“Give Miss Annabelle my love. How's she doing in school?”

“She loves it.” Alex smiled, dropping the last of her papers in her briefcase. “Don't forget to send Matthew Billings my notes from this morning, please. And I'll need all the Schultz files on my desk when I come in tomorrow. I have a meeting with Brock on it at eight-thirty.” There were a thousand things she was going to have to think of. The Schultz trial was set to start the following Wednesday and she was liable to be out of the office for a week or more, which meant she had to take care of as much as she could before that. It was going to be a grim Monday and Tuesday.

“See you in the morning.” Alex smiled warmly at Liz, who also knew that if an emergency arose after Alex left, she could call her at home, or send papers up to her by messenger if she had to. As devoted as Alex was to Annabelle, she was never completely out of contact. And when Alex was in court, she always wore a beeper.

“Good night, Alex.” Liz Hascomb smiled at her as she left, and five minutes later, Alex was on Park Avenue, plunging into five o'clock traffic. The rush hour had just begun, and it took real spirit to grab a cab before anyone else did. She got one headed uptown, and noticed with surprise what a beautiful day it was. It was one of those splendid October days with bright sun and a hint of warm air, but a brisk breeze that carries with it just the merest suggestion of autumn.

It was the kind of weather that made her want to walk uptown, except that she didn't want to waste a minute getting home to her daughter. Instead, she settled back in the cab, thinking about Annabelle and her mischievous little face with the freckles. It was hard not to think about getting pregnant again too. They'd been trying for three years, and it was discouraging that it just hadn't happened. But on the other hand, she wasn't ready yet for more dramatic measures. She wondered how, with her schedule, she would ever manage either in vitro fertilization or even Pergonal. It all seemed so complicated with everything else she had on her plate. It would be so much easier if it just happened. Her progesterone was high enough, her FSH, or follicle-stimulating hormone, was low enough …but there was still no baby. And thinking about it reminded her that she had to run a test with the “blue kit” as soon as she got home, just to make sure they didn't miss the ideal moment. According to her calculations, she was due to ovulate sometime that weekend. At least she wouldn't be working, or in trial, thank God, she thought to herself, as the cab lurched and darted through the traffic around them.

They wound up in a traffic jam on Madison and Seventy-fourth, and she decided to get out and walk the last three blocks. The air felt good on her face after being cooped up all day. And there was a real spring in her step, as she swung her briefcase beside her, and thought about getting home to Annabelle. Maybe Sam would even be home. Her smile deepened as she thought of him. She was still crazy about him after more than seventeen years of marriage. She had everything. A fabulous career, an adorable little girl, a husband she loved deeply. She was the luckiest woman alive, and she knew it. That was the best part. She never took any of it for granted. She was grateful for every blessing in her life, every day. And if she didn't get pregnant again, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Maybe they'd adopt. Or maybe they'd just have Annabelle. She and Sam were only children, it hadn't done them any harm. On the contrary, people said only children were smarter.

Whatever happened, she knew they had it made. Just thinking about it made her smile broadly as she reached their building, and smiled at the doorman as she strode confidently into the lobby.





Chapter 2

As Alex opened the front door, the apartment seemed strangely quiet. There was not a sound anywhere, and she wondered if Carmen had taken Annabelle to the park for longer than usual. On most days, they were home by five o'clock, and then had a bath before dinner. But when Alex walked into her bathroom, she found Annabelle sitting like a little princess in a mountain of bubble bath that almost hid her completely. Carmen was sitting on the edge of the bath, watching her, and Annabelle was pretending to be a mermaid. She wasn't saying a word, she was just “swimming” up and down the tub nearly hidden by the huge froth of bubbles. Using her mother's deep marble tub had been an extra treat, and was why Alex hadn't heard her as she came into the apartment. The master suite was at the end of a long hallway.

“What are you doing in here?” Alex grinned broadly at both of them, happy to see her baby. She was the cutest little girl Alex had ever seen, and her bright red hair shone like a beacon in the bathtub.

“Shhh …” Annabelle said seriously, holding her finger to her lips. “Mermaids don't talk.”

“Are you a mermaid?”

“Of course I am. Carmen said I could use your bathtub and your bubble bath if I let her wash my hair tonight.” Carmen smiled at her employer and Alex laughed. Annabelle loved to make deals, and Carmen was as much putty in her hands as her parents were, Annabelle didn't take unfair advantage of it, but she knew that she was everyone's darling.

“How about if I take a bath with you, and we both wash our hair?” her mother suggested. She wanted to take a bath anyway before Sam came home for dinner.

“Okay.” Annabelle thought about it for a minute. She hated to have her hair shampooed, but she was beginning to suspect there would be no way out this time.

Alex slipped out of her black suit, and high heels, and Carmen went to check on dinner, while Annabelle continued to play mermaid, and a moment later they were both in the big tub, having a conversation about their respective days. Annabelle liked the fact that her mother was a lawyer, and her father was a “invention capitalist,” as she called it. She always explained that it was sort of like a banker, and he gave away people's money, which was not exactly the way her father described what he did, but it satisfied Annabelle. She knew her mother went to court and argued with the judge, but she didn't send people to jail, which was simpler.

“So how was your day?” Alex asked, luxuriating in the warm water and the bubbles, feeling like a mermaid herself after a day at the office.

“Pretty good.” Annabelle looked at her with obvious pleasure. Her mother had kissed her hello when she got in the tub, and Annabelle was happily sitting beside her.

“Did anything special happen at school?”

“Nope. We ate frogs though.”

“You ate frogs?” Alex looked intrigued, but was familiar with her daughter's shorthand and knew there was more to the story. “What kind of frogs?” Surely not real ones.

“Green frogs. With black eyes, and coconut hair on them.” The “coconut hair” was the tip-off, as Alex wondered how she had ever managed to live without her.

“You mean like cupcakes?”

“Yeah sort of, Bobby Bronstein brought them. It was his birthday.”

“That sounds pretty good.”

“His mother brought gummy worms and spiders too. They were pretty gross.” She was delighted at the scary report that had intrigued her mother.

“Sounds yummy.” Alex smiled down at her as Annabelle shrugged, unimpressed by the culinary delights she had encountered.

“It was okay. I like your cupcakes better. Especially the chocolate ones.”

“Maybe we'll make some this weekend.” … after Daddy and I make love and try to make you a baby brother or sister…. She reminded herself again about the blue kit.

“What are we doing this weekend?” a familiar voice asked as they both looked up to see Annabelle's Daddy, watching them from the doorway with obvious amusement. It was an appealing scene, and his eyes met his wife's with all the love he felt for both of them, and then he leaned down to kiss his wife and his daughter. Alex caught him by the tie and held him there for another kiss, and he didn't object as he kissed her.

“We were talking about making cupcakes, among other things,” Alex said seductively, as he raised an eyebrow, and then stepped back from the tub and took off his tie and opened his collar.

“Any other plans for this weekend?” he asked casually, he had also remembered the blue kit.

“I think so,” she smiled at him, and he returned the look in her eyes with pleasure. Almost fifty, he was still a strikingly handsome man, and looked ten years younger than he was, as did Alex. They were a good-looking pair, and it was obvious that Annabelle had done nothing to dim the passion between them.

“What are you two doing in the bathtub with all those bubbles?” he asked Annabelle, and she looked at him matter-of-factly.

“We're mermaids, Daddy.”

“Any interest in having a big whale join you?”

“You're coming in too, Daddy?” she giggled, and he took off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt, as the three of them laughed, and a minute later, he had locked the door so Carmen wouldn't come back in, and he was in the tub with his two mermaids. He splashed and they played, and eventually Alex did wash Annabelle's hair. And then she got out of the tub and dried her off and wrapped her in a big pink towel, while Sam took a shower to wash all the soap off. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a big white towel, which he wound around his waist as he surveyed his two ladies with pleasure.

“You two look like twins.” He smiled again at the bright red hair. Alex had complained lately about finding a few gray hairs, but you couldn't see them, and her hair was still as bright as her daughter's.

“What are we going to do for Halloween?” Annabelle asked as her mother dried her hair, and Sam opened the bathroom door and walked into their bedroom to put on jeans and a sweater and a pair of loafers. He loved coming home to them, playing with Annabelle, and spending time with Alex. He didn't even mind if she worked late at night, he just liked being with her, as he had for the last seventeen years. Very little had changed between them, except that he seemed to love her more each year, and Annabelle had only strengthened the bond between them. He was only sorry they hadn't figured out how great kids were a little sooner.

“What do you want to do for Halloween?” Alex asked her, as she fluffed up the bright red curls with gentle fingers.

“I want to be a canary,” Annabelle said firmly.

“A canary? Why a canary?” Alex was smiling at her.

“They're cute. Hilary has one. Or maybe I'll be Tinker Bell … or the Little Mermaid.”

“I'll go to F.A.O. Schwarz on my lunch hour next week and see what I can find. Okay?” And then she remembered the trial. She'd have to do it before Wednesday or wait till the trial was over. Or maybe Liz Hascomb could call them and see what they had in Annabelle's size. Alex always had to be artful about using her time to its best advantage.

“What are we doing for Halloween?” Sam had strolled back into the room in jeans and a dark green sweater.

“I thought we'd go trick-or-treating in the building, like last year,” Alex explained, and he nodded. She was wearing a pink terry-cloth bathrobe with a pink towel on her head, and she put Annabelle's nightie on, and turned her over to Sam, so she could go out to the kitchen and check on dinner.

There was a chicken in the oven, baked potatoes in the microwave, green beans sautéing in a pan, and Carmen was about ready to leave them. She stayed later when they went out, but if they were staying home, she often started dinner for them, and then left. Or Alex and Sam would cook dinner themselves when they both got back from the office.

“Thanks for everything.” Alex smiled at her, and Carmen smiled back. “I'm going to need lots of help next week, Carmen. I'm going to trial on Wednesday.”

“Sure. I help you, I can stay late. No problem.” She knew about their efforts toward having another baby too, and she was disappointed it had not yet happened. She loved babies, and kids. At fifty-seven, she had had six kids and two husbands, and at last count she had seventeen grandchildren. She had a fall life in Queens, but she loved working for the Parkers in Manhattan.

“See you tomorrow,” Alex called out when Carmen left. The table was set, the dinner smelled wonderful. Alex went to put on jeans and a shirt herself. And five minutes later, she called Annabelle and Sam to dinner. They ate at an old rustic table in the kitchen, the place mats were clean and pretty, and the candles were lit. Sometimes they ate in the dining room, but most of the time they ate in the kitchen, and most nights they ate with Annabelle, except when they came home late, or went out to dinner. But they both enjoyed their meals with her. She was good company and they thought their time together was important.