Replacement Baby Read Online Free

cold, lonely house with sharp words and a distant mother.
    Lisa stretched out in her bed. Her mind became flooded with ideas. Am I baby Rose? Am I the kidnapped baby? Is it possible? Could it really be? Lisa thought back to her mostly empty childhood. Growing up, she had read novels, like the Ramona Quimby series and Little Women . The families in these stories were steered by loving parents. Those parents always took an interest in their children. As a school age girl, her mornings and afternoons spent at school had been pleasant enough. There were kind and encouraging teachers and challenging work. After school, Lisa would frequently come home to an empty house because Mother often travelled for work. Three days per week, Mrs. Harrison would be at home waiting. Mrs. Harrison did light chores, such as dusting the fireplace mantle and bookshelves, and making Lisa’s bed. She was kind-hearted, and on the days when she worked, she would serve Lisa milk and cookies after she got home from school. She would ask Lisa all about her day, all about her teachers and classmates and homework. This was something Mother never did.
    Mother was often traveling abroad for work. When she was not traveling, she usually worked late into the evening. Mother was a secretary of some sort with a door-to-door sales company. At night, after Mrs. Harrison left, the men would often come to the house. Sometimes two, three, or more men would ring the doorbell once night had fallen. They would gather in the front room, talking in low voices with Mother. They each carried a briefcase, and inside were black boxes of all shapes and sizes. Lisa would sometimes notice them stacked up on a table in the room.
    Lisa knew all this because on occasion Mother would call her into the room, as if to show off her little girl like a prize-winning racehorse. The men would pinch her cheek and quiz her on her sums or her spelling words. These strangers frightened Lisa, so she would always recite the requested facts with obedience. Then she would go upstairs and sit at her window until she saw them leave. When they departed, she would breathe a sigh of relief. Those guys just seemed creepy to her, but she never could explain why.
    Mother always told Lisa that she worked with these men. When Lisa asked about the black boxes, Mother told her that they were door-to-door salesmen and that the boxes were filled with merchandise. It did seem strange to Lisa, but she was always too scared to look in the boxes or ask more questions.
    When Mother was asleep and the men were gone, Lisa would sometimes stay up late reading or looking at the large atlas until two o’ clock in the morning or later. Lisa was not an avid lover of reading, but she did find solace and comfort in those late nights. She enjoyed being in her mother’s office, which held several full bookcases.
    She still crept into the office at night on occasion, but not as often as when she was a little girl. The escape, which was provided by reading, seemed less appealing as she got older. Now, she desired real escape. She longed to explore the world, or at least to leave New York for a while.
    In Mother’s home, Lisa felt trapped. The woman’s coldness used to hurt Lisa, but now it mostly aggravated her. She longed to have a parent she could talk to. Lisa had asked about her father on several occasions, but her questions always made Mother angry. She would snap that he ran off and died when she was a baby. Mother would always command Lisa not to ask about her father anymore. Still, Lisa was often curious to know more about who he was.
    Lisa glanced outside. It was still dark. In the moonlight, she could identify the hands of her clock. It was a quarter ‘til five in the morning. She lay her head on her pillow and tucked her body further under the cool white sheet, bathed in moonlight, while she pondered her future. I need to tell Mother that I’m going to Boston for school. I’ve got to tell her. I’ve got to get