A long lane at night

2.15. MIND MAZE Part 3

'All right. We were at his grandmother's house for a while already, when Jack couldn't resist her charms and offered to go pick up a large order of baked goods that she had ordered for both him and I as well as for a church gathering she will, sorry, would have tomorrow.

'I could tell that Jack really didn't want to spend more time there than what we had already spent, but he saw how his grandmother was hoping to please him, and he gave in. He did consider taking Alice with us, but reasoned out that it would be pointless. She was perfectly asleep after being fed by him and there wouldn't be enough space in the car for all of the boxes if her baby seat were also there. And he was right to believe so, the back seat of the car looked like a carefully laid board of Tetris.

'In the end, he followed his grandmother's recommendation to let the baby sleep in peace. We have recently spent six months in her company and I believe all of us here in this room would gladly testify that Miss Margaret had proven to be of sound mind and still reliable with little children, despite her advanced age.

'It is also good to remember that, although her age might come into play, she was still short of her eightieth birthday and, in today's society and current beliefs, we don't hold that number as a valid point to question a person's ability to function.

'Jack went and returned as fast as safely possible and I was by his side to testify in favour of his driving skills. Jack hardly ever consumes any kind of substance and today he was as clean and responsible as most days of his life.

'The fire department was notified of the fire because of the alarm in Miss Altridge's house, which contained information regarding the status of the household. Being an old person who was registered as living alone, they did arrive in perfect time.

'What intrigues me is that they already found her dead. If they were fast, how couldn't they save her? This is a question only her medical records and her autopsy will be able to answer, so we must wait.

'Uncle Allan, as her legitimate son, once you have access to her autopsy, you are at liberty to request her medical records to be handed to your care. If you would allow, I can find a suitable doctor to help us find the answers we need.

'When we arrived, probably a considerable amount of time after the fire had already started, Alice was already in the care of a doctor and of a social server, who was adamant Jack lose his parental rights over Alice. She insisted on claiming Jack had "abandoned his daughter to go shopping".

'There are two major concerns regarding Alice and Jack. The first one is to get rid of the "reckless endangerment of a child" investigation the social worker will impose on us. That should be simple, with a total of six adults, myself and my own father included, willing to testify how entrusting Alice's care to Miss Altridge was not only a good idea, but a natural one.

'The second aspect is actually what made my work possible. You see, Jack and I had decided that I would legally adopt Alice only after we got married. This was done in hopes of driving away any unwanted poking around by the social service. It could have brought up unpleasant questions about Jack's willingness to be a father.

'Because I'm not legally her father yet, it means that the "reckless endangerment" investigation doesn't apply to me. But since I am Alice's legal guardian, appointed at her adoption by Jack, the social server didn't have a choice other than give her back to me once the doctor had cleared her. She put up a fight, though. She said that if I am Jack's fiancé, the child's best interest should have been in my mind and I should have prevented him from leaving his daughter behind, which made me, according to her, as much, or even more, irresponsible. I countered her argument by stating that as legal guardian, it is not in my powers to overrun a decision made directly by the child's father. She wasn't happy, but she begrudgingly allowed me to take Alice home with me.