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Continued from page 89…
Tuesday, July 21st, 1987, 7:18 P.M.
Bouncing little Lorna on her knee was the perfect recipe for Jane to feel especially pensive and introspective on this windy and stormy night at Belinda’s home in Beverly Hills. It was impossible for her not to think of having a baby of her own after looking at Lorna chewing on her rattle, making cute noises, and waving her arms up and down. Naturally, the girls talked on many occasions about having children of their own, most of them agreeing on how terrifying the prospect would be. It wasn’t only about the inconvenience or the upsetting of their fabulous, jet-setting lives. It was mostly about whether or not they could be decent and caring parents in the crazy world of show-business.
Cost was certainly not an issue anymore with the five of them.
Just hire a nanny or two.
In fact, as Jane sat on Belinda’s couch, playing blissfully with Lorna, she was both surprised and proud of the fact that Belinda had not hired one yet.
Leave it to Belinda, Jane thought, to be a natural at this too — Just like everything else.
“Are you going to hire a nanny pretty soon?” asked Jane.
“Yeah, pretty soon,” Belinda answered. “I’ve looked into a whole bunch of them. I just gotta’ find the right one.”
That declaration was pleasing to Jane’s ears. It indicated that Belinda could use some help.
Maybe she wasn’t so perfect after all.
“You’re really good with her,” commended Belinda. “She really takes to you.”
“Of course, she takes to me,” observed Jane, as she pulled Lorna in for a hug. “She loves her Auntie Jane, don’t you, you little snuggle-bunny?”
All of a sudden, without thinking it through, Jane emotionally blurted out—
“I wanna have one.”
Gina and Belinda looked at each other. This was startling news.
“A baby?” asked Belinda.
“Yeah, of course, a baby,” Jane replied. What did you think?”
As usual, Gina couldn’t resist—
“I was hoping you were talkin’ about a new washer and dryer,” she said, as Belinda burst into laughter.
“No, Gina, Miss Funny, I was talkin’ about a baby,” Jane snapped back.
“Okay, okay,” said Gina. “I was just joking.”
Slightly disappointed with Gina’s attitude, Jane decided to propose a question for the two of them.
“I suppose you guys think I couldn’t handle a baby, don’t you?” she asked.
Belinda paused, then spilled-out rather awkwardly, “No.. I think you’d be a great mother… Look at you.. you’re great with Lorna.”
Jane was only moderately satisfied with Belinda’s generic answer. With a dispirited look on her face, she now turned to Gina.
“Gina?”
“What?” grunted Gina, with a dumbfounded look on her face. Her body language and her expressions had the usual effect on Belinda, who, again, couldn’t help but be amused by Gina’s actions. Her laughter caused Jane to be a bit more irritated, feeling like Belinda was ganging up on her. However, Gina was now putting on an act, and even Jane couldn’t help but smirk at Gina’s comical nature.
“Me? What do I think? Sure, Jane, I think you’d be a fantastic mom,” uttered Gina. “Just… don’t give up on that washer and dryer set just yet, okay?”
Now it was Jane’s turn to add to the mirth.
“You guys are so fucked,” she said with a straight face, knowing that a serious tone would cause her two buddies to laugh even harder.
After Belinda’s laughter subsided, she respectfully turned to Jane and apologized. She always felt that Jane got picked-on too much.
“I’m sorry, Jane.. It’s just that.. you took me by surprise, that’s all,” she said.
“I know… I don’t even know why I said it… I’ll probably never have any kids, anyway,” lamented Jane. “You gotta’ have the right guy and I’ll probably never find that.”
Even though she felt that Jane might be courting some sympathy, Gina knew her well enough to know that Jane often harbored baseless feelings like that deep down inside her. It always broke Gina’s heart.
“Don’t say that, hon.. You’ll find somebody,” Gina assured her.
But now, it wasn’t Jane’s turn to feel down-in-the-dumps. Instinctively, she and Gina looked over to see Belinda staring straight down at the ground. Her forearms were resting on her legs and she had a blank, lifeless look on her face.
Apparently, it was Jane’s comment about having the “right guy” that immediately sent Belinda into a tail-spin.