by Elena Aitken
“Aaron?” She nodded again and Christy laughed. “Oh, I think we can definitely make that happen. Aaron’s a great guy.”
They chatted for a few more minutes before Alicia resumed her run. Christy pulled out her cell phone and tapped out a quick message to her husband.
Just thinking of you. I hope your day isn’t too crazy.
A few moments later, he texted back.
Totally crazy! Are you having a good day?
She smiled because he must be swamped, but he still took a moment to respond to her.
I met your running friend, Alicia. She mentioned something about wanting to meet Aaron. Maybe it’s time for some match making? ;)
Maybe on your run tonight?
She snuck that last part in because she wanted Mark to know it was totally cool with her if he wanted to finish the training for this run. In fact, it was more than cool with her. If it was important to him, it was important to her.
Sounds good. But not tonight. Something came up. I was actually about to call you. We need to talk.
Chapter Nineteen
Mark had arrived at the office early to meet with Becky, just the way he’d said he would. The girl looked even more tired than she had the day before.
“She’s not sleeping,” Becky said. “At all. I can’t get her to close her eyes even for a minute. And everything she eats, she spits it right back up again. Did you know that a baby could throw up so much?”
Mark chuckled. “I have heard about it, yes.”
“It’s not right, Doctor Thomas.” Tears swelled in Becky’s eyes. “There’s something wrong with her.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case. Let’s take a look.”
Becky handed him the car carry seat, not bothering to unclip the infant from her seat. Mark didn’t mind. The girl obviously needed a bit of a break. He took his time undoing the little girl’s snaps.
“Well, hello there, Mya,” Mark cooed as he lifted her out of the seat. “How are you today?”
In response, the little girl scrunched up her face and started to scream.
“See? She’s miserable,” Becky moaned. “I literally don’t know what to do to make her stop crying. She hates me.”
“That’s not true,” Mark said. “Is it, Mya?” He turned his attention back to the baby, who did look miserable. But Mark knew better, and he knew that Becky did too. She was just an overworked, exhausted new mother who didn’t have any support system at all. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard it would be for her.
Mark spent a moment bouncing the baby and settling her down before beginning his examination. By the time he was finished, Mya was contentedly sleeping on the exam table. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Mark scooped her up and wrapped her in a soft pink blanket covered in yellow ducks that Becky had brought with her.
“I don’t know how you did that.” Becky shook her head. “You must have had a lot of practice with your own kids.”
Mark felt the familiar pang of hurt in his chest, but he pushed it away and shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. My wife and I haven’t been able to have any children of our own. Not yet,” he added, remembering the conversation they’d had just the night before. It wasn’t the right time to discuss other options right now, but it would be one day.
“Oh,” Becky said. “Well, you’re really good with her. How do I make her stop puking?”
“It’s probably just a bit of reflux. Are you nursing her?”
The girl shook her head. “Between working two jobs and trying to find babysitters, it’s just not practical.”
“That’s okay,” Mark reassured her. “There’s nothing wrong with formula at all and there are so many different options. Maybe we’ll try you on a different brand.” He couldn’t help but notice Becky’s face when he mentioned the brand of formula he usually recommended. He knew it was expensive. “You know what,” he said. “I think we have some sample cans in the back and Sarah can rustle you up some coupons as well to help out.”
“Thank you.” Becky finally reached out for her baby and Mark handed her over. He watched carefully while she took her time buckling the infant into the seat and covering her lightly with the blanket.
“You’re doing a great job, Becky.” He patted her shoulder. “If you need anything, anything at all, you let me know, okay? Don’t hesitate.”
The girl bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I should get to work. Thank you, Doctor Thomas.”
He didn’t have any time to think any more of his meeting with Becky and little Mya because right after they left, his day took off in a whirlwind of patients and treatments and paperwork while he played catch-up from his little holiday. He was exhausted and exhilarated all at the same time because he loved his job and as much as it was absolutely perfect to spend so much time with Christy, he was also glad to be back doing what he loved.
Despite being rushed off his feet, everything had been pretty normal for most of the day. It wasn’t until he was trying to sneak a few minutes in his office to eat his sandwich before getting back to paperwork that things took a turn.
“Doctor Thomas?”
He swallowed down the bread and pressed the button to activate the speaker on his desk phone. “Yes, Sarah?”
“I’m sorry to bother you on your lunch break, but I think you should…well…maybe I’ll come…umm…”
“Get to the point, Sarah.” He was too busy to try to play a guessing game or decipher what she was saying.
“Something was delivered for you. I’ll bring it…I’ll be right there.”
She disconnected and Mark rolled his eyes. Whatever it was that was delivered could likely wait. Sarah must be having an off day. She didn’t usually bother him with such minor details.
A moment later, there was a knock on the office door, followed by his receptionist carrying a…baby carry seat.
“What is that?”
“Who,” Sarah corrected him. “It’s your delivery.”
She turned the seat around and Mark could clearly see the pink blanket with yellow ducks he’d seen earlier that day. “Mya? Where’s Becky?”
Sarah nodded. “She was just here. She left the baby and said something about giving her to you. She wasn’t making any sense and then she said something about having to get to work and she didn’t have a babysitter and she left. She said you’d be a better parent than she would and she couldn’t do it anymore.”
Mark’s head spun. Becky had left the baby? For him? It didn’t make any sense.
“Where did she go?”
Sarah shrugged. “I assume to work. What would you like me to do? Should I call the police? Surely she can’t just abandon her baby?”
The police?
Mark didn’t want Becky to get in trouble. That was the last thing the poor girl needed. But she clearly did need some help. He’d seen that earlier. She was overwhelmed and exhausted and at the end of her rope. He should have seen it earlier. If he hadn’t been so busy himself, maybe he would have noticed some warning signs.
“I’ll call Evan Anderson,” Mark said. “He’ll be able to put us in touch with the proper authorities without getting her into too much trouble. In the meantime…” He looked between the baby and Sarah in search of an answer to a question that he didn’t even know how to ask.
“I’ll watch her,” Sarah said. “Until we can figure out what to do.”
“Good.” He nodded, relieved that she’d suggested it. “How long until my next patient?”
“Cam Riley is waiting in room one. But you have a short break after that.”
Mark worked quickly to put his thoughts together. “Okay. I’ll go see Cam, make the call to Evan and then…”
“You’ll call your wife.”
His eyes snapped to Sarah’s in question.
“Doctor Thomas, if I may say something?”
His shoulders sagged. “Please.”
“Sometimes things work out just the way they’re supposed to.” That was what Christy had
said the night before. “Becky Olsen is a young girl, but she’s also a smart girl. If she’s making the decision to give up her baby for adoption, particularly if she’s made the choice to give her baby to you, well…I don’t have much experience with this type of thing, but I’d say that’s a pretty big sign that this is maybe how things are supposed to work out, don’t you?”
If having an infant abandoned into his care at his office was a sign, then meeting with Cam Riley, his wife’s best friend, to confirm her pregnancy was only a bigger one. Mark did his best to stay focused on his patient while they discussed dates, and ultrasound appointments and prenatal vitamins. Mark was thrilled for them both and he told Evan so when he called the officer twenty minutes later. Right before he asked him to come to the office to discuss a very sensitive issue involving an infant.
Mark dropped his head into his hands and tried to rub some of the tension out of his temple before he did exactly what Sarah had suggested—call his wife. Maybe she was right. Maybe Becky Olsen and her baby were a sign? Maybe they were meant to adopt little Mya? Maybe…he should call Christy?
But before he could do that, his phone vibrated with a text from her.
“I don’t understand.” Christy paced in Mark’s tiny office. She’d arrived quickly and Mark had filled her in on Becky and the baby. Her mind was spinning and she was having trouble processing what was going on. Mark’s patient gave him a baby? How did that make any sense?
Christy shook her head and looked again to the baby carrier in the corner, where the infant was sleeping. She’d wanted to go to her immediately and pick her up, but she knew better than to wake a sleeping baby.
Mark and Evan were seated at Mark’s desk as he tried to explain everything to Evan, who was taking a statement.
“She’s just a young girl,” Mark said. “I don’t want her charged with anything. I don’t think that’s the right way to handle this at all.”
Evan nodded and scribbled something in his notepad. “I agree. And I don’t think there’s any need for that. But I will need to go talk to her and we’ll need to establish if adoption is something she seriously wants to consider or if she was just reacting to stress. But if adoption is what she wants…” His gaze traveled to Christy and then back to Mark.
“Then what?” Christy asked.
“Well,” Evan turned in his seat, “if she does want to follow through with adoption and she’s selected the two of you, you’ll need to make a decision.”
“A decision?” Christy stared at Mark and then at the sleeping child. “About her?”
“About adopting her,” Evan clarified. “There’s still due process of course, and I’ll admit I don’t know everything about it, but open adoptions where the birth mother selects the parents are often much easier to facilitate.”
“Adoption?” Christy was vaguely aware that she sounded like a broken record but she couldn’t process what was happening fast enough. “Like us adopting her?”
“Yes.”
“Becky did say she thought we’d be better parents.”
“She doesn’t even know me.” Christy spun to face Mark. “How could she just—”
“She’s young, overwhelmed, and has no support.” Mark put his hands on her shoulders. His presence helped ground her. He seemed so much more in control, so calm, so…okay with everything. “I’ve been there for her.”
“You’re her doctor.”
“I don’t understand it either.” He tipped her chin up so she was looking at him. “But it is the situation right now and—”
They were interrupted by a high-pitched cry from the corner. Without hesitation, Christy moved to the baby carrier and attended to the infant. She unsnapped her from her seat and gently scooped her up.
“Ssh, sweetie. It’s okay.” She snuggled her to her chest and rubbed her back gently. “Do you think she’s hungry?” Christy peered down into the baby’s scrunched-up face. “Are you hungry, sweetheart?”
“Sarah said there was a diaper bag up at reception,” Mark said. “There should be something there.”
Christy hardly took her eyes off the baby. “I’ll figure it out. Come on, Mya. Let’s go see what we can find.”
After locating the diaper bag, which was remarkably empty, Christy prepared a bottle. After Mya drank her fill, she changed her diaper and rocked her back to sleep in one of the empty exam rooms.
She couldn’t stop staring at the perfect little pink face. She was so tiny, so perfect and…not her baby. She needed to remember that and not forget it. Becky may have dropped her off but like Mark said, she was a scared and unsupported young woman. Almost a child herself. She could change her mind. She could be back any moment. After all, from what Mark had told her about Becky, she was a good kid, a hard worker, and she’d wanted and loved her baby from the beginning. The chances that she’d be back for Mya were good.
And that was the right thing.
But what if she didn’t come back?
What if adopting the baby was the right thing?
She ran a finger down the baby’s chubby cheek. A decision, Evan had said. If Becky was serious about going through with an adoption, they would have to decide what to do.
But she’d just made a decision. She’d just settled on the idea of waiting and focusing on their relationship and themselves before they considered moving forward with an adoption or other options.
And now…
“Knock knock.” Mark opened the door of the exam room slowly. “Everything okay in here?” He asked the question, but he could see it was. It took his breath away to see Christy holding the newborn, her body curled protectively around the baby, the care and concern in her eyes as she gazed at the tiny face.
“She’s just perfect.”
Christy was born to be a mother. It just looked so right on her.
But he needed to remember the circumstances they were in. This was not a normal situation, to be sure, and nothing was definite. Nothing at all. Because not only was there all the legal issues to go through, they still needed to talk to Becky and then…they would have a lot to discuss. They’d been through so much. Was it the right time to think about adopting a baby? Christy had just said she didn’t think it was.
So many questions swirled through his head as he stood there watching his wife that he hardly noticed when Evan came in behind him and spoke. “Turns out that Becky is working her shift at the store right now.”
Mark turned and nodded. “We should head over there and talk to her.”
“Exactly. I told the manager that we’d need a few minutes with her. Everything is to be handled as discreetly as possible.”
“What’s going on?”
“It turns out that Becky is working her shift at the store right now,” Evan said. “I spoke with the manager, and Mark and I are headed over there to talk to her.”
It had meant cancelling more patients, something that Mark really hadn’t wanted to do. But this was not a normal circumstance, and it had to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
“Christy…” He wanted to ask her what she was feeling, what she was thinking. But Evan was there and it wasn’t the right time. Not that there would ever be a right time. But he also wanted to let her know that no matter what happened—if Becky decided not to give the baby up, if Christy wasn’t ready, if…no matter what—they’d do it together. Instead of saying any of those things, when she looked up from the baby, all that came out of his mouth was, “I love you.”
He hoped it would be enough.
“Okay,” Evan said a little awkwardly. “Are you ready to—”
“Excuse me, Doctor Thomas?” They all turned to the door to see Sarah, looking very apologetic and wringing her hands. “I know you’re busy but I just got a call from Drew Ross. It’s Eric. She needs you to come.”
Behind him, Mark heard Christy make a sound between a gasp and a cry. Instantly, he reached for her hand.
“Should I tell her…” Sarah looked between everyone in the room. He
r eyes landed on the baby in Christy’s arms. “What should I tell her?”
“Tell her I’ll be right there.” Mark gave Christy’s hand a squeeze. “Evan, you’ll have to go on your own to talk to Becky. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll go.”
Mark stared at his wife. “You don’t know her. She’s just a—”
“I think I should talk to her. Woman to woman.” Christy nodded and looked down at the baby again. She couldn’t seem to look away for long. “Besides, if she is serious about giving up her baby for adoption, especially if she’s serious about us, I need to meet her.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Not really. “Evan?”
His friend shrugged. “It’s not a bad idea and I’ll be there. It’ll be okay.”
“I’ll watch the baby,” Sarah offered. “Just go do what you need to do. I’ll manage things around here.”
Mark knew if Drew was calling the office, it was an emergency. She wouldn’t ask him to come in the middle of the afternoon if it wasn’t. “I should get going,” he said to Christy. “Are you sure you want to—”
“Go. Drew and Eric need you. I’ve got this.” She glanced between the baby and him, and Mark’s heart swelled. No matter how things turned out with Mya and Becky, he had Christy and together they would be fine.
He leaned over and kissed her hard and fast.
Chapter Twenty
The almost immediate emptiness of her arms after she handed the sleeping baby to Sarah surprised Christy. She’d only known Mya for a few hours and already she was attached.
That probably wasn’t a good thing. There were so many variables. So many things to think about. They weren’t even considering adoption right now; it wasn’t the right time with her music and the band and…one thing at a time.
She kept repeating those words to herself.
One thing at a time.
And the first thing was to talk to Becky. Evan needed to take a statement and get some information from the girl, but Christy’s goal was to get a feel for the girl and what it was she really wanted. Was she just scared and she’d made an irrational decision? Was it an impulse she wanted to take back? Did she really want to keep her baby with the proper support? If that was the case, Christy would help her find the resources she needed. Or did she really want Mark and Christy to adopt her baby?