She'd been intimidating then, but also half-invisible, depressed and fragile.
Now? What a change.
“You got the stroller?” Calvin asked me, turning in the direction of my gaze as I looked at it. Earlier this morning, we'd walked over to their house and offered to take the baby for a walk so Calvin and Cathy could get ready for the photo shoot.
Yeah, photo shoot. The major magazine that got the exclusive deal was sending over a photographer. Said they'd do the interview for the story later. Joe and I had agreed to one photo with them in it, and that was it. Cathy said she needed time to “put on her face,” a phrase I hadn't heard since my grandma was alive.
So we took Cal, Jr. for a long walk.
Plus, it was a way to hog the baby.
We didn't invite Alex and Josie under the pretense of letting them sleep in.
We really did it for exclusive baby rights.
The streets of Peters had been uncharacteristically silent, with no one bugging us. It had felt good to walk two miles, alternating who pushed little Cal, then circling back, Josie and Alex meeting us at Calvin and Cathy's house.
We'd been postponing the inevitable good-bye, and now it was here.
“We'll bring him back in a month, Mama,” Darla said, holding the baby like she half meant it, just as a burgundy sedan pulled up, the backseat filled with black boxes of equipment.
A woman with dark hair down to her shoulders in springy curls, big red-framed glasses, and a friendly grin approached us, hand outstretched for a shake. “Diani Johnston,” she said, looking around at all of us as if counting. “I'm here for the photos.”
“Trevor Connor. But you really want Cathy and Calvin,” I pointed out as we shook, handing her off to Calvin, who quietly, patiently made the rounds with her.
Joe grabbed Darla's arm. “Why are we doing this now?”
“It was the only time she had before we leave. Plus, maybe it'll be easier. We take the pictures we're in, then go.”
“But we're all crying, Darla!”
“Then the pictures will be even more authentic,” she said, wiping away a tear from one eye. “Plus there's photoshop.”
“You sure you want both of us in the picture?” he asked with a sniff, suddenly wary.
“Yes.”
“Okay, then. How will they label us?”
“Darla Jo Jennings, the unexpected sister, with her two concubines, Joe Ross and Trevor Connor from the hit band Random Acts of Crazy,” Darla said in an announcers voice.
“Concubines?” he sputtered.
“Would you prefer the term 'eunuchs'? Because that can be arranged.”
“Hey, everyone!” Diani said, a camera in her hand, some light equipment encircling a small lilac bush in the yard. She made sure to get their house as a backdrop, a big old family picture in the making. “Let's start off with one with just Cathy, Calvin and the baby,” Diani said, the three of them gathering by the lilac bush.
“This is way easier than getting pictures done at the Olan Mills like we did when you were little,” Calvin said to Jenna, who grinned back at him.
“And we're getting paid to do it,” Cathy said through a fake smile.
Darla's eyes were on the baby the entire time. Joe and I were prepared for a ten-hour drive home with nothing but pure sobbing from her.
We did not take into account our own crying, though.
“Let's do one picture with everyone,” Diani called out.
“JENNA!” Cathy hollered. “It's time!”
Jenna appeared, baby in a sling, JJ holding a toy truck. They all looked done up, which meant Jenna had showered and dyed her hair green, thick eyeliner more Goth than Sunday Best.
For the next five minutes, Diani arranged us as she wished, Joe and I used to the endless photog work, but the others were restless. She was a pro, taking off-the-cuff photos, looking to build a shoot that could be winnowed down later to find the best shot to meet the media outlet's needs.
By the time she was done, Cathy and Calvin were in the center, Cal. Jr. in her arms. Darla was on Cathy's right, Jenna on Calvin's left, her babies in her arms. Joe and I flanked Darla, one hand on each of her shoulders. Josie and Alex stayed off to the side, quietly and politely deferring to whatever Diani had murmured in their ear earlier.
The ego hit from media realities was never fun. If you weren't part of the story, you didn't matter.
“Cheese!” Darla said, making everyone erupt into laughter, the sound of a car making us all turn. Mike and Marlene parked by the side of the road, smiling and pointing.
“Aw, shit,” Cathy said through a forced smile. “Marlene found out.”
“Who's that?” Diani asked politely, clicking away.
“My aunt and uncle,” Darla replied.
“Let's do one of all of you,” Diani said, looking at Cathy with a kind smile. “I'm not supposed to take anything I'm not under contract for, but you're nice folks and when do you ever have so much family in one place?”
Cathy took her free hand and waved it at her eyes. “My word, I'm crying again. Thank you, Diani!” She sniffed, then bullhorned: “MARLENE! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE NOW!”
Waving at Alex and Josie, Diani re-coordinated the group of us, posing Marlene and Mike with them, re-composing the shot.
Darla beamed.
“You happy?” I whispered in her ear.
She looked around, elbows hitting her, the scent of perfume and cologne and sweat filling the air. Body heat and awkwardness were always part of group pictures, but so was excitement. Meaning. Context.
History.
Shared time.
“Yeah,” she whispered as she kissed my cheek. “I am.”
“Okay, everyone!” Diani shouted as Joe and I tightened our grip on Darla. “On the count of three. One....
Two....
THREE!”
:)
THANK YOU so much for reading Random Acts of Baby!
If you liked it and haven’t read the first 10 books in the series, please go back to Random Acts of Crazy and start there.
If you have finished the whole series, but want more Darla, Trevor, and Joe, go to Her Billionaires and start reading. Darla and the gang make an entrance in book 2 and appear in the rest of the series. You have loads ahead of you.
Keep flipping for a fun excerpt!
Excerpt from It’s Complicated, featuring Darla, Trevor, Joe, Josie and Alex
Here’s an excerpt from It’s Complicated, book 2 in the series, in a scene with Darla, Joe, Trevor, Josie and Alex:
“You must be Trevor,” she said quietly, pinching her lips together to hide the smile that tried to creep out, involuntarily sultry and flirtatious. She couldn’t believe this was coming out of her.
Dear God, no wonder Darla had fallen for him. Josie would have had sex with him in a rest area, too, even an Ohio rest area. He was too young for her, she told herself. Old enough, of course, but still, she felt a little dirty thinking about him this way.
He crossed the kitchen with two steps and sat down next to her, the movement so fluid and confident that it made all sorts of parts of her perk up, not just her ears. Suddenly she didn’t need the coffee to be fully awake. Long athlete’s legs stretched out, nearly brushing against her calf, as he crossed his feet at the ankles and didn’t seem to care that he sat before her in his underwear and a tight cotton t-shirt.