Wolf

It was the first of October, 1970. Mary and Ed lived in Beech Grove, Indiana, while Ed worked for an accounting firm in Indianapolis. The commute wasn’t bad, unless there was weather. Fortunately, it looked to be a mild fall. Mary was a stay-at-home-wannabe-mom. They had gotten pregnant a couple years back but lost the baby early in the pregnancy. Mary desperately wanted a baby, but they just couldn’t conceive. Earlier that year, they had met with an adoption agency and put in an application, which had been approved.

The approval process was grueling: credit checks, employment checks, home visits. All of these were very stressful for Mary. Ed handled it like he handled most things, dry and unemotional. What would come, would come. He had numbers to crunch.

On October 1st, Mary called Ed at work.

“Ed, we got the call! We got the call!” she cried into the phone.

“Really? When are they going to be there? Do I need to come home now?” Ed’s usually somber façade cracked a little. He was so excited.

Mary giggled into the phone. “No, I’m just kidding. They haven’t called yet.”

“Why would you do that?” Ed was aggravated. He sighed into the phone. She liked attention and being a housewife wasn’t really all that exciting for her. “Ok, I have to get back to work. Oh, and by the way, that wasn’t funny.”

Mary giggled again as she hung up the phone. She wandered back through the house to the baby’s room. In the crib was a beautiful afghan that her mother-in-law had knit for the new baby. It had rickrack stripes in white, blue, and pink. It was so soft and beautiful. Mary picked up the afghan and wrapped it around her shoulders. She picked up a teddy bear that her mother had bought for the baby and sat down in the rocking chair that had been placed next to the crib. She rocked the teddy bear back and forth.

A couple of weeks later, Mary called Ed at work again. “Ed, we got the call! We got the call!”

“Right, of course we did. Mary, you have to stop this,” Ed said into the phone, shaking his head in wonder at his wife.

“No, really! They just called! The baby will be here tonight” She sounded so excited on the phone.

“Really?” he started to believe.

“Nope,” and she hung up the phone.

When Ed got home that night, he sat Mary down on the sofa.

“Mary, you can’t do that again. I know you’re excited, and you want the baby to come, but you can’t tease me like that. I’m just as excited as you.” He smiled at her, trying to take the sting from his words. She burst into tears.

“I’m just so scared, Ed. I really want this baby, but they’re never going to call.”

Ed sat down beside her and wrapped her in his arms. “Of course they’re going to call. They said it could take up to two years. It hasn’t even been one yet. Just be patient.”

***

October had flown by, the weather staying mild. November got colder. By Thanksgiving, Mary had turned despondent, and Ed decided they needed to get away. They went to her family’s house for Thanksgiving. Mary came from a large family with three brothers and a sister. Her sister, Linda, had passed away earlier that year, and her mother was having a difficult time. Ed hoped the bustle of the holiday would help Mary and her mother both.

Two of Mary’s brothers had children. Jesse, the oldest of the five, had four children. Jerry, the third oldest, had a little girl. Mary divided her holiday time between helping her mother and playing with the children.

“By this time next year, you’ll have a little one to take care of,” her mother told Mary quietly as she sat rocking Jesse’s youngest.

“You think so, Mama?” Mary asked, her eyes wide with hope and damp with unshed tears. “I want a baby so bad.”

“I know, sweetie. It will be ok.” She patted her on the head and went back into the kitchen, leaving Mary alone with little Matt.

***

Thanksgiving was over, and Ed was headed back to work. December started out warm for that time of year. It was Thursday, the third, and the temperature was in the 60’s. Ed had just returned from lunch with a couple of his co-workers when his phone rang.

“Ed! I’ve been calling you for over an hour!” Mary was breathless.

“What? What’s wrong? Is everyone ok?” He knew Mary’s father wasn’t well and the loss of Linda had taken its toll on him.

“Yes, everyone is fine! Everyone is coming up tonight! The baby is here! The baby is here!” She was beside herself, unable to stay calm.

“Mary, if this is another of your jokes…” Ed was furious.

“No! No! I promise. This time they really called! You have to come home now!” Mary was insistent.

Ed went to his boss and told him what had happened. His boss gave him the afternoon off as well as the next day, which was Friday. He would have the whole weekend to spend with his new baby. He rushed home and found Mary whirling like a dervish through the house, tidying, cleaning, and generally going crazy.

Their parents arrived at five o’clock. Mary had made dinner for everyone, but she didn’t eat a bite. She was too nervous. She changed her clothes twice before Ed banned her from the bedroom.

At seven o’clock, the doorbell rang. Ed opened the door to a lady standing on the stoop holding a tiny bundle. She walked in and placed the baby in Mary’s arms. Mary unwrapped the precious gift. It was a tiny little baby girl dressed in a beautiful red velvet dress, all ready for Christmas. She had two dimples in each cheek and the bluest eyes.

“See, I told you,” Mary said, smiling up into her husband’s eyes. “She’s here.”