Baby's Gone

A mother is unable to take care of her two toddlers, let alone her new baby boy. Living in a motel with the children while her husband is away at work, Alice drifts into another world while her two children search the room for food and the infant lies in the small bedroom crying, covered with feces. When Aunt Helen comes to the motel to check on Alice and the baby, she is devastated by what she finds. The toddlers are filthy, Alice stares off into the distance, and the new baby is wrapped in sheets lying in a corner of the bedroom. She cleans the baby up and takes him with her when she leaves. When the husband, Al, returns to the motel and finds his baby gone, the oldest child, Joey, tells him what happened. He rushes to his sister’s house and demands to know why she took the infant. After telling him the story of how she found the infant, Aunt Helen proceeds to tell him why she should keep the baby; Al’s Irish Traveler ways are never going to change, and it’s one less child to haul along with him. As the father’s heart is breaking, he agrees that it would be best for the child. Three weeks later a U-Haul trailer is parked in front of the motel and the family is loading the last of their goods, the two children are in the backseat jumping up and down with excitement of the move. Suddenly Joey remembers the baby and asks about him, only to be told that the baby is now their cousin and when they’re back in the area, they will see him again. In the meantime, they are heading to Montana; the Big Sky country. Baby's Gone is based on my memoir.