Naming Week Project

Chapter 2

"Down here," as if he knew she was searching him out. Leda leaned over the middle bench and found what she had been searching for, or who for that matter. On the back bench lay a young man, around Leda's age, with one leg hanging off the bench and the other outstretched, his foot making contact with the side window. His head was flat on the seat, and his arms were settled on his chest where he held a small bundle of blue cloth in the most caring, most casual way.

"He started crying when they came to transfer his things to the car." The voice explained, though Leda still had yet to say anything aloud. "He doesn't cry much, but he hates when you wake him up."

She wasn't sure what to say. Her heart was just beginning to slow down to its normal rate. "Good to know?" was all she could come up with at the moment.

"Yes, it is. He also likes it when you sing him to sleep. He just crashes." The figure was starting to sit up, keeping the baby securely against his body. As he rose, Leda could begin to see some of his features. He had dark blond hair that was just long enough to show off a natural wave but not long enough to look messy. His eyebrows were a shade or two darker than his hair, and he had a scar that intersected the right one. It must have faded over time but was still something that popped out at Leda. It was too dark for her to make out his eye color, but she had noticed the slightest crookedness to his nose and the fullness of his lips. His square jaw line was peppered with the faintest of stubble that reflected the small amount of sunlight still left in the evening sky. He was definitely around her age, and even though he was semi-masked by the darkness Leda could see an impressive handsomeness about him. She glanced at his hands holding her baby nephew.

"Can I hold him?" she asked. The question came out small and quiet, like a child asking to hold their new sibling for the first time.

"I don't usually hand over children to people who sneak into orphanage vans. Giving advice about babies is one thing, but giving actual babies? It seems likely to end poorly." At first Leda felt disappointed in his response, but then she realized that there was a hint of humor in his tone. She was gullible and didn't always pick up on sarcasm or dry humor. She felt a slight sliver of pride for catching it this time.

"Well I don't usually let strange men lay in the back of a van with my nephew." As she responded, she realized how odd it was that she so naturally chose sarcasm as her weapon, or toy, of choice but she was so terrible at recognizing it in others.

"Fair enough. So are you Andrew or Nolan's sister?" She was surprised to hear the familiarity with which this stranger used her brother's name. Before she had the chance to answer, the car's interior light shone once again and Andrew was staring at her with a clear look of confusion across his face.

"Leda? What the he- ?" He stopped himself before swearing in front of his infant child and an elderly woman.

"Andrew's then." The stranger laughed, answering his own question, no doubt based on the obvious big brother tone in Andrew's voice. Leda turned from her brother to the back seat to respond but was unable to verbalize anything once she set her eyes on the boy. Or was he a man? Even at twenty Leda couldn't decide if she was a girl or a woman, let alone decide what everybody else should be called.

She had been right. He was handsome. Very. But not in the generic everybody's type handsome. There was something unique about him, something that Leda felt she could see and appreciate while nobody else could. Of course she couldn't know that. She had only met him a few moments ago, if you could call it meeting. She definitely hadn't had the time to discuss his looks with anybody else.

"I guess it's safe now." He began once Leda had turned back to him. "Meet your Aunt Leda, little guy." He leaned forward gently rolling the baby from his chest into Leda's open arms. The baby, eyes wide open, stared up at Leda with a curiosity that seemed too big to fit in such a small body. They looked at each other for a quick moment before Leda realized Andrew was still glaring at her in a way that only older siblings can do.

"Oh yeah, you should probably meet your dads before your meet me. I'm already Hannah's favorite. I don't want to monopolize." She cautiously scooted to the edge of the van's bench, handed the baby over the Andrew and hopped out. She glanced back into the car, towards the back bench to get one last glimpse of the boy, but he wasn't there. The car's engine roared to life, startling her. Dorothy was still standing right in front of her. Before Leda's confusion sunk in too deep, she figured it out and turned to see him in the driver's seat. He gave her a quick wave and a small smile. She replied with a smile of her own but felt embarrassed when she realized it was more of a "Say cheese!" smile than the flirtatious one she was hoping for. She felt blood rush to her cheeks and was grateful when she heard Dorothy speak. She whipped around as soon as she heard her voice.

"It was so lovely seeing you both again and meeting your family." She looked towards Leda with warmth in her eyes. "We'll get out of your hair now. You should enjoy some time as a family, and we all have somewhere to be tonight!" She moved towards the other side of the van and climbed in the passenger side. "Stay in touch, boys!" With that, her door snapped shut, and the van was leaving their driveway for the street once more.

***

Back in the house, everybody was busy falling in love with the latest addition to the Hasting family. Even Hannah, who had been woken up by all the activity, had fought through her grumpiness and was enjoying her new baby brother. And as much as Leda enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of this familial bliss, there was another new face she couldn't get out of her head. The Unit was not large by any standards; during the summer Leda frequently walked the outskirts of her home, along the coast, up into the foothills that led to the snowcapped mountains in the distance, and throughout the streets downtown. She tried to remember all the faces she passed on those walks, in the hallways at school, or in the town stores, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember ever seeing his face before that night. How could that be? She knew everyone in The Unit, just like everybody else.