The Cradle Will Fall Read Free Page A

thousandth time he asked himself why he hadn't made
    a clean break with Vangie when he was transferred to New York
    last year. Why had he given in to her plea to try a little longer to
    make a go of their marriage when ten years of trying hadn't done
    it? And now a baby coming. He thought of the ugly quarrel he'd
    had with Vangie before he left. Should he tell Joan about that?
    No, it wouldn't do any good.

     
    Joan was a flight attendant with Pan American. She was based
    in New York and shared an apartment with two other Pan Am
    attendants. Chris had met her six months ago at a party in Hawaii .

     
    Incredible how right some people are together from the first
    minute. He'd told her he was married, but was able to say honestly
    that he had wanted to break with his wife when he transferred
    from Minneapolis to New York . But he hadn't.

     
    Joan was saying, "You got in last night?"

     
    "Yes. We had engine trouble in Chicago, and the rest of the
    flight was canceled. Got back around six and stayed in town."
    "Why didn't you go home?"
    "Because I wanted to see you. Vangie doesn't expect me till

     
    later this morning. So don't worry."
    "Chris, I told you I applied for a transfer to the Latin American
    division. It's been approved. I'm moving to Miami next week."
    "Joan, no!"

     
     
    "I'm sorry, but it's not my nature to be an available lady for a
    man who is not only married but whose wife is finally expecting
    the baby she's prayed for for ten years. I'm not a home wrecker."

     
    "Our relationship has been totally innocent."

     
    "In today's world who would believe that?" She finished her
    coffee. "No matter what you say, Chris, I still feel that if I'm not
    around, there's a chance that you and your wife will grow closer.
    A baby has a way of creating a bond between people." Gently
    she withdrew her fingers from his. "I'd better get home. It was a
    long flight and I'm tired. You'd better go home too."

     
    They looked at each other. Chris tried to smile. "I'm not giving
    up, Joan. I'm coming to Miami for you, and when I get there, I'll
    be free."

     
    THE cab dropped Katie off. She hurried painfully up the porch
    steps, thrust her key into the lock, opened the door and murmured,
    "Thank God I'm home." She felt that she'd been away weeks
    rather than overnight and with fresh eyes appreciated the soothing
    earth tones of the foyer and living room, the hanging plants.

     
    Katie hung up her coat and sank down on the living-room couch.
    She looked at her husband's portrait over the mantel. John Anthony
    DeMaio, the youngest judge in Essex County . She could remember
    so clearly the first time she'd seen him. He'd come to lecture to her
    class at Seton Hall Law School .

     
    When the class ended, the students clustered around him.
    Katie said, "Judge, I have to tell you I don't agree with your decision
    in the Kipling case."

     
    John had smiled. "That obviously is your privilege, Miss . .."

     
    "Katie .. . Kathleen Callahan."

     
    She never understood why at that moment she'd dragged up the
    Kathleen, but he'd always called her that.

     
    They'd gone out for coffee that day. The next night he'd taken
    her to dinner in New York . Later, when he'd dropped her off, he
    said, "You have the loveliest blue eyes I've ever had the pleasure
    of looking into. I don't think a twelve-year age difference is too
    much, do you, Kathleen?"

     
    Three months later, when she was graduated, they were married

     
     
    and came to live in the house John had inherited from his parents.
    "I'm pretty attached to it, Kathleen, but maybe you want something
    smaller."

     
    "John, I was raised in a three-room apartment in Queens. I slept
    on a daybed in the living room. I love this house."

     
    Besides being so much in love, they were good friends. She'd
    told him about her recurring nightmare. "It started when I was
    eight years old. My father had been in the hospital recovering from
    a heart attack and then he had a second attack.