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and Elaine’s frankness and Nell and Tori’s lively conversation, Caroline said, “It’s all right. I haven’t had anyone to confide in in a long time. There is no father.”
    “Sperm donor?” Elaine quipped.
    Wine nearly sprayed out of Tori’s mouth.
    “I’m just saying that if she went that route, she made a good choice. A sperm donor will never cheat on her,” Elaine said.
    Caroline didn’t know how to reply.
    As if she couldn’t help herself, Pattie asked, “Immaculate conception?”
    “That explanation has only worked once,” Elaine said.
    “Besides,” Caroline pointed out, “what fun would that be?”
    All eyes were on her suddenly. One by one, four wineglasses clinked.
    “She’s in,” Elaine declared.
    “Ditto,” Nell piped.
    “I agree,” Pattie added.
    “I told you so.” Tori gave Caroline a wink then finished off her wine, as if that was how friendships were decided.
    That was it? Caroline thought. She hadn’t expected that it would be so easy. She was accustomed to having to work for everything she accomplished. Learning came easy, but everything else had to be earned. She hadn’t even realized how lonely she’d been, or how tired of trying so hard to achieve.
    Everything she kept tamped down pressed upward to the surface. Her first instinct was to bury her emotions. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she began to talk, instead. At first she spoke tentatively about her childhood and her grandfather, but before long, her insecurities about motherhood were pouring out.
    “What am I doing? I’ve never been around children. I’ve never so much as held a baby, let alone fed one or changed a diaper.”
    “That part’s not difficult,” Elaine said. “You feed one end and diaper the other.”
    “But when? How much? How often?” Caroline asked.
    “The baby will let you know,” Pattie assured her.
    “Babies are a lot like puppies,” Nell added. “Surely you’ve had pets.”
    Caroline must have looked bewildered. “I held a rabbit at a petting zoo once.”
    “Oh, dear.”
    Her misgivings grew.
    “You’re bright,” Nell insisted.
    “You’ll get the hang of it when the time comes,” Elaine agreed.
    Either Tori took pity on her or she realized how vague and unconvincing their advice sounded, because she said, “Caroline has a point.”
    “I do?”
    “There are books on the subject,” Elaine said. “Hundreds of them.”
    “But Caroline’s right,” Tori insisted. “There’s nothing like hands-on experience.”
    Looking from one woman to the next, Caroline said, “I’ve faced thieves and divorcing couples who’d like to kill each other, and the most intimidating judges in Chicago. The thought of being solely responsible for this baby terrifies me.”
    “You could sign up for a parenting class,” Elaine said feebly.
    “I have a better idea,” Nell said, standing suddenly. “Afriend of mine teaches a life-skills class at the high school. Each student takes a turn being assigned a computerized doll. This doll is programmed to cry as if it’s hungry or wet or needs to be burped or picked up. From what I’ve heard, the doll simulates a real newborn baby. I bet I could get her to loan me the doll for a day or two. What do you think, Caroline?”
    “A computerized doll?” she asked skeptically.
    “I think it’s a good idea,” Elaine said. “It’s just a doll. Unlike a puppy, it won’t piddle on your carpet.”
    “Or spit up on you like a baby. Or worse.”
    “And thirteen years from now she won’t throw a hairbrush, giving her sister a black eye,” Elaine said.
    “Or lie to you about why he was late for curfew,” Nell added.
    “A doll will never have to be coaxed to leave his room and bribed to go out with friends,” Tori said, finishing another glass of wine.
    Caroline and Pattie exchanged a long look. With a shake of her head, Pattie said, “Like I said. Parents of teenagers.”
    Once again, Caroline was tempted to smile.
    “Care to give the