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“I finally understand wedding registries,” I said to Mia. “What the hell am I supposed to get Doc? I’m flying blind here.”
“Why don’t you buy her some ridiculous kitchen contraption she’ll never use, but every time she sees it, she’ll be plagued with intense guilt?”
“What ridiculous kitchen contraption do you never use?” I inquired.
“Take your pick,” she said with a grin.
We were at a department store, currently in the kitchen section, and I was severely overwhelmed by all the beautiful things. I wanted to be able to shop without looking at price tags. One day.
One day…
“If you were getting married, what would you want?” Mia asked.
“Matching glasses that aren’t chipped. The ones that come from a real store in a real box,” I said automatically.
“Boom. That’s what you should get Doc. Although, might I suggest a nice set of cocktail glasses?”
“Done.”
Twenty minutes later, we were headed out of the store. Scarlett was strapped to Mia’s chest and she was blissfully content in her carrier.
“Thanks for suggesting the outing,” Mia said. “I’ve been going a little bit stir crazy. Scarlett hasn’t been sleeping much at night, so my sleep is super erratic. I nap in the middle of the day and I’m up late at night with her.”
She stole a hand down her daughter’s back and leaned her head down to brush her cheek against Scarlett’s head.
“She’s so cute though,” I said. “And I swear she’s bigger every time I see her.”
“That’s not all in your head.”
“You have to get back, or do you have a few minutes?” I asked her, loading my purchase into the trunk.
“I’m good for a bit.”
“There’s a park not far from here. We could go for a short walk?”
“Perfect.”
The sun was shining and thankfully the humidity wasn’t completely out of control. It was still before the heat of the day, though, so we only had about an hour before all that changed.
“I have to admit, I sort of had an ulterior motive in asking you to shop with me,” I said to her.
“Oh?” Mia nestled Scarlett into her stroller and put up the sunshade. Scarlett didn’t even make a squawk.
I took a deep breath. “I want to start the process of legally adopting Waverly. But in order to do that, I need an attorney.”
“The club has a great attorney,” she said.
“Yeah. I know.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I was hoping I’d be able to…I mean…I want to keep this private. I don’t even want Waverly to know until I have something to tell her.”
“Why wouldn’t you tell her before you begin the process?”
“Because in order to legally adopt her, my mother has to sign her parental rights away. And I just…she doesn’t need to deal with that shit right now. I’ve been mulling this idea over since she got suspended—the second time, I mean. We can’t go on like this. Right now, I’m kind of terrified that the school is going to find out that Angel bailed on us and they’ll call CPS. They’ll take her away. She’s way too old to be put in foster care, and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of her financially. But you know how it is…”
“Yeah, I do know how it is,” she said quietly. Suddenly she smiled. “I’ll call Vance and ask him to give you a buzz.”
“Thanks, Mia. I really appreciate it.”
We walked a few loops around the pond, discussing Doc and Boxer’s upcoming wedding, the website I was redesigning for her, and how Waverly was feeling about life and everything that had been thrown at her.
