Naming Week Project

Chapter 2

"Oh my! Please come in, come in. I'm Andrew's mother, Beth. We are so thrilled that you're here and that you thought of Andrew and Nolan. Thank you so much!" The woman seemed to understand and appreciate the genuine joy beaming from Leda's mother. It only made her smile grow, defining even more lines around her mouth. But they didn't make her look old like Leda would have guessed. The lines added a type of beauty that, Leda assumed, could only come from years of laughter and smiles.

"Hello, my name is Dorothy, and it is my pleasure." She turned to face Andrew and Nolan. "It is wonderful to see you both again. I'm so happy this worked out the way it did. And how is Hannah doing? She must be getting quite big! The last time you brought her to visit us at the orphanage she must have been about 18 months?" Leda was pleased to hear that, even with a new baby brother on the way, Hannah was still rich in attention.

"She's right over in the living room," Nolan nodded towards his sleeping daughter. "She's making up for a lost nap earlier. She's doing great, though. Growing like a weed. We will be sure to visit again soon, especially now that we'll have two beautiful children to show off."

"Everybody will be so glad to hear that. We do love seeing the children as they grow up." Dorothy clasped her hands together, which seemed to be a reminder to get back to her main reason for visiting. "Well then, the baby is in the car, asleep like his big sister, so why don't we give him a few more minutes while we unpack his things. It's amazing how one little person can require so much 'stuff', isn't it?" All the adults laughed as if they were a part of an inside joke. Leda understood, but didn't find it as funny as everybody else. Still, she smiled politely.

Leda's mom and dad finished up clearing the table while the guys went out to transfer a small bag of baby clothes, a bassinet, and a handful of toys from the orphanage's van to their car. Leda held the door open, standing in the threshold watching as her brother and brother-in-law signed some papers on the hood of their car, Dorothy by their side. But the cold air was beginning to bite and Leda's face as the anticipation bit at her nerves. She couldn't take the suspense any longer. She left her station at the door and walked over towards the van.

It was dusk. That time of the night when the sun and the shadows seemed to fight to have control over the sky. One moment it felt like everything was visible, and the next darkness covered the world. Leda had always found dusk the most mysterious time of day. Surely night was coming, but in that moment, the world hung between light and dark, and left an eerily magical impression on the earth. Leda could never decide if she was more afraid of or in love with dusk. It's potential to linger on forever was daunting but the reality that it only lasted a few brief minutes made it precious.

She reached the van and saw that paperwork was still being signed. She did her best to silently open one of the back doors as not to wake the baby or let the others in on her presence. The door cracked open and the interior light quickly came on. She froze for an instant and then continued to open the door just enough to slide through and crawl across the middle bench. Once inside, she carefully shut the door, making no more noise as she had opening it, and the light disappeared. She took a deep breath, which felt unnatural due to the quick contrast between the sharp frozen fresh air outside and the dry static air of the van's heating system. She shuffled over to the other edge of the bench where the car seat was securely strapped in. She extended her arm, gently folding down the hood to see her nephew when she felt her heart leap out of her chest. Where she expected to see a child was an empty car seat.

"You're not supposed to wake a sleeping baby, you know?" A voice emerged calmly from some mysterious location in the dark van.

Leda's body stiffened, and she let out a small but harsh gasp. There was nobody in the front seats and when she had peered in the tinted window she hadn't seen anybody sitting in the back either. She whipped her head around in confusion, looking for the source of the voice.