Our Bakery

Preparation

"Harry!"
"What?"
"Where the hell is the napkin holder?"
"Do our napkins need a holder?"
"Umm, yeah! Duh!"
"Why? Why do we need to show this woman that we hold our napkins in a little decorative holder made just for them?"
"She needs to see that we are very fancy, prim, and just a touch of hoity-toity."
"This is so stressful!"
"Harry! Would you just hand over a baby? No! No. The answer is no. They have to see how good at everything we are."
"But we aren't good at everything."
"Exactly. That's why we need the fanciest napkin holder for the table."

I groaned from the nursery and Louis pointed a finger at me from the hallway near the kitchen. I walked slowly into the kitchen near him and took a look inside of our closet to see if maybe I could find this miracle working napkin holder that would make our adoption agent hand us over a baby. Louis squatted and looked under the sink.

"Hey Lou?" I said, pulling out the holder. "This is it, right?"
"Yes! It is! Oh I love you so much right now!" He smiled and put the napkins into it. I didn't admit this to him, but it did pull the table together rather nicely.
"So, we have about an hour before this woman gets here... what's her name again?" I asked him.
"Her name is Audréa. Audréa Sandatoje."
"That's different."
"Yes but not as different as Tomlinson."
"Well your name is Louis Styles, not Tomlinson."
"I know, I know. And for that I am very grateful." He smiled, standing on his tiptoes to kiss me.

Louis walked away from me, turning back toward the closet to get the vacuum out. As he vacuumed, I walked back into the hopefully-soon-to-be nursery to dust the shelves. I straightened the carpet and stood back. It looked good. We had one of Louis' old surfboards hung on the wall, ready to have a name painted onto it, some shelves ready for toys and children's books, a dresser ready for some onsies, and an empty spot where a baby crib would go. I smiled at the green room and walked out to see what Louis was doing.

"What's up buttercup?" I swooned.
"Just need to get dressed." He put his hands on his hips and looked at me, faking a smile.
"You're worried." I said, my arms crossed while stepping closer to him.
"No..."
"Yes..."
"I am a little bit nervous."
"Why?"
"Because what if-"
"What? What if she doesn't like our napkin holder? Louis, be realistic. We're great people. Good jobs, good personalities, overall just... good."
"I know, but I'm still a little bit scared."
"That's okay. I know she'll like us. Now let's go get ready. She'll be here in almost an hour." His eyes got bug and he ran into the bedroom.

"Don't freak out, just pick out someth-"
"I'm not freaking out!" He yelled, throwing his hands in the air. I frowned and he turned to face me. I opened my arms and he slowly walked into them. As I stroked his hair and back, I reassured him that all was well.

"Lou," I said in a sing song voice. "Chill the fuck out." He laughed into my chest and pulled away.
"Our baby's first word is going to be fuck." I laughed and kissed him before we got dressed. I sprayed the house with air fresher and looked around. It was so clean. It would probably be messy again in a few hours, though.
I sat down on our couch, while Louis paced around, waiting for our doorbell to ring or for a knock.

"Lou, before she gets here, remember to be calm, and be yourself."
"I know."
"I love you."
"I love you too." I blew him a kiss cheekily and he shool his head, turning around. The doorbell rang and he stiffened. I flashed a nervous smile to him before opening the door.

"Hi! I'm Audréa. You must be Louis?" She was skinny and not very tall, maybe a little shorter than Louis, and she had long black hair. She was very pretty.
"Oh, I'm Harry, my husband is Louis. Here come in." I let her in and Louis shook her hand, smiling and introducing himself. We sat down on the couch and I started feeling a little bit nervous.

"So, Harry and Louis, tell me about yourselves. Interests, hobbies, how you met."
"Oh, umm, we both like surfing." I started.
"That's actually how we met. We were surfing on the same beach and then went out for drinks after."
"That's adorable!" She smiled.
"Thanks. Umm, let's see. I like to do art. Like, drawing, painting. We both love to sing."
"I love cooking and baking. Decorating, too."
"Decorating what?" She asked him.
"Oh anything, really. Cakes, rooms, cards, whatever. I like adding to things."
"That's good. Artistic people make wonderful parents. What are your occupations?"
"I work for Adidas, I design clothes. And Harry is an assistant manager at The Tavern."
"Good jobs, I presume?"
"Pay is good, yes. We're both happy with where we work. Our schedules are very flexible, too."
"That's very good, too. Being happy is great. It makes for a healthy environment for a child. Can I see the house? Three rooms, correct?"
"Yes, three bedrooms." I said, standing up. They stood up too and we led her around.

"This would be the child's room?" She asked, stepping into the green room.
"Yes. We have decorated in here a little, but we still have things to hang."
"I love it. Green is a creative color, relieves stress. And pastel is easy for a baby's develpoing eyes."

We showed her around and she asked a few more questions before sitting down with her clipboard at the table.

"So boys, basically I have no complaints. You seem like good people and very good parent material. This is a wonderful environment, the neighborhood, the home, it's all very nice. I'm putting in good word for you two, I think you have a very high chance of getting a baby." She said, flipping through her pages of notes.

"That's wonderful!" I said, grabbing Louis' hand. He smiled and we led her out, thanking her and wishing her safe travels.
As soon as she'd left, I turned to Louis, smiling wide. He smiled too, and I picked him up by his waist and spun him around, his arms locked around my neck. We kissed and stood there for awhile, hugging and being excited and happy. I called my mum and texted Gemma and Kath about it. Of course, they both called me afterwards, and many of Louis' friends and family did too, but I had nothing to complain about. I was happy. We were happy. Everything was just so happy.

We went to the bakery and talked to Nancy and Scott for a little while after we went out to eat to celebrate.

"My boys!" Nancy exclaimed, holding her little hands to her heart. She had always called us her boys. She never had kids. "I'm so happy for you!"
"That's wonderful guys, just wonderful. Adoption wasn't big back in the day, but I'm glad it is now. You two will make wonderful parents." He said, his voice at its normal tone, raspy. He hugged us both and smiled.

We got home and finally, after a very long and stressful day, laid down to sleep.

We woke up at around noon and migrated to the couch, still in our pajamas. I flipped on the TV and Louis grabbed his laptop off of the coffee table. I wondered if he seriously thought that we'd get our email saying we got a baby the day after the meeting. I sighed and cuddled up next to him, shutting my eyes and listening to the melody of his typing mixed with the news lady.