Nola's tongue tasted metallic with the sense of failure. “No, no,” she told him over Lulu's wail. Holding her tightly, Nola nudged the bathroom door wider. The little light left on changed the hue of the room the way a drop of milk lightened coffee. She prattled on, “You see? You’re here, and it’s me.”

Lulu’s wail continued uninterrupted.

“On the double,” Wade said to whomever was on the other end.

Nola spoke in hushed tones. “Please let me handle her.” Cooing, shushing, whispering words of comfort, she tried putting the pacifier in Lulu’s mouth, but the baby flipped her head from side to side with more vigor than Nola had believed that little body could possess.

“You need your sleep.” Wade punched his pillow into a neck roll.

In Nola's arms, Lulu pushed her away, screaming, then batting her short hands against her own head. For a moment, Nola's resolve wavered. Someone else would have known what to do. “Shhh—Shhhhhh.” She bounced Lulu with a mixture of helplessness and despair. She might fail as she had with Jenna. “Why don’t you go sleep in the other room?” she asked Wade.

“Do you have any idea what’s awaiting you tomorrow—today!—with interviews and then the video shoot in the market and a dozen film crews driving us all nuts?”

The green light on the digital clock showed it was five-thirty. They had gone to bed at close to two. Nola clicked on the remote control of the CD player, adjusted the volume to low, and resumed her pacing. Maria Callas singing a love aria came on, and Nola joined in, humming. She tried the pacifier again.

This time, Lulu accepted it. The crying subsided, and Lulu sucked on, her eyes regarding Nola like a wise old man’s. Tears still glistened on her eyelashes, and Nola had the urge to lick them.

The long-buried defeat echoed in her head, then receded. “Are you feeling better?” she whispered.

Lulu's head turned toward the source of the music, and she gave her pacifier a series of strong sucks.

A tap on the front door brought Nola to the foyer. She sent the maid away and re-entered the room, forcing herself not to glance at Wade. Her hand caressed Lulu's hair, damp with perspiration, and gently pressed the little head onto her shoulder. Lulu took a breath that filled her whole body, then let it all out.

Nola continued to stroll around the large dark room, the quiet tune in the background. A little bubble of pride percolated inside her, as though calming this baby had been an accomplishment greater than a triple encore. Lulu's breathing was slow and even, and Nola wished this moment of bliss would never end. Mine.