Laura had to give him credit for taking responsibility and being so kind, even though she still felt she had to accept her share of the blame for Annie's conception. Daniel did not try to place any blame on her at all. He'd simply looked at his daughter and fell in love with her.
They arrived at Daniel's parent's house and Laura took her time unstrapping Annie from her car seat, and carrying her on her hip up the driveway.
“Don't look so afraid,” Daniel reassured her. “They don't bite.”
The captain rang the doorbell and Laura was a little overwhelmed by the whirlwind that opened the door. This Annie, Daniel's mother, was a lively chatterbox of a woman who wasted no time in scooping Annie up from Laura's arms and cooing over her excessively, making faces and playing peek-a-boo.
Laura didn't know what she had been worried about. Annie senior adored her grandchild on sight and couldn't stop telling everyone that she did.
“She's a precious little thing!” she cooed, patting at the chair beside her to invite Laura to sit at her side as she carried on chattering away. “I've been begging that boy to sow his seed for years now. Years!
I was starting to think I'd be in my grave before he had any little ones, but look at this adorable little girl! I think she's just about the sweetest thing I've ever seen. And look at you! You have a lovely face. She looks just like you, you know. Can I get you anything?”
Laura laughed with bewilderment and accepted a chocolate cookie, chewing contentedly as Annie senior continued to ramble on. Laura was grateful to have someone else holding little Annie for a while, and she kept catching Daniel's eye from across the room. He was laughing at her, trapped in his mother's endless chatter as he and his father sat on the other side of the room with a little more restraint.
“I like a girl who eats,” Annie said approvingly. “A new mother has to keep her strength up. A baby needs attention,, twenty-four seven. Tell me, Laura, have you heard of infantile colic?”
The afternoon was one of the most pleasant she’d had in recent memory. She found Daniel's parents to be kind, warm people who adored their son, adored their grandchild and, it seemed, adored her. When she'd eaten just about all she could eat and listened to every word in the dictionary fly out of Annie senior's mouth, Daniel at last drove her home.
“What did you think?” he asked her as he turned out the driveway and began to head up the main road.
“Oh, they're wonderful,” she beamed. “Your mother is so sweet.”
“I knew she'd love you,” he smiled. “And Annie of course. I thought she'd never let go of her.”
“Me too,” Laura smiled. “That's nice though. I'm so glad they liked us. I thought they'd think I was a floozy.”
“Of course not,” Daniel said. “I wouldn't let them think a thing like that. I think you're a very courageous woman. I admire what you've done for Annie very much. You're not a floozy.”
“I was worried that when you saw me again, you'd wonder what you ever saw in me,” Laura confessed. “You told me that something came over you that night that was unlike you. I was just the same. I'm usually so careful and modest. I don't know what got into me that day.”
“Whatever it was, I liked it.” Daniel told her. “I haven't been able to get you off my mind.”
“Really?” Laura asked him. “When you disappeared off the face of the earth, I thought I'd never see you again.”
Daniel frowned. “I won't be going to Colorado next summer,” he assured her. “When I was young, we had this little inflatable paddling pool that we pulled out every summer. I always thought I'd spend summers with my kids the same way.”
“Annie's a little water baby already,” Laura told him fondly. “My mother says that I used to hate the water, but Annie loves it. Well, she loves the bubbles.”
“Will I meet your parents any time soon?” he asked her.
Laura hadn't thought about it, but when she did, she liked the idea.
“I hope so,” she replied.
“If you're the floozy, what does that make me?” he asked her with concern. “Another deadbeat dad?”
“Everyone knows that you left before I found out I was pregnant,” Laura reassured him. “Don't worry. I haven't made a demon out of you. They'll respect you for stepping up the way you have. I certainly do.”
Daniel smiled and they drove on in silence. Laura was sorry when he dropped her off. She'd been enjoying their easy conversation and the way she felt so comfortable around him, as if she'd known him forever. She supposed it was natural to feel that kind of connection with him. After all, they'd had a child together. And then there was the fact that nobody in the world had ever seen that wild side of her, apart from him and although she had expected him to be disappointed to see her in the cold light of day, he still seemed to enjoy her company and respect her for all she had done.