been assigned?”
“Yes, Your Honor. A woman from our Lakota office. She’ll be making her first visit this week, once Shane has a chance to get settled.”
The judge nodded. “You understand you are being charged with the responsibility of a human life? This child will be at the mercy of your good judgment. Do you feel capable of handling such a responsibility?”
Shane nodded. “I want to be a good parent. I don’t have any family left. My nephew’s it. I want to do this.”
“Plenty of people do it, son. It’s a matter of doing it well.”
“I intend to do my best.”
The judge nodded. “Then let’s hope that suffices. I have here your child abuse clearance papers and criminal record report. Thank you for that, Mrs. Laramie. We’ll reconvene in three months with an update, at which point I’ll hear from the caseworker assigned to Mr. Martin and he may petition for a more permanent arrangement.”
He tapped the gavel and Shane was childishly satisfied. Everything was so much more casual than what he’d anticipated and some juvenile part of him feared the judge wouldn’t use the gavel. Dear God. Could he actually be a parent? He was pretty much a man-child himself. Well, the time for self-scrutiny had passed.
“Congratulations, Shane,” Joanne said, holding out her hand. “I’ll go get Shane.”
She left and he looked to Tabitha. “Do we just wait here?”
She nodded. “She’ll only be a minute.”
The judge left and they were alone. He fidgeted anxiously. When the doors opened again, he turned. Joanne carried a mint green car seat. All he could see was soft blue blankets and a plush bumblebee dangling from the handle.
She hefted the seat onto the table and his heart stuttered to a stop. Like a sleeping cherub, his nephew rested, swathed in what looked like the softest blanket in the world.
He had dark hair like him. The lids of his eyes were so fair they seemed almost translucent at parts, darkening to deep pink by his perfect lashes. What color were his eyes? Were they brown like his? Blue? His cheeks were rosy and his mouth pursed as if sucking an invisible thumb. Suddenly his lips moved in quick suckling motions.
Shane backed up. “What’s he doing?”
The women smiled affectionately. “He’s just sucking. Babies do that in their sleep sometimes.”
The women gently touched the baby’s head and doted over him. Women were so natural with babies. Shane was suddenly terrified. He’d thought the baby would have been more…sturdy.
“While he’s asleep let’s go over some things,” Tabitha said in a soft voice. She slid him a pamphlet. “Here’s some information on SIDS—
“SIDS?”
“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.”
His stomach bottomed out. What the fuck was that?
Tabitha, luckily, didn’t seem to notice his panic. “It briefly explains about how the baby should be put to bed, always on his back, never on his belly, where his soft spots are, and how to handle him. I’m sure after going through the reading material this weekend you’re familiar with the basics, shaken baby syndrome, testing the temperature of baths and bottles. Babies are basically fragile little eggs. So long as you’re gentle, you’ll be fine.”
The collar of his shirt seemed to be choking him. He swallowed and pulled at his neckline with his fingers.
Tabitha slid him another pamphlet. “This is about car seats. Your local police station can help you install one if you have trouble.”
She slid another brochure to him. How many fucking brochures did this woman have?
“This informs you about medical assistance Shane’s eligible for. This one’s for supplemental nutritional assistance—”
“What?” He was on overload.
“Food stamps. You’ll be eligible for a lot of government programs being that Shane isn’t legally identified as your child yet. Once we get to that stage, your income will have to be considered, but for now he qualifies automatically.”
Food stamps? They wanted
“Yes, Your Honor. A woman from our Lakota office. She’ll be making her first visit this week, once Shane has a chance to get settled.”
The judge nodded. “You understand you are being charged with the responsibility of a human life? This child will be at the mercy of your good judgment. Do you feel capable of handling such a responsibility?”
Shane nodded. “I want to be a good parent. I don’t have any family left. My nephew’s it. I want to do this.”
“Plenty of people do it, son. It’s a matter of doing it well.”
“I intend to do my best.”
The judge nodded. “Then let’s hope that suffices. I have here your child abuse clearance papers and criminal record report. Thank you for that, Mrs. Laramie. We’ll reconvene in three months with an update, at which point I’ll hear from the caseworker assigned to Mr. Martin and he may petition for a more permanent arrangement.”
He tapped the gavel and Shane was childishly satisfied. Everything was so much more casual than what he’d anticipated and some juvenile part of him feared the judge wouldn’t use the gavel. Dear God. Could he actually be a parent? He was pretty much a man-child himself. Well, the time for self-scrutiny had passed.
“Congratulations, Shane,” Joanne said, holding out her hand. “I’ll go get Shane.”
She left and he looked to Tabitha. “Do we just wait here?”
She nodded. “She’ll only be a minute.”
The judge left and they were alone. He fidgeted anxiously. When the doors opened again, he turned. Joanne carried a mint green car seat. All he could see was soft blue blankets and a plush bumblebee dangling from the handle.
She hefted the seat onto the table and his heart stuttered to a stop. Like a sleeping cherub, his nephew rested, swathed in what looked like the softest blanket in the world.
He had dark hair like him. The lids of his eyes were so fair they seemed almost translucent at parts, darkening to deep pink by his perfect lashes. What color were his eyes? Were they brown like his? Blue? His cheeks were rosy and his mouth pursed as if sucking an invisible thumb. Suddenly his lips moved in quick suckling motions.
Shane backed up. “What’s he doing?”
The women smiled affectionately. “He’s just sucking. Babies do that in their sleep sometimes.”
The women gently touched the baby’s head and doted over him. Women were so natural with babies. Shane was suddenly terrified. He’d thought the baby would have been more…sturdy.
“While he’s asleep let’s go over some things,” Tabitha said in a soft voice. She slid him a pamphlet. “Here’s some information on SIDS—
“SIDS?”
“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.”
His stomach bottomed out. What the fuck was that?
Tabitha, luckily, didn’t seem to notice his panic. “It briefly explains about how the baby should be put to bed, always on his back, never on his belly, where his soft spots are, and how to handle him. I’m sure after going through the reading material this weekend you’re familiar with the basics, shaken baby syndrome, testing the temperature of baths and bottles. Babies are basically fragile little eggs. So long as you’re gentle, you’ll be fine.”
The collar of his shirt seemed to be choking him. He swallowed and pulled at his neckline with his fingers.
Tabitha slid him another pamphlet. “This is about car seats. Your local police station can help you install one if you have trouble.”
She slid another brochure to him. How many fucking brochures did this woman have?
“This informs you about medical assistance Shane’s eligible for. This one’s for supplemental nutritional assistance—”
“What?” He was on overload.
“Food stamps. You’ll be eligible for a lot of government programs being that Shane isn’t legally identified as your child yet. Once we get to that stage, your income will have to be considered, but for now he qualifies automatically.”
Food stamps? They wanted
Similar Books
