Death In Duplicate

ONE

THE DAY SUSAN HENSHAW BECAME A GRANDMOTHER STARTED out badly.

“My cell phone is broken,” she announced, giving the little silver disk one last shake.

“Susan, it’s barely six AM. It’s much, much too early to be calling anyone. Besides, there’s a perfectly good phone on your nightstand. What do you need your cell phone for?” Her husband rolled over and pulled his head out from under a large down pillow.

“Jed, it’s April eighth! The baby is due! Any minute now Stephen could be calling to tell us that Chrissy is in the hospital giving birth!” Susan jumped out of bed. Her long cotton nightgown billowed behind her as she stalked across the Aubusson carpet, smacking her phone with the palm of her hand and frowning.

“Aren’t you the attractive woman who was telling me just last night that first babies are rarely born on time so we shouldn’t get excited too early?”

“Rarely born on time does not mean never born on time! And I don’t want to miss the call!” Susan yelled from the large walk-in closet she and her husband shared.

“You’re not going to miss anything. There’s a phone right by the bed!” he pointed out again, abandoning the idea of getting any more sleep and sitting up.

Susan reappeared wearing a navy sweat suit, a huge stuffed dog clasped in her arms. “Do you think this might be a mistake? Is it scary? Do you think the baby will like it?” she asked, ignoring his statement.

“Clue certainly doesn’t.” The Henshaws’ golden retriever had climbed into bed the second Susan left, settling down into a warm spot. One of the mildest of dogs, Clue was staring at the toy and growling softly. “And to be honest, I don’t understand why a baby who is going to live with two huge, breathing bullmastiffs would want a dog made of fake fur.”

Susan sighed. “I’m hoping Chrissy and Stephen will decide that a baby is more than enough work and find new homes for Rock and Roll,” she explained, referring to the humongous dogs that had been a wedding present from her daughter’s in-laws.

“Chrissy and Stephen love those dogs.”

“I know. But they’re a lot of work. And Chrissy is going to be so busy with the baby and Stephen’s going to have a new job soon and they’re really going to have to find a bigger apartment once the baby begins crawling around, and…”

“And you and Clue would prefer those dogs to vanish.”

“Without a doubt. Anyway,” Susan said, “Rock and Roll aren’t what’s worrying me right now. I’m worried that Stephen won’t be able to get through to my cell. I suppose I could stay home by the phone all day, but I did have plans.”

“So take my cell phone and do what you have to do. I’ll be at the office and Stephen can call there and then I can call you.”

But Susan was still involved in her own thoughts. “Or maybe he could e-mail me on my Clié,” she muttered, picking a small rectangle off her dresser and flipping it open. “Do you think he’ll have access to an online computer in the maternity ward?”

“It’s always possible, but-”

“And he could certainly leave a voice mail message.” Susan sat down in a window seat and pulled on her running shoes.

“Yes, but-”

“I suppose I shouldn’t worry so much. The baby probably won’t be born today anyway. I’ll buy a new cell phone at the mall this afternoon.”

“You might just remember to plug your old one in tonight.” Jed was staring at the small screen on Susan’s phone.

“I plugged it in!”

“Yes, you did.” Now Jed was kneeling on the floor beside their king-size bed. “You plugged your phone into the charger. But tonight you might try plugging the charger into the wall outlet.” He waved her unconnected charger in the air.

“Oh, I thought I had. Well, at least I won’t have to buy another phone. I have enough to do today.”

“What are you planning?’

“Well, I’m going to walk Clue and then meet Kathleen for breakfast after she drops her kids off at school. Then we’re going shopping. We have a long list of things to buy. We’re going to the bookstore first because it’s really never too early to begin caring about reading. And I’m dying to buy some books for the baby. And I might pick up a few mysteries for myself at the same time. Then we’re heading to Born Yesterday to look at their baby quilts. I just wish I knew whether to buy blue or pink.” She stopped talking and looked up at her husband.

“Don’t you think it’s a little odd that Chrissy and Stephen don’t want to know the sex of their baby? I mean, they’re usually such a modern couple and the technology is available and it would be much easier to shop for the baby if we knew its sex. Besides picking out names-”

“I can’t say I disagree with you, but it’s their decision, not ours.”

“Well, because we don’t know what sex the baby is, Kathleen and I are going to pick out two quilts-one blue, one pink. Then we can call the store when the baby is born and they’ll have the appropriate one personalized once we know the baby’s name. And they have the sweetest mobiles. I was thinking of picking out two… to match the quilts, of course. And the dry cleaner is just around the corner from there and I have to pick up the baby afghan that I made for Chrissy-it’s being cleaned so that I can take it down for her to use for her own baby-it’s yellow so it’s fine for a girl or a boy. And the jewelry store is a few blocks away from the cleaners. I’ll pick up the earrings I ordered for Chrissy and talk to the owners about a charm to add to Mother’s bracelet-although we’ll have to know the baby’s name to finalize that, too…” She took a deep breath. “And then we’re going to go to Healthy Home, that new ecological housewares store that everyone has been talking about, and see what sort of cleansers they have for the baby’s room. And for our rugs. They need cleaning soon, Jed, and I don’t want the rug cleaner using anything that might make the baby ill when he-or she-starts to crawl. And then-”

“By the time you finish telling me what you’re going to do, I’ll be late for work. Why don’t we meet at the inn for dinner tonight and you can tell me over a glass of wine all that you accomplished.”

“I guess. I’ll come home and pick up my cell phone before meeting you there. That way I’ll be sure to have a fully charged phone with me at all times.” Susan carefully plugged both ends of the charger into the correct outlets.

“Good thinking.”

“See you tonight then,” Susan said, starting for the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No. I have your cell phone and my Clié. Turn the answering machine on when you leave and I’ll check when I come home. I think I’m fine.”

“I thought you were going to walk Clue first thing.” Jed was grinning.

Susan stopped and looked at the dog, now lying in the middle of the bed, eyes closed. “I almost forgot!” She laughed. “Come on, Clue. Let’s hit the road.”

The restaurant was out of her favorite orange popovers. “I guess I’ll have the buckwheat waffle with fresh fruit,” Susan told the waiter.

“And I’ll have the feta and spinach omelet with grapefruit juice,” Kathleen said. As soon as they were alone again, she leaned across the table to continue their discussion. “So, why do you think the baby is a girl?”

“I was talking with Chrissy on the phone recently… a few days ago… well, yesterday afternoon actually-”

“I know. Jed told Jerry that you were calling daily… and I would too, if I was about to become a grandmother at any minute,” Kathleen assured her friend. “Did you have some sort of premonition or did Chrissy say something that convinced you she knows the sex of her baby?”

“It was something Chrissy said. I was talking about the blanket that I knit for her when she was born-you know, telling her that I was having it cleaned and would bring it along when we went down there-and she asked if it was pink.”

“And?”

“That’s it. She asked if it was pink. Now why would she do that if she didn’t want a pink blanket for a baby girl?”

“Because she didn’t want pink for a baby boy?” Kathleen suggested.

Susan frowned. “I suppose that could be it.”

“Are you going to be terribly disappointed if it’s a boy?’

“No! Of course not! I’d just like to know. It was impossible to find out the sex of the baby when I was pregnant, but now things are different. You knew the sex of both your kids before they were born. It didn’t make the birth one bit less important, did it?”

“No, but I really wanted to know. If Chrissy and Stephen don’t-”

“I know. I know. I’m just obsessing about all this because… well, I’m not really sure why in fact.”

“Are you concerned about being a grandmother? You know, getting old?”

“Hey, are you a grandmother?” their waiter asked, reappearing with their juice.

“Almost. Do I look like one?” Susan asked modestly.

He shrugged. “You don’t look like my grandmother. She’s really young. Do you ladies want more coffee?”

“I think we’re fine. But perhaps you could check on our meals? We have a lot to do today,” Kathleen said.

“And some of us don’t get around as quickly as we did when we were younger,” Susan added.

Despite Susan’s comment, she and Kathleen got around just fine. Susan arrived home with the back of her Cherokee completely filled with various items for the baby. The two pairs of shoes and six mystery novels she had bought for herself were lying on the seat beside her purse. As she pulled into the driveway, Jed appeared at the front door, a wide smile on his face. She slammed on the brake and, heart beating rapidly, ran up the walkway to her house.