Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Where is Cici?” I ask of my nine-month-old niece, her full name is Selena but since she was four hours old we’ve called her Cici, my knees getting ready to buckle with the news. Gwen quietly sits sobbing beside me with her hand in front of her mouth. The sound of a baby fills the room, and I wonder if I’m having an out-of-body moment. I wonder if I’m hearing things. I look around the room and Gwen rushes to her bedroom.
“She was alone in the vehicle.” I don’t even know who says it, my eyes go to Gwen’s room.
“Oh, thank God,” Levi says from beside me. I watch Gwen come out of her bedroom with Cici in her arms.
Her cheeks rosy from sleeping, I walk out of Levi’s arms and go to Cici. “Hi, Stinky,” I say to her and her face fills with a smile before she reaches out for me. I grab her under her arms and bring her to me, kissing her neck like I know she likes. “Someone is stinky,” I lie. She smells like the lavender baby lotion I know Lisa always puts on her.
“Ms. Meyers.” The woman who is at the table stands up. “My name is Josephine and I’m with Child Protective Services.” My hand goes to Cici’s back as she says this. “I’m going to have a few questions for you.”
“Okay,” I answer her as Cici puts her head on my shoulder, snuggling down.
“From what we found in the system, there is no father listed on the birth certificate.” I don’t know if she is asking me or telling me.
“No, there wouldn’t be,” I confirm, “she went through the sperm bank and did IVF.” I rock side to side with Cici and I’m not even aware I’m doing it. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to put his case file number on there, so she opted to leave it blank.” The memory comes back to when she was filling out the papers in the hospital. She looked like she went through war, but she also never looked more beautiful and happier in her life. “Why are you asking this?”
“The law requires that the baby be placed in CPS care until things are straightened out,” Josephine explains, and it’s Levi who steps up.
“What do you mean, things are straightened out?” he asks for me.
“Well, does your sister have a will?” Josephine asks me.
“She must have a will.” I defend Lisa. “She wouldn’t have had a baby without a father and then not have a will.”
“Since there is no father,” Josephine starts, “it’s the law that a will is produced to see what the wishes were of the parent.”
“I’m the only one she has,” I say and I know they must know. “My sister was in the system her whole life. In and out of foster homes. You must know this, obviously.” My tone is of anger, at everyone.
“Right,” Josephine agrees. “The good news is that once the will is processed and we can affirm it is the only will on file, then we can proceed. But until then—” She wrings her hands. “We are going to have to place the baby in emergency foster care.” The minute the words are out of her mouth, I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“There has to be something we can do,” Levi argues for me because all I can do is rock back and forth. “She’s her sister. Her only next of kin. There has to be something we can do. I don’t know, maybe give us a couple of days.”
“I’m aware of that,” Josephine says, “but the law.” Her voice trails off, and I can’t even imagine how hard her job is.
“How long?” I look at Josephine. “How long until I can get her? How long until all of this is taken care of?”
“It’s hard to say,” Josephine sidesteps, “it could be a month.” I gasp, holding Cici even closer to my chest. “Or longer.”
“What about shorter?” Levi asks her. “There has to be, I don’t know, some fast pass somewhere.”
“The best thing to do would be for you to get the will. She would have had a lawyer,” Josephine advises.
I look over at Gwen, handing Cici back to her. “She has a bag,” I say to Josephine, knowing it’s not her fault. It kills me to admit this, but I will have to let her go, but I tell myself it won’t be for long. I look over at Gwen. “Is her door open?” She nods, and I walk out of the room. Of course, Josephine isn’t far away from me. But right behind her is Levi, who is watching everything. I walk into the house and see the toys on the floor mat, knowing Lisa probably said she would clean it up later, right before she walked out only to never return. I go to the nursery, turn on the light, and see the pink room come to life. I walk to the corner of the room and grab the diaper bag from the closet. “She has special pj’s and a sleep sack.” I grab the white folded sack that is hanging over the crib. “She has a stuffy she likes to hold on to when she is rocked, but don’t put it in the crib because she could suffocate.” I take the stuffy from the bed and put it in the bag as tears flow down my face. I wish I could stop them. I wish I could be strong, but I’m not. I have to get through this, then I can have my breakdown. “She takes a bath every night before bed,” I tell her. “And she puts on this lotion. It’s supposed to make them sleep longer.” I hold up the purple bottle. “I don’t know if it works, but we do it anyway.”