banks are much too steep"

Nausea built in the back of her throat, and for a moment Maryellen was afraid she’d throw up This couldn’t be happening None of this could possibly be real, and yet the terror that overwhel nausea and dizziness, she clutched the back of a patio chair

"I don’t kno this could’ve happened," Ellen cried, and tears filled her eyes "Joe ith her…"