Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“It’s Cassie Mandell’s son.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a long story and frankly, a terribly sad one that’s ended with her son on the brink of foster care.”
“Foster care,” I repeated, sitting up straight. “I don’t understand. Cassie? I—what about the grandparents?”
“I’m assuming you’re referring to the paternal grandparents who were against the initial adoption to you, that is.”
“Uh…yes.”
“They never filed papers to become legal guardians. I don’t know how involved they were in the child’s life, but regardless, they were in an accident last month. The grandfather died of his injuries, and the grandmother isn’t doing well. Their son, the biological father, lives in California now and has never been in the picture. Cassie has been sole provider and caretaker, a role that she never wanted in the first place. On top of that, she’s suffering from depression and has been leaning heavily on a friend while waiting for the grandparents to file their paper work. That isn’t going to happen now. She wanted to discuss other options for her son after ending up in ER getting her stomach pumped after overdosing on a cocktail of prescription pills.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Terrible. I know,” Gabby concurred sympathetically. “Her friend has become a temporary caregiver for the boy. Her father is a lawyer with—”
“McElvy, Holstead, and Reyes.”
“That’s correct.” Gabby paused. “It’s not a nice story. Cassie is a deeply unhappy woman who’s been held hostage by the whims and prejudices of a legal system that in this instance, has not served the boy’s best interest.”
“Prejudice.” I frowned. “The grandparents didn’t want a gay couple to adopt their son’s biological child.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, but I believe so.”
“And now?”
“Cassie would like you to adopt her son.”
“Oh.”
“I know this is a lot to absorb, and I understand that you’ve made other plans, but I wanted to pass along the message. I don’t know how long her friend can care for the boy. At some point, given Cassie’s situation, he could be placed in the system and—”
“Stop.” I massaged my temple and put my phone on speaker as I tried to wrap my head around this curve ball. Like it or not, Aaron needed to hear this too. “Can you repeat that, please? For Aaron.”
Gabby complied, adding, “The past year’s been very difficult for all parties, and I know this is heavy and unexpected, but please, think about it. Gauge your emotional and physical well-being and your change of circumstance, and get back to me.”
I rested a hand on Aaron’s waist, our matching gazes locked on the screen. “We need to discuss this and—
“Is he okay?” Aaron blurted. “The baby…is he okay?”
“He’s great,” Gabby said without hesitation. “He’s a perfectly healthy, seemingly happy bouncing baby boy. Blond hair, blue eyes. Really cute. I can send you a photo if—”
“No. Not yet.” I shook my head and squeezed Aaron’s side. “We’ll call you.”
“Wait,” Aaron intercepted. “What’s his name?”
“Xander.”
The air sucked out of my lungs as if I’d been gut punched.
Xander.
Our Xander.
I disconnected the call and turned to my husband. Aaron’s eyes were shiny, and his bottom lip quivered. He bit it as if hoping to stave off an emotional avalanche…and failed.
He burst into tears. “Oh, my God. Matty…she named him Xander.”
I blinked, rubbing his shoulder as I fought my own battle to keep a level head and not come the fuck unglued. “We need to be calm and think this through.”
“What’s there to think about? He needs us.”
“Aar, we have a baby coming in less than a month,” I reminded him gently.
“I know, but Xander is supposed to be ours. He always was.”
“Aar…”
“And we want a big family.”
“Sure, but—”
“Do you think it’s a joke or a mistake?” he barreled on, dabbing at his eyes. “What if we say yes and they pull the rug out from under us? Can they do that? Should we meet him? Of course we should. But the second I see a drooling baby with chubby cheeks, I’ll be a goner. Game over.”
Aaron paced from one end of the kitchen to the other, mumbling about getting another crib and what size diapers he’d need, while I was stuck on a horrible memory of the day we’d been told Xander wasn’t ours.
I thought I’d moved on, but I was spiraling now. Was this okay? Was it good? Could we handle two babies at once? Was this unfair to our unborn infant, and was that even a valid question? Were we equipped to handle the fallout if something happened again?
I watched Aaron, his stride lengthening as he wrestled with his thoughts aloud. “The babies would be a year apart. That’s a lot of work, but babies grow fast. Everyone says so.” I tuned him out and crouched to pet Murphy, seeking comfort and solace in the uncomplicated affection of a puppy.
Murphy rested his snout on my foot and put up with a few ear scritches before rolling to expose his belly. I laughed at his antics, but it was a wretched sound…a sob. So deep and guttural, my chest ached and my eyes filled with ugly tears.