Darling obstacles by Barbara Boswell, Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress) DLC Page A

It will only be for a few hours and she is in junior high now. Or, if you prefer, 111 ask Mrs. Jenkins to come over and stay with you."
    "Just the three of us here by ourselves?" Kevin's blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Oh, boy!"
    4 Td be happy to baby-sit, Mom," Kristin said. "You go out on your date. Well be fine." She grinned at her brother and sister.
    "Are you sure?" Maggie looked at Kari.
    "Sure," replied her baby. "Go, Mommy. Have fun."
    The sound of the doorbell precluded any further discussion, not that any more was needed. The children had given their unanimous approval. Maggie was wiping the baby's face and hands with a wet cloth when she heard Kristin say deferentially, "Hi, Dr. Wilder. Come on in."
    Maggie froze and nearly dropped little Nicole. Greg!
    "Oh, goody, Wendy is here," cried Kari, rushing from the kitchen. Kevin followed her.
    And then she heard Greg's voice. "No, I didn't bring the kids. Paula is staying with them. Where's your mother?"
    Greg without the children? Maggie hoisted little Nicole onto her hip and joined Greg and her children in the cramped entranceway. Although the kids had changed from their "Sunday best" into jeans and sweatshirts, she still wore her silky, long-sleeved kelly green shirtwaist dress. Her auburn hair, clean and shiny, swung against her neck in its smooth pageboy style. Just as she was about to greet Greg, little Nicole grabbed one of her gold hoop earrings, held on tight, and pulled.
    "Ouch! No, no, Nicky!" Maggie caught the baby's hand and carefully uncurled the little fingers from around the earring. It was not the entrance she would have wished to make.

    "Hello, Maggie," Greg said, his eyes widening slightly. "Where did the baby come from?" He sounded like his old friendly self. Were yesterday's arguments—and kisses—forgotten?
    "From the cabbage patch," Maggie said, resuming her old role, complete with light banter. Greg responded with his customary chuckle. The kids giggled. "This is Nicole," she explained. "We have her from six to six today and the girls are in seventh heaven." She was pleased to hear herself sounding just like her usual efficient baby-sitter/mother self.
    "YouYe baby-sitting today? On Sunday? From six to six?" Greg fired the questions at her. Curiously, a look of annoyance crossed his face. "Do you ever not work?"
    "Not as long as my kids and I want to eat," she replied lightly. It wasn't really that desperate. Johnny's policeman's death benefits were ample and there was social security for the children as well. But Maggie wanted much more for her children. She wanted them to have nice clothes and whatever lessons they wanted to take and special toys and, most of all, a college education. For her son and both her daughters. So she held a full-time, though not high-paying, job and baby-sat in her spare hours.
    "What can we do for you today, Dr. Wilder?" She deliberately made her tone briskly impersonal. What was he doing here?
    Greg was again wondering the same thing. Some compulsion that he couldn't begin to understand, much less explain, had caused him to leave Paula with the younger children and drive to Woodland Courts. Although Kristin had immediately invited him inside when she'd answered the door, Maggie had clearly resumed her role in their previous superficial, impersonal doorstep relationship. What was he doing here?
    "Well, I thought I would—" he began, only to be interrupted by Kari.
    "Mommy, can I take Nicole upstairs to my room?"

    she asked. She was clearly bored by the adults' company. Nicole was bored too; she was making wild grabs for Maggies earrings. Maggie handed the baby to Kari.
    "She balances her on her hip just the way you do," Greg observed, smiling at Maggie in spite of himself. It was a cute sight, Kari carrying little Nicole that way. Maggie smiled too.
    "Mom, call me when Jennifer gets here. She said she was coming over after lunch," Kristin called over her shoulder as she followed Kari up the stairs.
    "I'm