Oops, Were Dads' • Phan

An Unexpected Arrival

It wasn't until I had reached the end of Halsey Street that I realized Phil had stopped walking beside me. Confused, I turned around to look for him when I saw his silhouette in the distance, standing utterly still facing what appeared to be a dark alleyway wedged between two stone buildings. A bit hesitantly, I made my way over to him with trepid steps. When I caught up to him, Phil was staring intently into the pitch black passage, a look of consideration plastered on his face.

"Phil...?" I tried, but he only blinked.

After a few moments of silence, Phil spoke. "Did you hear something?"

My brow furrowed. "Erm, no... Did you?"

Phil nodded slightly. "It sounded like a..." His voice trailed off. Then, without warning, he trudged into the darkness and before I knew it he was gone.

"Ph-Phil! You idiot, get back here!" I called but when there was no response, I figured I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I followed my friend into the alleyway.

Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I found that Phil hadn't gone far at all. In fact, the alleyway was a lot smaller and shorter than it originally seemed and all that was there was some broken beer bottles and a large green garbage shed. Phil was standing in front of said garbage shed, eyeing the hunk of metal up and down and analyzing it closely. I went to stand next to him, watching it with him as if waiting for it to move.

After a moment's pause I said "O...kay? Are you sure you're taking your medication Phil? Do I need to call 999?"

Phil simply shook his head. "I swear I heard something... like a strangled cry."

"Probably just a cat, mate." I replied, still skeptical.

Phil continued staring at the garbage shed with a look of concern twisted in his features. Then, Phil made his way up to the bin and began to lift the heavy lid up; this proving to be rather difficult considering how out of shape he was, though I can't exactly complain myself. I watched as Phil was finally able to lift it above his head and peer inside, studying his expression closely. At first, nothing contorted in his face as to indicate anything was wrong. But then Phil's eyes went comically wide and he took a sharp intake of breath.

"Dan." Phil practically choked. "It's... Holy shit."

Phil having been never the type of guy to swear, you could imagine my concern. "What? Phil, what is it?"

Phil swallowed, still not looking at Dan but at whatever was inside. "A baby."

I couldn't help but scoff at that. "A what? You've got to be joking right?"

But Phil didn't say anything, he continued to look into the shed with that same shocked look.

"Seriously, Phil," I started, making my way next to Phil and taking a look inside myself. "Quit yanking my fucking-"

The words got lost somewhere in my throat as my eyes met with a tiny pink bundle placed amongst the litter of newspapers and take-out bags. A tiny pink moving bundle, might I add. It took some time to figure out exactly what I was seeing, but once I did there was no mistaking it. Phil was right, that was a freaking baby.

The baby was wrapped in a pale pink, thin blanket. Its chubby red and slightly blue tear stained cheeks peeking out from beneath it, with honey blonde curls that sat atop its head like a bush full of kalanchoes. The poor thing was making little desperate noises as it squirmed in the pile of garbage.

"Holy shit that's a baby." I breathed.

Phil, making an unpredictable move for the third time that day, lifted his leg over the garbage and heaved himself into the metal box.