Page 1 of Santa Baby
Chapter One
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Talia
My mind keeps tripping back to the past three months. Things have changed so much from how they were back in the summer, or even before that. And then…everything changed. My world, the world I worked so hard for, is crashing down around me. I’m going to be all alone again. My eyes burn as I start to cry…AGAIN. That’s all I’ve been doing since I got home and opened the letter from the Department of Children’s Services.
A freakin’ letter. Not a phone call or a visit. They didn’t have a problem visiting me when they were looking at where I lived for the court case. No, someone was out here the next day poking and prodding and telling me all the ways I’ve come up short because I’m only nineteen and can’t take care of even myself.
I’m so mad! And sad, and scared, and…mad. I fling the paper as hard as I can, but it does about as much good as me trying to save my way of life because it just catches air and floats lazily to the floor close by. I grab the sofa cushion and bury my face in it so I can scream and not wake the baby.
The baby! The reason I wake up in the morning and keep going. The reason for the letter and the court date that’s looming over my head like the sharp, shiny blade of a guillotine. And I feel it weighing me down like I’m the one carrying the damned platform for my execution on my back. Everything is so heavy.
A knock on the door has me jumping like I’m guilty of something. I try to dash away the tears as I stand and smooth my hair down so no one can tell I’ve been sitting here pulling at it trying to find a way out of all of this. I hurriedly open the door before the next knock too afraid the sound will wake up little Noelle.
When I open the door, my sexy next-door neighbor is on the other side. She’s so pretty and always totally put together. She’s got all these beautiful clothes, and her hair is always perfect. And seeing her now just brings home how far from perfect I really am. Maybe everyone is right when they say I shouldn’t be allowed to raise Noelle. Maybe everything I thought really is wrong and love isn’t enough.
My nose stings and my eyes start to well up with more tears and I am certain I'm about to embarrass myself in front of this beautiful woman who probably just stopped by to tell me she has some of my mail or ask for a cup of fucking sugar.
“Hi…oh my God! Are you alright, sweetie?”
I nod but then lose it and start sobbing. To my surprise, this woman is as kind as she is pretty. She doesn’t even back away from me or go running back to her own apartment. Instead, she puts her arm around me, and we go back to my couch.
“What happened, honey? You look like someone kicked your dog?”
The woman’s accent is thick, so the word dog comes out sounding like dawg. Even her accent is pretty.
“I…I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t…leak on you.” She giggles and offers me another one-armed hug.
“Babe, I think that’s called crying. And don’t you worry, my momma always said what’s the use in being a woman if you can’t be soft enough to cry about the sad stuff and tough enough to let another woman lean on you when she needs to be soft to cry about the sad stuff?”
When I figure out what she meant, I’ve not only stopped crying but also mostly pulled myself together. She gives me a kind smile and pats my leg.
“Now, tell me what’s got you so down, hon?”
I start telling her…everything. About how I met Noelle’s mother when she came to be my roommate, how she got knocked up and I offered to help her because we both had nobody but ourselves. I tell her about the awful news I got one night telling me Lissanne will never be coming back to kiss her baby or to hold her or watch her grow up because a drunk driver crossed the line and took her away from little Noelle. That Lissanne wanted me to take care of the baby - we had already discussed what would happen if something terrible happened to her - and about how I’ve been close to the baby from the very beginning. I was there for her birth and have been loving her right from the start.
“Oh wow. I actually thought the baby was yours when I first moved in. I mean I’ve only ever seen you with her.”
“Her mom worked at night, and I work from home so…it was easier for me to take care of her than Lissanne. But now…. now I’m going to lose her!”
“Oh no!”
I hand her the letter with shaky hands. “They said I was too young to take care of a baby. That I’m not stable enough to keep her and keep her healthy and happy. That I don’t have a husband so I can’t support her the way a family could. They’re going to take her after Christmas right before the court date.”
I flop over and hide my face in the pillow again as I bawl my eyes out and the neighbor girl pats me and rubs my shoulder. “You love that baby girl so much. Anyone can see it if they just look.” I cry silently for I don’t know how long, as she sits and tries to offer me some comfort.
“Oh darlin’, it just kills me to think the two of you are going to lose one another.” I look over at her and open my mouth to thank her for at least caring but she keeps going. “Wait! All you have to do is get married, right? They don’t care to whom?”
I scrunch my face up and try to follow along. “But I don’t…have a boyfriend. I don’t know anyone. I moved here right out of college and only knew Lissanne. Once Noelle came, I…just never had the time or the energy to actually try to meet anyone.”
“But you could have one. You’re pretty enough to turn any man’s head, especially the ones that love the whole innocent act.”
“Act?”
Chapter Two
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