Sweet Girl

Wouldn't You Love To Love Her?

Exhausted, Lindsey and Stevie climbed through the doorway, holding each other.

Stevie broke away. She floated towards the answering machine out of habit.

Lindsey watched, heartbroken, as Stevie stood absently, listening to the beeps.

"Hi it's Karen... Hello, this is... Hello Miss Nicks..." the messages filtered through her ears, which could barely listen to them.

"Mr Buckingham, this is... Hi it's Chris..."

*beep*

Stevie turned toward Lindsey and they emptily walked up to bed together.

Feeling the weight of Lindsey next to her again, Stevie gently turned toward the clock at her bedside. The hands read a quarter to one. Relieved that she'd made it through a night without stirring, she turned over and held onto Lindsey.

She closed her eyes and breathed in his familiar smell. She sighed as she clung to him.

Shulamith's barking echoed from the foyer downstairs. In the distance, the ringing of the phone rolled through the house. She yawned as she swung herself out of bed to answer Karen's daily call for the shopping list. Plodding down the stairs in her drowsy state, she hushed her tiny companion.

"Too loud, sweetie"

Shulamith continued.

Stevie yawned again, reaching the bottom of the staircase. The phone stopped ringing.

"Shit" she sighed, edging toward the phone.

*beep*

"Good afternoon, this is Eloise?" A voice crackled through the machine

She froze.

"...from the agency. If you could call me back as soon as possible, I have something to discuss with you. Thank you."

She stood there, afar from her thoughts.

The words circled her repetitively until she managed to process them.

She scrambled for the phone. She shuffled it around in her hands and shouted for Lindsey.

"Come down! Eloise called!" she was shaking.

Lindsey scurried down the staircase and slid toward her.

"Put it on speaker" he urged, rubbing his eyes and dialing.

"Hello, this is Mr Buckingham, we just missed your call." Lindsey shouted eagerly into the speaker.

"Hello, Eloise, this is Miss Nicks. Do you have news for us?" Stevie spurred.

"Good afternoon. I do have some news. Are you both available to speak?"

They turned to each other and agreed.

"Good. So, upon visiting your home, I have deemed it suitable for a child. Now, I have some double-edged news for you both..."

They glanced at each other anxiously.

"O-okay..." Stevie uttered.

"We have a child who came into the system fairly recently and is looking for an emergency placement."

The couple blinked furiously in anticipation.

"A four year old girl. I understand you are looking for a baby, and I will give you time to discuss this to really evaluate if it's what you want-"

"What happened to her?" Stevie cut in.

"Well, Miss Nicks; the girl's father was found guilty of neglect. She is developmentally delayed, has little speech, and limited maturity, compared to other children, her age. To put it gently, she is around the developmental age of 2, which is why she is in need of emergency placement. We want this child to be able to catch up to her peers. And she is not the type of child we can place in foster care. She needs stability, it's crucial in fact. Now, there are plenty of other families who would be willing to take her but I am merely offering you the opportunity, even though I understand that you want a baby..."

Lindsey placed the phone back into the receiver and ended the call.

"I want to take her."

"Slow down. Let's discuss it, Steph."

"Okay..."

They settled onto the stools by the kitchen island with glasses of iced tea.

"You do realise how much harder this will be than raising a baby."

"Yes I do."

"And you know that this little girl, if she comes into our home, may not connect to us or respond to us, and we may have to-"

"Don't say that!"

"I'm being realistic. I am not trying to tell you that that WILL happen, I am laying out the possibilities. Steph, this is very sudden. I mean, we won't have a chance to discuss parenting, if we take her in tomorrow!"

"We can discuss it now?" Stevie said, dryly.

"We still have to decide if we WANT this."

"I do? I know that as soon as that child walks through those doors, I will love her. And I will take care of her."

"Honey, this isn't a typical child..."

"So love won't help? Having a mommy and daddy won't help? Having food and warm clothing, having her own bed? Huh?"

"Honey, if we do this, this is the rest of our lives."

"Unless we give her up."

Lindsey scowled.

"I'm sorry, Linds. I want this child. I know this sounds ridiculous. But, I feel like I love her already, you know? I just know she belongs with us..."

She freshened her face with her palms.

"Stevie, please think about it properly."

"I am! I'm thinking about being a mother. I'm thinking about the hardship. I'm thinking about comforting her through the night. I'm thinking about taking her out together, I'm thinking about the first time she calls you 'Daddy' and watching you fill with pride."

The silence wafted around them.

"This is not gonna be easy" Lindsey whispered.

She put his hand over hers and held it.

"I know..."