Abel Ladd - The Crying Child | Day 2 : 698 words

Esme woke and looked to the bedside for Abel. She saw him lying in the warmer stand next to her and sighed in relief. The entire prior night had been such a blur. She turned to the other side of her bed and saw Neal asleep in the chair. His head was back, mouth agape, and he looked to be uncomfortable.
“Neal, wake up.” she said gently but received not even a twitch of movement in response. “Neal.” she repeated louder. She glanced at Abel to make sure he didn’t wake.
Her mind a mess of hormones, emotions, and uncertainty she began to remember her dreams from the night and shuddered from their intensity. “It must of have been the birth process that caused them.” she thought.
Neal’s head lolled to the side and he jerked awake at the movement. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked to Esme. “Oh good, you’re awake. You were pretty out of it during the delivery. You didn’t even know I was there. That was pretty screwed up how the doctors just took him.” he blurted as he stretched.
“Neal, what did they mean by inconclusive and unknown species? Why did he cry? What does this mean?” Esme implored.
“Just relax. They said the machine needs to be calibrated. Let’s worry about that when we come back for the checkup. Look at him, he looks fine.” Neal said. His hand moved to hold hers and they sat staring at their new ward.
An aide stepped towards them holding their infant kit. The standard issue kit for newborns contained as per the law, a month’s worth of diapers, the Manual, vouchers for formula, and miscellaneous newborn accoutrements.
“Mrs. Ladd, this is your kit to take home with you. The manual contains everything you need to know about your little one. If you follow the guide you will find them accustomed to life in no time and then you can start on the path.” the aide said as she handed the manual to Esme.
Esme looked at Neal then at Abel. “Alright, thank you. Am I able to contact you if I have questions?” she said turning her gaze to the aide.
“We have a hotline you can contact if you have any problems. The first 48 hours are the most important, after that the child will generally be out of any dangers. Just remember to follow your manual and everything should progress normally.” the aide replied.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t do that thing again. I’m not sure I want to know why it happened but we need to. We’ll be back for our appointment and I guess we’ll find out then.” Neal said as he gathered all of their belongings up.
Soon they were being guided towards the entrance to the delivery center and to a waiting transport outside. Carefully Neal helped Esme who held Abel tightly into the back seat then piled their bags in the front. He climbed into the back seat next to them and soon they were speeding across the city for home, Abel sleeping in Esme’s ebrace.
The elevator ride up to their floor was uneventful but the moment the doors opened Abel started to draw in a breath. Neal had keyed in on the act and he bolted from the elevator to their apartment door. The keys pulled from his pocket as he ran and his fingers deftly pulled the correct one from the mass. He flung his arm towards the door knob and missed the lock. A second thrust of his hand and the key hit its mark.
“I’ve got it, get in here!” Neal shouted to Esme.
She ran down the hall and turned the corner into their apartment just as Abel began a scream. Neal shut the door behind her and they stood in the entrance, Esme holding a screaming Abel, Neal still holding their bags and the casket. They looked in each other’s eyes and the sudden acknowledgment of their situation hit them both like a truck. Neal dropped their bags and grabbed Esme and Abel and pulled them both in for a hug.
“We’re home.” Neal said into Esme’s shoulder.