There’s suspicion on the caseworker’s face and it’s clear that she still doesn’t believe us. “How long have the two of you been together?”
“A year,” we say in unison. I turn to Amelia, absolutely taken by her beauty even as pride swells in my chest. And when she starts to speak, I find myself falling deeper for her.
“Well, almost a year. We were neighbors first and when we started dating, we decided to keep our own places until the wedding. He wanted us to move in together, but I’m a little old-fashioned, you see,” she says sheepishly. “I wanted to wait until after the wedding but…but, I’ve been thinking about moving in to help with Wren.”
She’s saying all the right words, without even realizing it.
I continue, “Yes, I didn’t want to pressure my fiancée into moving in and helping with a baby she had no part in creating, and I was touched when she accepted Wren as a part of me.”
“How could I not?” Amelia says, speaking with so much conviction as she leans in to peek at the little face nestled in my arms. “Who could resist such a beautiful little bird?”
The caseworker studies us for a long moment, and I can tell that she’s starting to believe. There’s still some doubt on herface, but it’s mostly because I didn’t bring up the fiancée bit until I was faced with the threat of having my baby taken away.
“Alright then,” she says, taking out her notepad. “Miss Belton, I’ll need to note down your details. You don’t have a criminal record, do you? Please know that we’re required to conduct a background check on adults who interact with the child in the household.”
Amelia stiffens against me for a second before she quickly recovers. “Um, no. I’ve never been arrested.”
“And what is it you do?”
“I’m a professional violinist,” she says shyly, raising her violin for the caseworker to see. “I play with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra.”
For the first time since walking into my apartment, I watch a smile play on the caseworker’s face. “I was at the show last night. You were one of the performers?”
“Oh, yeah. Did you enjoy the show?”
Oh, is that why she was late last night? There was no explaining the blinding jealousy I felt when I imagined Amelia staying out late with another man. On a date.
“The show was lovely. Worth every dime.”
The talk shifts to music, and I sense the caseworker loosening up a bit, smiling widely even as she declines Amelia’s offer of complimentary tickets for their upcoming show. I can tell it takes everything in her to turn down the offer, but she mentions it would be a conflict of interest. Even so, she seems to be in a great mood when we walk her out and I have no doubt she’s going to write a positive report.
Amelia lets out a huge sigh when the door closes behind the caseworker, sliding down the door and dropping to a crouch.
“That was a crime, right?” she murmurs, bringing a trembling hand to her mouth. “Oh, God, what happens when she finds out—”
“You saved me,” I say, bending down so we’re on eye level. “Again.”
She drops her hand from her mouth and lifts those beautiful chocolate-brown eyes to mine. “Why?”
“I’ll tell you about it over breakfast,” I say, taking her hand and helping her to her feet. “I ought to feed you for what you just did for Wren and me. You deserve something grand and expensive, but for now, I only have eggs and toast.”
A small smile dances at the corner of her mouth as she lets me pull her toward the kitchen. “Eggs and toast sounds perfect,” she says, gasping when we walk into the mess in the kitchen. “I’ll hold Wren while you um…make breakfast and tell me why I had to lie to your caseworker.”
“Fair deal.”
She takes Wren and rocks her slowly in her arms as I start with the dishes in the sink, all the while telling her everything that happened before she walked in. She listens, humming along until I’m done.
“She’s wrong, you know,” she says after a long silence. “About kids being raised in single-parent households. I imagine it can be overwhelming, but babies need to stay where they’re loved. I was raised by my grandfather.”
“What happened to your parents, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I lost my mother to cancer when I was four. My father was never in the picture, so I was taken in by my grandparents.” She walks to the living room and gently lays a now sleeping Wrenin the bassinet before coming back to the kitchen. “Perhaps it was heartbreak from losing her only child, but my grandmother passed a year later, leaving my grandfather to raise me. And he did a hell of a job.”
Staring at Amelia now, I’m inclined to believe that.
“He did,” I say, wiping my wet hands on the kitchen towel before approaching her. There’s something sad in her eyes that calls for me to erase it. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that, baby.” She visibly shudders when I run a finger over her cheek. “You’re so strong and beautiful. So fucking perfect.”
She flushes. “No one’s perfect—”
