Margie rolls over in her sleep and groans. Then her eyes open and immediately meet mine. “Hey,” she says. “How long have you been watching me sleep?”
“It’s not as creepy as it seems,” I assure her, which makes her laugh. “I’ve hardly slept a wink all night.”
“I slept well for the first time since I found out I was pregnant,” she tells me. “I feel great.”
“I’m glad. Listen, about last night …”
She interrupts before I can finish my sentence. “Please don’t say no yet. Please. I know I must sound pitiful, but I really don’t want your answer yet.”
My lips turn up at the corners ever so slightly as I ask, “Even if I want to adopt your baby?”
Margie stares at me in disbelief. “Do you … will you … I mean, are you going to?”
“My answer is yes,” I tell Margie. A feeling of pure warmth and light fills me, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’ve made the right decision.
Margie throws her covers off and launches herself across the room at me. She’s practically sitting on me while she hugs me and shouts, “You won’t be sorry, I promise! You are going to love her and be a fantastic family for her!”
“We’regoing to be a fantastic family,” I tell her. “Because you will very much be a part of our baby’s life.”
“Oh, Allie, thank you so much!” Margie is still hanging on to me for dear life.
“Even though I want you to talk to your parents and Jordan, what do you say we tell my mom and dad at dinner tonight?”
“I would love that!” She jumps to her feet and starts bouncing like she’s on a trampoline. “Do you think they’ll be happy?”
She’s so excited that I hate to burst her bubble, but she should know what we’re getting into. “I’m not sure,” I tell her. “My parents expect things to come in a certain order. You know, marriage first and then babies. The thing is, I don’t know if I want to get married again. I don’t trust like I once did.”
“I don’t know if I want to get married, either,” Margie says.
“Honey, you’re only eighteen. Why would you say that?”
Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, she answers, “Maybe because the first boy who told me he loved me and wanted to be with me forever dumped me as soon as he found out I was pregnant.”Aaah.There is that.
“When do you want to let Jordan know what you’ve decided?” I ask her.
“I’d just as soon never tell him, but I know I have to. I don’t want him to cause any trouble.” She adds, “I did an internet search and found out that in private adoption, which is what they call what we’re doing, I can’t sign the final paperwork until almost a week after the baby is born.”
“That makes sense,” I tell her. My heart feels like it just plummeted into the depths of my stomach. “They want to make sure you’re comfortable with your decision.”
Margie nods her head. “I get it. I just don’t want you to worry. I’m going to apply to Northwestern right away, along with my backup schools. I’ll give birth in July and by August I’m going to be moving somewhere else to go to school.”
I have so many questions. The biggest being, will her parents take her back and continue to help her with college if she puts thebaby up for adoption? Will Jordan and his family agree? And finally, how will my parents take the news?
Looking at the clock on the wall, I tell Margie, “Sunday dinner at my house starts at one. We should probably get up and have breakfast now so we’re hungry again by then. Let’s go down to Rosemary’s. I could use a muffin and hot chocolate.”
Fifteen minutes later, we’re dressed and standing at the bakery counter. Teddy is working again. “You sure are here a lot,” I tell him.
“I’m giving Faith as much of a break as I can before I leave for LA. We’re actually looking for part time help to help fill the schedule.”
“Looks like I might not have left at a good time after all,” I tell him, feeling mildly guilty.
“You did the best thing for you and that makes us all happy. Don’t worry,” he says, “we’ll find a high school student or something.”
Margie nudges my side, so I turn to see what she wants. “I’m a high school student,” she announces. “I could use a part-time job.”
“Are you sure you won’t be too tired?” I ask.
“It’s supposed to get a lot better in the second trimester. And if I’m going to go to college then I could use all the money I can get.”
