Soon To Be Brides. Joan Elliott Pickart

a woman named Jane said, “a crib.”

      Her husband Bill chuckled. “This is going to be a long, weepy trip, no doubt about it.”

      “Well, we’ve waited a long time to need a baby crib, honey,” Jane said, sniffling.

      “I know, sweetheart,” he said, then kissed her on the forehead.

      And they’re sharing it all, together, every precious moment of it, Caitlin thought. No, no, she wasn’t going to go there, wouldn’t dwell on the fact that she was the only single mother making this journey. She’d thought and prayed for many months before making the decision to adopt a baby and it was right for her, just as it stood. This was the way she wanted it. This was the way it was going to be.

      “Feel free to get all dewy-eyed about the crib in the room,” Matt whispered to Caitlin. “Everyone else seems to be.”

      “I’m holding myself back. I’m saving up for when my daughter is in that crib.”

      “Good idea.”

      “On page two of your packet,” Carolyn said, “is a list of suggested things to take for your baby. You will each be allowed one…I repeat…one suit-case. The laundry service in the hotels you’ll be staying in is excellent, but you’ll get tired of wearing the same clothes over and over. You’re packing for your baby with your things tucked around the edges of that one suitcase.”

      “This I’ve got to see,” a man named Fred said, laughing. “Sally takes at least five suitcases for a weekend in San Francisco. One suitcase for a two-week stay in China? And the majority of the space is for our daughter? This is going to be a hoot.”

      “Hush, Fred,” Sally said. “I’ll manage just fine, you’ll see.”

      “Yeah, right,” Fred said, shaking his head and grinning.

      Lots of diapers, Matt wrote on the paper in front of him.

      “There are instructions on your sheets,” Carolyn said, “about formula and how you’ll need to cut it down with water because the babies aren’t used to having such rich, nourishing food on a regular basis. You’re going to be easing them into it slowly so they don’t get tummyaches.

      “As far as your tummies, you will be consuming some of the most delicious food you’ve ever eaten.”

      “Do they have forks in China?” Matt asked, causing Bud to hoot with laughter.

      “Yes, they have forks, Matt,” Carolyn said. “They’re used to fumble-fingered Westerners where you’ll be staying and will provide you with utensils you’re accustomed to.”

      “That’s very comforting,” Matt said.

      “Oh, before I forget,” Carolyn added. “The salt and pepper shakers are reversed from ours. Pepper has the big holes, salt the small ones. Write that down so that you don’t ruin the fantastic food I’m raving about.”

      “Write that down,” Caitlin said, tapping the paper in front of Matt.

      “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I’m on it, ma’am.”

      “You’ll be in Nanjing about a week,” Carolyn said, “then you’ll fly into Guangzhou, where our American consulate is located and the visas are issued for the babies. The adoptions will be final before you leave China and you won’t have to readopt through our courts here when you get back.”

      A buzz of conversation began around the table at that exciting news.

      “This is all very interesting,” Matt said, nodding. “Fascinating. Just think, Caitlin, Madison or MacKenzie, whoever she turns out to be, will be your legal daughter when you two step onto U.S. of A. soil again. That’s pretty awesome, don’t you… Uh-oh, the crib didn’t get to you, but this one did.”

      “Ignore me,” Caitlin said, flapping a hand in front of her tear-filled eyes. “It’s just the thought of leaving here as…as me, and returning as a mother with a daughter and…oh dear.”

      Matt put one arm around Caitlin’s shoulders.

      “Tissue alert,” he yelled. “We need a tissue here. Marsha, didn’t I see you go get a box?”

      “Here it is,” someone said, shoving it across the table. “The container was full when Marsha brought it out here and it’s half-empty already. We’re all a mess.”

      “You’re all delightfully normal,” Carolyn said, smiling. “Be certain you have tissues with you for that moment when you see and hold those babies for the first time.”

      “Oh-h-h,” a woman wailed, and the tissue box went back in the direction it had come from.

      “Okay now?” Matt said, his arm still encircling Caitlin’s shoulders.

      She was so delicate, he thought, and warm and feminine. He’d like to pull her close, nestle her against his chest, sift his fingers through those silky black curls, then tip her chin up, lower his lips to hers and…

      “I’m fine.” Caitlin straightened her shoulders with the hope that Matt would get the hint that he should remove his arm. Now. Right now. Because it was such a strong arm, yet he was holding her so gently, so protectively. And it was such a warm arm, the heat seeming to suffuse her was now thrumming deep and low within her and… This would never do. No. Matt had to move that arm. “You can have your arm back.”

      “What?” Matt said. “Oh. Sure.” He slowly eased his arm away from Caitlin’s shoulders.

      “In Guangzhou,” Carolyn said, snapping everyone back to attention, “you’ll be at the White Swan Hotel, which is a five-star establishment and the one where visiting dignitaries stay. It is incredibly beautiful. I’m not going to give you any more hints about it because I want you to be surprised when you get there.”

      Carolyn went on for another half hour with various information, answered questions, said she would be available up until the time they left if more thoughts came to them, then promised to call each of them as soon as the departure date was set.

      “It will be soon,” she said. “Dr. Yang, our liaison in China, said your daughters are eager for you to arrive and take them home.” She laughed. “Oops. Where did that tissue box go?”

      Excitement was buzzing through the air as everyone continued to chatter, then a few said it was time to go as tomorrow was a workday.

      “We’ve got to get a crib, Bud,” Marsha said, “and a changing table and… Goodness, we have a lot to do before we leave.”

      “Plus I have to warn the two doctors who are going to cover my practice that they are on red-alert standby as of now,” Bud said. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? After all these months of paperwork, then waiting, then more paperwork, then waiting, and waiting and waiting, we’re going to be dashing around like crazy at the last second. I just may sleep during that entire fifteen-hour flight.”

      “Color me dumb,” Matt said, “but why aren’t you more prepared as far as equipment goes? I mean, you don’t even have a crib set up yet.”

      “Well, you see, Matt,” Marsha said, “when you fill out the papers, you give the officials in Beijing an age range of a child you’d be willing to adopt. In our case we said newborn to three years old. We didn’t know until tonight that Grace is eleven months and will need a crib.”

      “Oh, I see,” Matt said. “That makes sense now.” He looked at Caitlin. “What about you, Caitlin? Are you prepared for Mackenzie or Madison?”

      “No. I painted her room pale yellow and hung yellow curtains with a bunch of bunnies as the border print. I got a white dresser and matching rocking chair and bookcase for toys, but I don’t have a crib. I also put newborn to three years on that form, so I didn’t know if I’d need a crib or a toddler bed. I’m thrilled to pieces that Miss M. is so young. Six months and four days.”

      “We’re