by Cee Bowerman
Suddenly, the gray-haired woman started screeching.
“This is ridiculous. He has no claim to my granddaughter. You can see that he isn’t prepared for fatherhood. Look around you. It’s obvious that a bachelor lives here. This is in no way suitable for a child.”
“She’s my baby?” I was ignoring the screeching woman and looking up at Ms. Cherry.
“She is my granddaughter. You have no rights to her. If Laura wanted you to have her, she would have told you about her in the first place. I lost my daughter; I’m not going to lose my only grandchild too.”
“Yes, Mr. Forrester, I believe she is. We will need to establish paternity and go through a follow up process, but regardless of parentage, you are listed as her guardian in the event of Ms. Reynolds's death. I will need to interview you to make sure that you are capable of raising a baby. I’m not sure that I am comfortable leaving a little one alone with you at this point.”
“Holy shit.” I rubbed my face over my hands and looked down at the carrier.
“Did you hear that? He’s obviously not ready to have a baby around with his filthy language...”
“Would you kindly shut the fuck up for ten seconds and let me think, lady? I have a lot to process here.”
The gray-haired hag gasped and clutched her hands in front of her chest.
“Did you hear him threaten me?”
“Ms. Reynolds, he didn’t threaten you. I warned you before we came in that I would need you to remain calm and be civil. If you can’t do that, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I will not remain calm! This cretin doesn’t know how to care for a baby. He lives here alone and has no business raising a child. I’ll sue you and your entire department. I’ll make sure that no judge in this state lets him keep her here, I’ll let them know that he’s a filthy biker who chose his motorcycle over his pregnant girlfriend.”
I shot up off the couch and started to reply, but Ms. Cherry’s hand touched my chest to hold me back.
“Ms. Reynolds, go wait outside right now.”
“What’s going on?” I heard Summer’s voice as she came down the stairs. “Bird?”
I looked up and watched her walk toward us, her hand going around my waist. I didn’t know what to say to her. I had never considered the protocol on how to tell the woman you were sleeping with, and in a brand-new relationship with, that you now, all the sudden, had a baby to raise. Unfortunately, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“I’m a Dad.”
~*~
SUMMER
The gray-haired old bat sputtered at Bird’s declaration of fatherhood and I turned to the state worker and stuck out my hand.
“I’m Summer Preston, Mr. Forrester’s fiancé.” The lady, who I had heard Bird refer to as Ms. Cherry, as I stood in the bedroom door and eavesdropped on the whole exchange, stuck her hand out to shake mine.
The older Ms. Reynolds started screeching again. “What type of man has some floozy all over him right after his girlfriend dies a horrible death? He’s not a fit guardian for my grandchild.”
“Ms. Reynolds, if you don’t leave this house and go to your car, I’ll call in the deputy that’s waiting right outside.” Ms. Cherry’s firm voice and threat stopped Ms. Reynolds voice instantly. “I am not going to tell you again.”
With a huff, Ms. Reynolds turned on her heel and headed to the front door. She couldn’t leave without a parting shot.
“You will both be hearing from my lawyer!” I watched, along with Bird and Ms. Cherry, as Ms. Reynolds threw the door open and stomped outside. When the door slammed behind her, the baby in the carrier let out a wail and started to cry.
Bird dropped down to sit and pulled the carrier in front of him. Before Ms. Cherry could move, he had the cover flipped back and I could see a dark head of hair on the baby in front of him. Bird made quick work of the buckles and had the screaming infant in his arms in seconds.
“Hush now, sweetheart. The wicked witch is gone.” He moved the baby up to his shoulder and stood up. He rocked his body back and forth as he patted her back. She quieted almost instantly. He looked at me and then his glance shot to Ms. Cherry. “What do I need to do?”
Ms. Cherry, obviously pleased with Bird’s actions, sat down in the chair and leaned toward her briefcase. As she flipped it open, I walked to Bird’s side.
“What’s her name?” I whispered as I stared into her bright blue eyes.
“I don’t know.” Bird whispered back to me, leaning his head back to look at her face.
I leaned around Bird to look at Ms. Cherry.
“Her name is Lark. Lark Destiny Forrester.”
“Destiny.” I heard Bird whisper as he pulled the baby away from his shoulder to hold her on his hands in front of him. He glanced at me, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “She’s my baby bird. My destiny.”
I felt my own tears rolling down my cheeks as I nodded in agreement. The look on Bird’s face and the wonder in his voice was so beautiful, I felt my heart squeeze in my chest. I looked from the dark-haired baby to the dark-haired man over and over again, looking for any similarities. Ms. Cherry gave us a minute to process things before she continued speaking.
“I must say that I am happy to see that you are engaged. I do hope that you plan on being married sooner, rather than later. The elder Ms. Reynolds is not happy with this arrangement and her lawyer is already hard at work picking apart Laura’s will. He has filed a motion for temporary guardianship to go to Ms. Reynolds, but the judge put a continuance on it until she gets my findings.”
“Our wedding is scheduled for this Saturday afternoon, right here at the house as a matter of fact. It’s nothing big, just family and a few close friends.” I was lying through my teeth, but I thought that Ms. Cherry was buying it. “You’re welcome to come if you need to witness it. As you can see, the house is in perfect shape. It’s safe enough for my boys, of course. They are out of town with my Mom right now but will be back in time for the wedding. She took them so that I would have time to get all the last-minute details taken care of.”
I could tell by the look on her face that Ms. Cherry was leaning our way already. I decided to plow forward and continue, praying that Bird would go along.
“I have three sons. We live at my house for now, but we have it scheduled to move our things here later this week.”
“Congratulations, Ms. Preston. You seem very happy. How old are your children?”
“My oldest is four, the middle is three and the youngest is two! Let me grab my phone and I’ll show you a picture.” I started to move to the kitchen to grab my phone, but she stopped me.
“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know you have a lot of things to talk about and plans to make. I’ll interview the boys after the wedding when things are more settled.”
“Okay. That’s fine.” I smiled at her. My hope that she would leave the baby and never come back had just been dashed. I couldn’t think of a way to get out of my lie now.
“I notice you don’t have an engagement ring. Why is that?”
“It’s at the engravers. Bird wanted to have it fitted with the wedding band, and he’s having it engraved as a surprise before the wedding ceremony.”
“That is so sweet!” Ms. Cherry reached out and patted my arm. “Most men wouldn’t think of something like that.”
“I’m a lucky one. He’s definitely a keeper.”
“Will you be able to accommodate a baby with all you have going on?” Ms. Cherry looked from me to Bird and then back.
“Of course.” Bird answered her. “I’ve got plenty of bedrooms here, even with the ones picked out for the boys. I can give my Mom and little sister my credit card and have the nursery outfitted before dark tonight.”
Ms. Cherry laughed and I joined her.
“Your family is close?”
“Oh, yes ma’am. They are very close. They live right next door in that house you passed on the w
ay in. His Mom is wonderful. And his little sister is a gem.” I smiled at Ms. Cherry, my smile hurting my cheeks as I lied to her face. I had known Bird for less than three days and had never met either his Mother or his little sister. “I hit the jackpot on all fronts!”
“I am so glad to meet you, Ms. Preston. And you, Mr. Forrester.” Ms. Cherry reached up and patted the now sleeping baby on the back. “I feel sure that you will take care of this little darling like the princess she is. I, of course, will be doing my due diligence. I’ll make arrangements with the two of you to interview you together and separately. I’d also like to observe you with all of the children here in your home sometime next week. Or, are you going on a honeymoon?”
Ms. Cherry’s brow furrowed, and I had a feeling that our answer to that question might make a difference in whether she left the baby with us or not.
“No, we aren’t taking our honeymoon right away. We’re going to wait until the boys get a little bigger and then go up to Alaska with my brother and his fiancé. We want them to be a little older and able to enjoy the wilderness and nature a little more. Terra, my brother’s fiancé, owns a house there on a big parcel of land. We just got back from a trip up there in March. Beautiful land.”
“Oh, I imagine it is. I’m going to give you my card.” She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a business card and a manila folder. “This is a copy of Ms. Reynolds will. I suggest you get it to your lawyer as soon as possible. I assume that you work, Mr. Forrester. Ms. Reynolds mentioned that her lawyer found out that you own a bar here in town?”
“My family does. We own four bars, a restaurant and wine bar, a diner, a gun range and a garage. There are a few others, but those are the largest businesses.”
“Oh, my. A busy man. Will you have enough time to raise a baby?”
“I am about to become a stay at home Mom.” I rushed to say. “I was lucky enough to have Bird suggest it after our engagement, and now it’s going to be even more perfect for us. With my three boys, I’ll be glad to get a little princess to play with.”
“I see. This has all worked out so well, it’s almost unbelievable.” Bird smiled tightly and I laughed quietly beside him as I smiled at Ms. Cherry. “There are supplies for her in her bag. I’ll bring it into the house in just a second. I do apologize for springing this on you, but in most instances that is when you see the true nature of a person.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is. I’ll follow you outside to grab that diaper bag while Bird sits down with Lark and absorbs things.”
“I am so glad that your reaction to the news was positive, Ms. Preston. This could have gone so much differently had you not been quite as accepting. I don’t care to leave an infant with a single parent that has no experience. Mr. Forrester is lucky to have you.”
“I’ll remind him of that next time I spend too much at the mall!”
I walked with Ms. Cherry out the front door and down the sidewalk to her car that was parked in the circular drive. We chatted for just another minute and then she handed me the bag.
We made an appointment for her to come back to the house next Wednesday, nine days from today. I assured her I would call with any problems or emergencies, and she assured me that she would pop in at random before and after our meeting next week until the custody was settled.
I watched her get into the car and I waved goodbye as she pulled around the driveway. A Sheriff's deputy followed behind her car in his cruiser. I didn’t see any sign of the old bat, but I hurried into the house and locked the door behind me just in case.
As I turned to look at Bird, I saw that he was still standing in the same spot in the middle of the living room, his daughter now sleeping on his shoulder. He stared at me for a second and then he looked down at his daughter.
“So, we’re getting married?”
“I didn’t know what else to say. You were losing your temper. I know how those social workers can be, what they look for. I dealt with enough of them when I was a kid and they got involved to investigate my Mom for one reason or another. I didn’t want her to take the baby out of here. That wouldn’t look good to a judge.”
“Holy shit, Summer. I have a baby. A daughter. We’re getting married and I’ll have three sons.”
I stood there stunned at his words. He was right. He went from a carefree bachelor to a father in less than an hour. In less than a week, unless we could find a way out of this, he would be married and helping me raise three wild boys and one little princess.
“Are you going to run for the hills?” Bird asked me quietly. “You look like you might.”
“Nope. I’m going to go with destiny and jump off the cliff with you. Looks like we’re getting married.”
With that proclamation, I sat my ass down in the middle of the entry way and started to bawl.
~*~
BIRD
I scrambled to put the sleeping baby into her seat, and then I rushed across the room to Summer. I squatted down on the floor and braced my back against the wall as I reach out to move her closer to me. I pulled her body between my legs and pulled her head down to my chest.
“Oh, Sunshine. Why are you crying? Shouldn’t I be the one losing my shit right now?”
“I’m sorry. You’re right.” She blubbered as she cried even harder, if that was even possible. “I am just so afraid that we are making a rash decision. What if you hate me? What if I don’t like you? What if you don’t like my boys? I can’t live with that. What if your family hates me? What if my boys hate you? Oh, God, what if my boys love you but you don’t want us, so you make us leave and break their hearts? What if I fall in love with that baby girl and you make me leave her because you don’t love me?”
I held in a snort, knowing that wasn’t ever going to happen. I knew it was too early to feel love for Summer, let alone mention it. I murmured reassurances, but I don’t think Summer heard a word I said. I let her cry it out but noticed in all her rambling that she rarely mentioned herself, mostly just the children or me getting hurt.
“Oh, God. I’m marrying a man who doesn’t love me. How is that going to last? Oh, shit. What have I done?”
“You’ve saved my daughter from being shuffled around. From being raised by that screeching bitch of a grandmother.” I sighed, might as well get it out now. “Laura and I were only seeing each other for a few months. I heard her talk about her relationship with her Mother more than once. She hated that her Mom tried to control her every move. I never met Laura’s family and she never met mine. We kept our lives separate from each other’s. She didn’t understand my club. She had no urge to meet my brothers or my parents. She was different than me, our lifestyles were totally opposite. She was caviar and country club; I am bottled beer and Harley Davidson.”
Summer stopped crying to lean back and look at me.
“Our one and only argument happened about three minutes before I stormed out of her house, the last time I spoke to her. She told me that her Mother had accepted an invitation for us to attend a fundraiser at her parent’s country club. She had decided she wanted me to meet her family. She had already scheduled an appointment for me to get a haircut and a shave right before I went to get fitted for my very own tuxedo. I told her not no, but hell no. That wasn’t an acceptable answer. She told me that we were too different, and she had been denying it since the day she met me. I realized that I completely agreed. I walked out and never looked back.”
“And you really had no idea that she was pregnant?”
“No idea at all. Hell, I wore a condom every time we were together. I’ve never in my life been with a woman without a condom between us. I have no idea how she got pregnant. I mean, technically I know, but what are the odds?”
“Slim.”
“Maybe I have super sperm.”
“As much as you and I have had sex this weekend, I pray that’s not the case.”
She and I both chuckled.
“What are we going to do, Bird?”
“Remember when I sa
id I believed in destiny? Three days ago I met a woman who shot an electric current through me with one touch. Today, she got me out of a jam when my mouth was going to make me lose one of the most important gifts a man can get. That gift, which by the way, has a middle name of Destiny. She’s also named after a bird, which I think is fucking awesome.”
I laughed way too loud at that. Bird didn’t say anything, he probably thought I was losing it again.
“Well, we need to get her a bed. And some clothes. And a whole lot of other shit. I hope you’ve got a lot of room on that credit card of yours.”
“There’s plenty of room on there.”
“Well, I’m about to make less.”
“You’re going shopping?”
