Chapter 10
ROOM ABOVE THE PUB
The baby starts to cry.
Stephanie: Don’t cry, Parker. It’s gonna be okay. I’m really going to miss you, little guy. I’m starting to like having you around. You’re probably the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. Even cuter than my brother Joey. Okay, Stephanie, stop it. Don’t get attached.
Stephanie hears a commotion outside her second story window. She goes over to the window and sees a crowd gathered in the pub’s parking lot below: Bo, Daniel, Chloe, Melanie, Philip, Nathan, Grandma Caroline. There’s a black and white police car too. Caroline is pointing to the window where Stephanie is standing.
Stephanie: No! Oh no. She is not selling me down the river!
Stephanie puts the baby on the bed for a moment, goes over to the door, locks it and jams a chair under the door handle. Then she opens the window. Bo takes a bullhorn and yells up to her from the parking lot.
Bo: Stephanie, we know you took the baby. You gotta give him back.
Stephanie: No, never.
Chloe takes Bo’s bullhorn as Bo heads into the pub.
Chloe: Please Stephanie, give us back our baby.
Daniel takes the bullhorn from Chloe.
Daniel: We don’t care why you took him. We just want him back.
Caroline takes the bullhorn from Daniel.
Caroline: Is this thing on? Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?
Stephanie: Grandma, they can hear you in Poughkeepsie.
There’s a noise at the door as Bo tries to get inside. Stephanie’s eyes grow wide as she looks in the direction of the door. As Bo breaks into the room, Stephanie grabs the baby and she leans out the window, holding the baby at arms length, his little legs dangling in midair.
Melanie: Oh no! She’s going ‘Michael Jackson’ on us!
Stephanie: Someone better tell my Uncle Bo to back off or I’ll drop the baby.
Chloe: Noooooooooooooooooo!
To be continued. Tune in Monday and Tuesday for the final two chapters ...