It was Friday morning. As always I wanted to go back to sleep but I couldn't. Today I had to adopt a child. I didn't know if I was even ready for a child, but my mother technically ordered me to. Because of me being her only child, she expected so much from me. She wanted grand kids but I couldn't give that to her because I was single. I'm only twenty and she wants me to have a kid already. She's just desperate I guess. I couldn't disappoint my mother so of course I said it was alright.
I sighed and got out of bed. As usual, I was going to be late. I had a bit of a long night last night. I was at a party and got a tad drunk. My head was pounding by the way. I went into my bathroom and started to take a shower. Washing my jet black hair and my entire body. I switched off the shower tab and exited the shower. I rubbed a towel through my wet hair and wrapped it around my waist. I went back into my room and started to get dressed.
With me wearing a black flannel and chinos, I started to get out my shoes. I put on my black converse and added my glasses with my outfit. I quickly grabbed my phone and car keys and left my house. I was extremely late for my appointment for the adoption.
Passing corner by corner, streetlight by streetlight, I finally had made it to the orphanage. I parked my car up front and turned off the ignition. I escaped the vehicle and went up the five steps that lead to the entrance of the orphanage. I opened the door and went to the front desk. No one had seemed to be there. The walls of the building looked like they were covered in mold. The front desk looked like it would collapse if there was any extra pressure added onto it. The floor's wood looked as if it was infested with termites. Due to the missing pieces. I noticed an old bell and tapped it, hoping to see someone. Suddenly, a girl in a tan sweater turtle neck and skinny jeans appeared in the back doorway.
"Oh. You're here! We're all ready for you. The children are all playing in the room. Follow me." She stepped to the side of the door frame and encouraged me to walk passed her into the next room. I shyly walked inside to see about fifteen kids playing with toys, watching an old TV set, reading books or just playing paddy cake. I smiled at the sight of how happy they all were.
"Go ahead. Talk to them. They won't bite. I promise." The girl reassured me. I nodded to her and walked further inside. They were all so tiny compared to my tall appearance. I decided to sit down with some of the little boys that were playing with trucks and action figures.
"Hi. I'm Zayn." I said. They all waved to me and continued playing. "I see you boys like to play with trucks huh?"
"Ya. Day fun." A little boy replied.
"I can see that. What's your name?" I asked him.
"Max."
"Nice to meet you Max. I'm Zayn." I added and we shook hands. I looked behind me and saw a little girl alone in the corner. She was just starring at everyone. Almost scared or sad.
"I'm gonna go over there ok Max?" I asked the little boy that continued to play with a truck and action figure.
"Otay." I stood up and went over to the little girl.
"Hi." I said to the little girl as I crouched down in front of her. She didn't respond. "I'm Zayn." I said while holding my hand out. She didn't except the hand shake. Then I heard small footsteps. Running. I looked to my side to see a little boy running towards us. They looked to be siblings.
"No. Don't take her." He said standing in front of the small girl courageously.
"I was only saying hi." I replied to the protective little boy.
"I don't care. Don't take my thither." I looked at the both of them and they seemed to be twins. My bottom lip dropped. He knew what people did here. Both probably knew.
"It'th otay Willy. If he wantth to take me then I'll go." The little girl added to the situation.
"No. I promithed we'd be together ferever."
"What are your names?" I asked them.
"I'm William." He said with a pouted lip and eye brows furrowed together.
"I'm Jordan." The little girl added.
"Would the both of you like to come home with me and meet my mummy?" The boy's expression softened. He looked at his sister and she smiled. She nodded and stood up. "Ok. You two stay here for a moment. I'll go and have a talk with that lady ok?"
"Otay." They said in unison. I stood up and walked over to the young woman who was watching the children.
"I'm ready." I told her. She lead me to a separate room where I could sign papers for the kids to legally be mine.
"Alright. Who are you going to adopt?" She asked.
"William and Jordan. They just seem so perfect. Especially together." She looked extremely happy. Immediately she got out the papers and handed me a pen.
"No one's ever wanted the twins. They've been here ever since they were new borns. It'll be good for them to finally have a home. I'll start packing their things so you can be ready to take them." She explained. I finished signing the papers and now the two siblings were my own adopted children. We left the room and I went back into the room where the two were. They looked at me and smiled. I returned their smile and went up to them.
"Guess what?" I said to them.
"What?!" They said in unison.
"You two are coming home with me." I replied. They smiled and hugged each other. They turned to me and hugged me. I stood back up and held onto their hands. We went to the front desk and waited for the girl.
"Here you are. Their suitcases and their car seats are right there against the wall. By the way they are two but they know a lot." The lady told me.
"Oh ok. Could you help me get the car seats in the car then?" I asked.
"Of course." We both got a car seat and a suitcase and descended down the few steps and went to my car. I unlocked it and we set the car seats in the back. We made sure they were secure and indeed they were. I grabbed the two suitcases and put them in the boot. I went back to the two children sitting on the steps waiting for me and took their hands into mine.
"Goodbye Willy! Goodbye Jordy!" The orphanage owner called out.
"Bye Jamie." They yelled back in unison. I picked up Jordan and set her in her seat. I buckled her in and then took William to the other side of the car and buckled him into his seat. I closed the door to the backseat and went to the driver's seat. I closed the door and buckled myself with the belt. I started up the engine and started to drive away after waving to the nice woman who was still at the entrance of the orphanage.
"Are you two ready to meet your nan?" I asked them.
"Yeah! We'f never had a nan before." William announced.
"Well you two will love her. She adores children. I'm sure she'll instantly love you two." I told them. Then I started to hear a small humming. When we got to a red light I looked behind me to see Jordan kicking one foot in the air after the other while she looked outside of the window and hummed. I smiled at the small black haired girl. Honestly the two of them looked like they could've been my own biological children. They both had tanned skin and black hair with hazel eyes. They also had long black eye lashes like mine. Honestly I wonder how the boys will like the kids. I decided to put on some music. Hopefully they'd like it. I turned on the radio and apparently one of our songs were on. Live While We're Young.
"Zay. Can you make it louder?" William asked. I started to smile.
"Sure thing buddy. You know you guys can call me daddy. Only if you want to." I replied.
"Daddy. What doeth get thumb mean?" Jordan asked. My eyes went wide. How was I going to explain what 'get some' meant to a two year old girl?
"It means get some toys Jordan. Yeah that's what it means." I replied nervously.
"Oh otay." She responded. I sighed in relief.
After driving for awhile, I-we made it to my parent's house. I parked in the parking lot and turned off the car and looked in the backseat. Both twins were asleep. I texted my mum and told her that I needed some help. Immediately she ran out the door and came to the car. I was already taking out Jordan when she had shown up behind me.
"Hi mum. Can you carry Jordan while I get William?" I asked her.
"There's another?!" She whispered while she picked up Jordan from my arms.
"Yeah. They're twins and they didn't want to leave each other." I went around the car and took William out of his car seat. I picked him up and his cheek laid on my shoulder. My mother and I walked into the house where we instantly told the family guests to be quiet.
I had no idea my mum would have this many people just to see the twins. We carried the two into the living room and laid them down in the love seat next to each other. I analyzed the room and realised that there were gifts almost everywhere. Even a few really big ones.
"I'll open those when they wake up. They've been in that orphanage all of their two year old lives." I explained. My mother nodded.
"They look so much like you Zayn." My cousin told me.
"I know. Aren't they beautiful?" I asked her jokingly. She half heartedly hit my arm. My cousin and I are like best friends. We tell each other everything. Sometimes while we were in school, she'd stop me from fighting the kids that would get on my nerves. She saved me from getting sent home a lot.
"Daddy?" I heard from one of the twins. I looked at the love seat to see William and Jordan waking up. Jordan was rubbing her weary eyes and William was yawning. As soon as Jordan opened her eyes and saw everyone, she sunk down into her shell and moved closer to William. I went over to them and crouched down in front of the two siblings.
"It's ok. They're my family. They're also your family." I reassured them. Jordan held her arms out to me so I picked her up. I rested her at my hip while she clung onto me. She was hiding her face into my neck.
"Jordan. This is my mummy. Your grandmother. Say hi." I told her. My mother was smiling at Jordan, but she still looked a little shy.
"Hi." She said softly.
"Hello love. You're so adorable. You look like your daddy actually." My mother replied.
"Weally?" Jordan asked moving her head away from my neck a little.
"Yes you do. Just like him." Then Jordan started to smile.
"Come here William." I said while looking behind me, but he wasn't there. I started to look around and saw him with my cousin. He was showing off his arms to her. I laughed a little and turned my attention back to the conversation that Jordan and my mother were having.
Later I put Jordan on the ground so she could play with William. But out of all the toys that they now possessed, she picked crayons and a sketch pad. She sat down at the coffee table and started to draw. I could hear her softly humming. I sat in between the two siblings and looked over Jordan's shoulder and saw her drawing a flower. The petals were purple, the stem was green and so was the grass. She was able to colour the background completely blue with a small yellow sun. I smiled as she held it up and turned it to the side while closing one eye. I turned my attention over to William and he was playing with small blocks. Building them all up to form a small pyramid.
"Hey guys. I think it's time for us to go home." I told the two year olds.
"Otay." They said. They both got up and hugged my mother and father. The two also hugged some other relatives. While they were giving their goodbye hugs to everyone, is tarted to put all of their new belongings in a few bags.
"Bye mum. Bye dad." I said to them. "Come on you two." I said to the twins. They held onto my pinkie fingers and we walked out to the car.
*****
After the short drive to the house, the twins were silent but awake. I took them out of their car seats and we walked up to the front door. I opened up the door and turned the light on. The twins eyes lit up when they saw their surroundings. They started to roam around a bit. The two looked absolutely adorable. Being as tiny as they are. William found his way into the kitchen, while Jordan was in the living room. I saw her climb up onto the couch and she was somehow able to turn on the TV. I looked over towards the kitchen and saw William opening the bottom cabinets. He sat down on the floor and started to pull out small cans. Then he started to yawn. I was reminded that the two had to sleep.
When I was at my mother's, she told me that I had to have a schedule. I had to wake the kids at a certain time. Feed them at a certain time. Bathe them at a certain time. And put them to sleep at a certain time. I figured I'd get it all figured out in the next days to come.
"Come here you two. It's time for bed." I called out. I heard them both groan. Jordan turned the TV off and came over to me. William started to put some of the cans back and came over to Jordan and I. I picked the two up and carried them in my arms. One child on either one of my hips. I walked up the stairs and went into one of my guest bedrooms. Soon I was going to be redoing some of the rooms so that the kids would like them. I sat the two down on the bed and began to rid them of their shoes. I also tickled their feet a little. Making them laugh and squirm.
"Tomorrow, we are going to go to the store and by you both a bunch of new clothes." I said to them while smiling. "And a bunch of new toys. And new shoes. And you both get to have your own rooms. William's room will have a bunch of cars and dinosaurs. Jordan's will have flowers and butterflies." They both looked extremely excited. I stood up and pulled back the duvet that the two would be sleeping under. They crawled to the top of the bed and laid underneath the blanket.
"Daddy. I'm not tired." Jordan said.
"You will be though." I replied. Then I started to sing Little Things. Just so they'd fall asleep faster. William started to yawn as I kept singing. His eyes getting heavy. Soon the brown was completely covered by his eyelids. Jordan stared at me as I sang. Her tiny hand reached out to me and I put my finger in her palm. She started to look at my finger as she started to hum along with the chorus. I saw her eyes start to get heavy and she started to yawn. Soon she was asleep.