On My Doorstep [Editing]

Chapter 3

FAWN

"Um..." I didn't know what to say. I was at a loss for words. Maybe I hadn't gotten enough sleep. "Fawn?" He asked, with a smile, "whose baby is that?"

I smiled back, genuinely, "Well, it's kind of a long story. I was actually gonna call you, and I wasn't really expecting to see you now." He shook his head, "It's my fault. I didn't schedule a proper appointment."

There was a silence. I looked at him, my arms now crossed over my chest.

"Don't do that," I told him.

Trent threw his hands up in the air, "well, I haven't heard from you in a few days, and clearly that's the only way for me to get your undivided attention."

I rolled my eyes, "some of us don't like to just-"

"Walk in and claim their spoiled privilege?"

Trent smiled and I couldn't help but laugh. This was a discussion we'd had countless times since we were tweens. I've always had what I liked to consider an admirable work ethic, and he's just preferred to sit back, kick up his feet, and enjoy life.

Opposites attract.

"So, what can I do you for," I asked him as I moved to sit behind my desk. He sat in the chair across from me, and shifted a bit as he got comfortable. Trent looked around the room for a short while before his eyes rested on me. I tried to find what he was looking at when he suddenly leaned forward.

He moved his chair forward and, this time, leaned back. "I came to ask you to a weekend out of the city. Near some water, in the beauty of nature. Just the two of us..." He looked, no, stared at me with those amazing green eyes that I can't get over.

I leaned forward as well, to the point where we were just centimetres apart, "that sounds amazing." Trent closed the distance between us and gave me a sweet kiss. I reached out to grab his collard and pull him towards me, when the sound of fussing stopped me in my tracks.

"Mm..." I pulled away from Trent, "sorry."

He watched me as I got up and went over to Ami to see what she needed.

Her diaper was clean, I'd fed her before we came to the office, and she had a blanket with her in the car seat. The only other thing I could think of was the need for some attention.

I took a wrap baby carrier out of her baby bag, put it around me, then picked her up and put her in it and against my chest. After getting up and walking around for a few minutes, Ami finally stopped fussing and relaxed.

"So, who's the baby again?"

I turned to see Trent giving me a weird look, twisted slightly in his chair. He wasn't going to be happy to hear that I didn't really know. Or that she's most definitely gonna get in the way of our possible weekend plans.

My mouth went into my best smile, and I looked away from Trent to Ami, "well, I have to read the adoption papers again to see her legal name. But, for now I'm calling her Ami. I found her in front of my apartment last night, actually."

Trent looked bewildered, which I expected. I couldn't blame him, either. The story was strange, and nothing like this had ever happened to anyone we knew.

"Y-your doorstep?"

I nodded, "I was actually going to try and get some information today on where she's from, and what the options are."

"Are you going to try and find her parents," he asked.

"Yeah," I said, finally looking up at him. "But, I don't think they want her anymore, Trent. I wouldn't be holding her right now if they did. I have to think about what I'll do for her if I can't find anyone to take her."

Trent got up and walked over to us, his hands placed on his hips as he did so, "if they can't find the family, you hand her over to Social Services. That's how it goes-"

I moved away from him, "I'm not gonna do that."

As strange as it was, the last thing I wanted to do was give her over to social services. It was definitely not peaches and cream over there, and I'd heard some horrible stories growing up. I knew some people who were fine, some who were happy in their foster homes growing up. But they were lucky. Taking a chance like that was not something I wanted to do.

Trent stared at me like I was crazy, "so, what? You're planning to adopt her?"

"I might. I don't know, we're not there yet. But, if it comes to that then there is a good chance I'll adopt her."

I moved around the office, rocking Ami to relaxation as I actively tried to ignore the looks that Trent was sending my way. I could hear him sigh, over and over, and wasn't at all surprised to see him running his hands over his face when I looked over at him.

Sighing, I said, "Trent-"

"We're getting married, Fawn. What about our plans?! Your supposed to talk to me about this kinda stuff..." He trailed off, staring at Ami now. "A child?"

I knew it wasn't fair to him that I was just springing raising a baby on him out of nowhere. And I felt bad, I did. But I couldn't tell him that I forgot to tell him because, for a little while, I forget about him.

Admitting that would be worse than pretending I was ignorant to his opinion.

I moved to where he was, and waited until he sat up a bit so I could settle into his lap. My free arm went over his shoulders, and I placed a sweet kiss to his lips.

Trent hummed at the contact, instantly moving to place his hands on my hips. I moved back, breaking the contact, and our eyes met.

"You're right," I whispered to him, "I'm sorry."

He looked at me, seeming like he was still upset. But when I saw his lip quiver, even just a bit, I knew I had him. Trent gave me another kiss, "I guess I can forgive you. It's nice to be right every now and again."

I smiled, "would you still like to go to lunch?"

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