The Greatest Lie Part 14

"That's so great of you, Cole," I said graciously.

"I'd do anything to help this lovely little lady," he affirmed.

Mom, Marta and I spent the next day screaming around the West Valley in Cole's Excursion, spending thousands on toys, clothes, furniture, and baby-proofing for Marta's new home. The next day, Marta unpacked while I assembled playpens, swings, cribs, and strollers. Cole came by to lend a hand but just whistled admiration at my command of the directions, diagrams, and light assembly work involved in equipping the modern baby.

You, dear readers, know how I came to possess this facility, and somehow I'll figure out a way to tell him, someday.

My mom came by to tell me the nanny interviewing schedule she had laid out for the next day.

"Hello," I reminded her. "I'm flying to Thailand tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, darling, I'd forgotten you were leaving so soon. We really must choose a nanny. Marta needs to keep working, and I can't handle Alyssa all by myself. I need my time, you know: the trainer, yoga, my book group, and the course I'm teaching."

"I know. But look, I think I can just trust your judgment on the nannies. I mean, A, what do I know about nannies, and B, you always had great nannies for me. So, just do it! OK?"

She seemed pleased that she had my confidence.

Cole insisted on driving me down to LAX. Marta and Mom wanted to come, and bring Alyssa, who had just started eating baby food vegetables, so she pooped about five times on the way and we had to stop every time. By the time we had all kissed and hugged for the millionth time, I barely made it through the godawful security in time to catch the plane.

I plopped down next to Tran, flushed and panting, the last one to board and with no overhead storage space left available in which to stow my trusty iBook. She smiled and said, "You're not going to believe the crazy time I had with my cousins in Long Beach."

I touched her forearm and replied, "It's a good thing that it's a long flight to Bangkok, Tran."