Page 52 of Wait for the Dream

“I’m doing great, how are you?” I reply trying to keep my tone casual, but I’m hoping this is the call we have been waiting for, the call that says Aiden can file the paperwork to adopt Rowan.

“I’m doing well. Thank you for asking. Hey, I wanted to touch base with you. I just received notice that the judge pushed through the termination paperwork that Mr. Johnson signed. I guess his family pulled some strings to make it go quicker. They were very eager to get this over with.” He says with a chuckle.

“That’s great,” I say, and I mean it. I am grateful that part of this is over, and eager to get to the next part. “What are our next steps?”

“Two things: one, I received your marriage license and am working on everything for your name change. I will need some signatures from you for all of that.” I give him a hum of acknowledgement to let him know I’m still listening, “And two, I am drawing up the adoption papers for Aiden to sign as we speak. Did you want me to call him and work out a time for him to sign, or do you guys want to come together?”

“It’s probably easier if we come together. Aiden is in Alpine right now getting the nursery set up for when we go back to school. Can we come on Monday to sign everything?” I say as Rowan starts to fuss in her bassinet by the bed. I walk to pick her up. I crawl on to the bed, settle her on my lap and lift my shirt so she can nurse.

“That’s perfect actually. I should have the papers done well before then, so you can drop by anytime on Monday to sign them.” He says. “Once you and Aiden have both signed them, I will have them filed with the courthouse.” I hear a rustling of papers on the other side on the phone. “Once they’re filed, it can take three to six months for it to go before a judge. With Mr. Johnson signing away his rights, you and Aiden being married, and no one contesting the adoption, I don’t foresee any issues arising once we are before the judge. Rowan should officially be a Baker before her first birthday.”

Tears well in my eyes as I hold my girl, “That’s amazing. Thank you so much for all your help. We appreciate it so much.”

“Of course. Well, I’ll let you go and enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll see you sometime Monday.” He says. I give him a quick goodbye before we both hang up the phone.

Before Rowan’s first birthday, Aiden will officially be her dad. I smile down at my girl who is nursing peacefully, and think about how lucky we are to have a man like Aiden loving us.

It’s the first week of school, and I’m already exhausted. Rowan is officially sleeping through the night, but with me working twelve hours a day three days a week, and taking care of my infant daughter, it’s been an adjustment. Aiden has been a big help, which I knew he would be, but the adjustment from having a million hands around all the time to it just being us most of the time was a lot.

Aiden has a full day of classes, so he will be gone most of the day. Maggy and Chloe came by earlier and took Rowan with them so I could get some me time. I took a much needed nap, and am now getting cleaning done.

I have just finished putting the last bottle in the sanitizer, when Maggy comes barging into the apartment with Chloe, who is pushing the stroller, hot on her heels.

Maggy’s face is bright red with anger as she says, “Dallas is a fucking idiot.” I’m not sure what I expected to come out of her mouth, but it sure as fuck wasn’t that. Maggy is one of the most level headed and forgiving people I’ve ever known, so for her to be this angry about something, he had to have done something really bad.

“What happened?” I approach her like I would an injured animal. Calmly and gently. I glance over at Chloe to get a read on her face. It almost looks like she is trying to hide a smile, but that can’t be right. Maggy is pissed as fuck, why would Chloe find that funny?

“You remember how he told his ex that he had a girlfriend?” Maggy says, giving me a pointed look. It looks like she is trying to talk to me with her eyes, but I’m not understanding.

“Oh he has a girlfriend alright,” Chloe chuckles.

“Who is his girlfriend?” I ask, and I feel dumb. Like I should be understanding exactly what is happening right now, but I just don’t. Mom brain is fucking real, and so much worse than pregnancy brain.

Just as what Dallas did dawns on me, Maggy says, “It’s me. We ran into them at Sugarplum Cafe, she was all over him, he walked right up to me and kissed me.” Well, fuck. This is going to be an interesting semester.

Epilogue-Aiden

5 months later

The happiest day of my life is the day I married my best friend. Today is going to be the second happiest day. Today I get to stand before a judge and be told that Rowan is officially my daughter. She is seven months old today, and today is the day she becomes a Baker.

We got the call a couple days before Christmas saying that we finally had a court date to make it official on paper that she’s mine. In my heart, she has been mine since the moment Bailey’s test came back positive, but today it will be official in a court of law.

Rowan has grown so much over the last five months. She has hit all of the milestones the doctors want her to, and if you didn’t know she had been five and a half weeks early, you wouldn’t be able to tell. She’s a chunky little girl now, who loves solid food as much as she loves her milk. Bailey still nurses and pumps extra milk. Bailey has what others in her mom’s group calls an oversupply of milk. She pumps so much that she has even started donating some to a local single mom that isn’t producing in the way that she wants to, but can’t afford formula. Bailey really is my hero.

All of our friends and family have come out to hear that judge tell me that I have a daughter, and we are having a party to celebrate after. Bailey, Rowan and I are standing at the front of the courtroom. The judge, a middle-aged man with dark rimmed glasses and a receding hairline, looks at me with a stern face, “Do you promise to love and protect Rowan with everything you are, no matter the status of your relationship with her mother?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” I say, my heart is pounding so hard in my chest, I’m fairly certain it’s about to fly right out.

“Do you understand that, with this adoption, no matter the status of your relationship with her mother, you are responsible for the well-being of Rowan?”

I asked Momma a couple weeks ago what to expect today. I have been preparing myself for this question since she told me it would be asked.

“There is absolutely zero doubt in my mind that Bailey and I are a forever kind of love. I spent the better part of the last eighteen years dreaming about the girl beside me, and I will spend the rest of this life and the next loving her. But if for some reason the love Bailey and I have for each other changes, and things don’t work out, Rowan is mine. She has had my heart since the moment those two little lines popped up on the screen, and she will be mine for all the days of my life. I take care of my family, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Rowan is my family.” I say the words with as much conviction as I can muster, because Rowan and Bailey are mine, and absolutely nothing could change that.

I chance a peek at the girl to my left, Bailey, the love of my life, my Blue, and the love shining in her eyes as she looks back at me fills my chest with warmth.

The judges voice breaks our contact, “I hereby grant the adoption of Rowan Elizabeth Michaels to Aiden Matthew Baker.” He bangs the gavel, and my Little Bear is officially mine. Cheers erupt from behind me, and our family, both blood and chosen come rushing toward us, offering their congratulations. I lift Rowan in the air and toss her slightly, getting the sweetest giggle out of her. I kiss her chubby cheek, and I swear I’ve never been happier in my entire life.