Where's the Baby?

She was tired. Dog tired. It had been 3 days now since she'd had a decent nights rest. With the new baby finally sleeping, Janie decided to go back to sleep for a little while. Since Mike was taking their 2 year old daughter Kristan to daycare, this was the perfect chance to get a little shut eye. Janie rolled over and fell back to sleep on the over-sized bed, their 2 month old daughter Natalie sleeping peacefully in the crib next to the bed.

Mike was mad that morning. It had been 2 days now and he was tired. Dog tired too. His boss had asked him to work another 12 hour shift today and this would be the 4th day in a row that he had to work overtime. Not that he minded the extra money, it was just that he wished that he could spend more time with his family. Now that the new baby had been born, it seemed like he never got to spend any quality time with his family anymore. Both his children were like strangers to him - only seeing him for a short time in the morning and not at all by the time he got home. Mike rushed out the door, almost late for work. He closed the door quietly behind him.

2 hours later Janie woke up to the babies crying and and looked over at her cute pixie like face. Her heart beamed with love as she bent down to pick up the squirming pink and white bundle. "Mommas here, sweetie," Janie whispered in her ear, and she stopped crying. She looked at Janie and gave her a great big 2 month old grin.

"OK sweetie, let's go see what we can find for you and your hungry tummy," Janie cooed. Janie walked to the kitchen and noticed the front door was slightly ajar. Alarmed, she walked slowly to the doorway and noticed that Mike, in a hurry, must have forgotten to close the door all the way.

That stupid old door Janie mused. We need to fix that soon, she thought. Ever since they had remodeled the front entryway, the door didn't close quite right. You actually had to kind of lean into it when you left, to make sure it was shut all the way.

She closed and locked the door and went into the kitchen to fix the baby a bottle, staring outside at the beautiful sunny day. She thought about taking the baby out for a walk, but decided to rest a little longer before going out. With Kristan at daycare it sure made things alot smoother around the house for the last 2 weeks. With the babies irregular schedule it was hard to chase a 2 year old around too.

Janie gave the baby her bottle and sat on the rocking chair thinking about what a perfect life she had. About how much she loved her husband and what a good provider he was. She felt bad that he had to work all these long hours but she knew they needed the money. She stared back down at the new baby and thought about how lucky she was to have 2 healthy, beautiful daughters and a beautiful home to live in. Yes, she mused, life was perfect.

The day passed uneventfully, and around 7 that night Mike finally rolled in. She could hear his car door slam and she went out to the porch to greet him.

"How are my precious babies?" Mike beamed, "I guess I'm in luck to come home a little early today and spend some time with my three favorite women!". Mike bent over and gave his little baby a daughter a kiss then kissed his wife on the lips. Janie looked behind Mike and asked quizzically, "Where's Kristan at Mike?" in a thin, puzzled voice. The dream she had the night before started coming back to her. Or had it been a dream? Her heart started pounding.

Mike gave Janie a blank stare and looked like he was frozen solid for a moment.

"What do you mean Janie?" his words rushing out. "I left Kristan here this morning when I went to work. You told me last night that you would drop her off because you had to get up early anyway with the baby," his last words coming out in panicked tone. A seed of fear planted itself in Mikes chest.

Janie froze and a look of pure terror crossed her face as she remembered sleepily telling Mike the night before not to worry about dropping Kristan off. That she would take Kristan to daycare that morning to give Mike a break.. Her sleep deprived mind had made it all seem like just a dream that morning when she woke up. She had thought Kristan was with Mike that morning, as she usually was, and Mike thought Kristan was safe and sound in her bed when he left.

Janie practically dropped the baby as both her and Mike ran to Kristan's bedroom in terror.The door was open and Kristan's favorite doll lay staring up at them from the entryway. Janie prayed that Kristan had just decided to quietly play in her room all day. But Janie knew better. Kristan was an active and bright child and it was very unlikely Kristan would be in the house all day and not be heard. Her heart started pounding harder and it felt like it would jump out of her chest.

Her worst fears were confirmed when she looked in the empty room and Kristan was not there. Kristan's shoes sat next to the bed where they had been left the night before.

Janie fainted in the doorway. Mike grabbed the baby and ran to the phone to call 911.

@Copyright Dorsi Diaz 2011

(Dorsi Diaz, the author, is a freelance writer, photographer and artist. This story is fictional and was based on some of Dorsi's true life experiences. Names and circumstances have been changed to protect the innocent and any resemblance to real life is purely coincidental. Dorsi writes on a broad series of subjects and most of her work is non-fiction. If you have enjoyed this short story please share it with your friends and add my RSS feed so you can be notified of my newest published articles and short stories)