Wednesday, August 28, 2013

When The Baby Cries....




What Do You Do?

I hope you can find it in your Hearts, Dear Readers, to forgive Daphne for giving up her child, but I must warn you that the younger Lawyer, Raymond Du Lac, could not! Raymond and his Father, Gaston Du Lac, were the Lawyers for the deMontaigne Family and had been for generations. They were practically Family, and Raymond had grown up with Andre deMontaigne, almost, but not quite as brothers. Raymond was older by a couple of years, but Andre had always reminded him that his Family "Employed" the Du Lacs and clearly ranked higher in Society. Raymond had been raised from childhood with the expectation that he would be a Lawyer and serve the deMontaignes as his Father did. While he and Andre were not close, nonetheless, Raymond had been shocked to discover after Andre's death, that he had left a young woman pregnant. He was not at all surprised however, to learn that Andre's parents wished to adopt the child as their own. Raymond could understand their reasons for wishing this, but he was not at all sure it was the best answer. And he was deeply troubled at the idea of the mother giving up her child! Especially as she would always know who was raising her child... there was no anonymous family to take over. She would always be hovering in the distance ... watching her child be raised by others. He convinced himself that only an unnatural Mother would do such a thing... and that if this woman did give up the child, it was a sure sign that she did not deserve to be the child's Mother! So he was prepared to despise her when she contacted them and said she was willing to give up the child. He did not, afterward, know what he had expected her to look like... but he was not prepared for her to look so frail and weepy.

And neither he nor his Father were prepared for her to stare at them and the papers on the desk as though they were asking her to drink poison.... and then to jump up and run from the room.... leaving the child behind!

Raymond turned to his Father and said "She didn't sign the papers giving up her rights....!"
His Father sighed. "Do not worry.." he said... "We will just have to find a way to get a signature..."

"And if we can't...." he added 
"clearly a case can be made for abandonment of the child...."
At that moment the child began to cry!

Raymond and his Father both stopped and stared in shock! 
They were not prepared to care for the child! 
They had expected that the Mother would give them some warning...... 
and let them make arrangements.....
But she had called at three and arrived before five the same afternoon!
And fled without saying a word!


And now the child was crying! 
They looked down into the basket.... 
the little baby was wrapped in a blanket that was tied with a Pink bow...

Raymond looked down at the crying baby and felt a pulling at his heart...
'This was not right.... where was the Mother...? ' ran his foolish thoughts! 
But he knew the Mother was not coming back.
Something would have to be done...

"Isn't he supposed to be a boy...?" 
he asked as he picked up the crying baby.

"Madame seemed to expect so..." replied his Father..... 
"She will not be pleased."
"When will Madame get here...?" 
asked Raymond as he tried to decide the best way to hold the crying baby.

His Father cleared his throat and replied... "That is the other complication... They have taken their young colt to the races in America. Saratoga, I believe. The soonest they can come back will be the day after tomorrow..."
Raymond just stared at him in shock.... the realization slowly forming that they were in charge of the care of the baby for two whole days before the new "parents" came to get him... er... her!

Raymond had No experience of babies whatsoever... 
and he was sure his Father had forgotten whatever he had learned during his own infancy....
His anger at the Mother for abandoning the child without a backward look grew even stronger.
"What are we supposed to do..?" he asked his Father, 
knowing even as he asked what the answer would be.
"I am sure you will figure out how best to take care of the child, my son" he replied with conviction...
"You have always been very resourceful in a pinch..."!

Raymond held the crying child in front of him and looked into the little puckered face.... 
and then something happened that he could never explain afterwards...
The child stopped crying and looked back at him... 
little blue eyes blinked at him..... 
the little mouth formed a perfect "o"
And he suddenly knew that he would give his life to protect her...!
"Okay, Little Sunshine," he said softly 
"It looks like it's just you and me against the whole world..."
"Think we can make it..?"

And he held her close, and rubbed her back....
Because, When the baby cries, Dear Readers,
What else Can we do?





13 comments:

  1. What a story!Your characters look almost real, Bets, real or reel like they were right out of Days of Our Lives, no no Downton Abbey or maybe Upstairs Downstairs :):).

    This is such a nice break from an otherwise stressful morning at work. I even forgot that your scene is set in an office which equals work which reminds me.....shucks!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great story! And great characters.:) :) Whatever happens to her she has someone who takes care of her.:) Can't wait for more!!!
    Oh, Betsy I remembered you said you're not reading much of the mails in your mailbox - I sent a message to you a couple of days ago. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Betsy, and your story goes on....feels like I am reading Dickens :D. You should make a novel out of it!!!
    Hugs, Liduina

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Betsy,
    Thank goodness for you and your imagination. you always give me a break from my everyday. I am loving this story and am always so excited when I see a new post. I can't wait to see what happens.
    thank you Betsy,
    Big hug,
    Giac

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's a beautiful story. The characters look real.
    Bye, Faby

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, this is an interesting turn of events!

    You have me hooked ...

    Cheers,
    Iris

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your're one storyteller... my heart broke reading about Daphne's reaction. Poor young girl... going through two of the biggest losses in a short period of time, first the lover and then the own child. Looks like this will become very dramatic with a lawyer who can't forgive and forget... and again I feel like hanging on a cliff... *sigh* ;O)

    Please don't let us wait too long for the next episode - I'm going to stay tuned!
    Hugs
    Birgit

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awwww Betsy! What an unexpected twist to the story! I was getting all prepared to dislike Raymond Du Lac and now I am beginning to like him even in light of his outward hostility towards Daphne! And all it took was a pair of baby blue eyes!

    elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  9. oooh, what a wonderful story!!! We want more, we want more :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's a serial! Reminds me of the old Saturday Evening Post, which came out once a week when I was a kid. Some very good (Steinbeck) writers were featured. I love this one - but won't you get distracted and have to turn to your little houses? Great story...
    Love,
    Mom
    Sorry to be late..

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's a serial! Reminds me of the old Saturday Evening Post, which came out once a week when I was a kid. Some very good (Steinbeck) writers were featured. I love this one - but won't you get distracted and have to turn to your little houses? Great story...
    Love,
    Mom
    Sorry to be late..

    ReplyDelete
  12. This reads like an Agatha Christie book. Except in those I can take a peak on the last page and know who'd done it! Will we ever find the missing girl? Will she be reunited with Daphne? Does she even know the lawyer-dude is not her father? Or will she have been raised by nuns in a convent and decided to join? I am at the edge of my seat, biting my nails.... Where's the rest.... need more....
    * tries to hide haggard look and frantic clicking on "refresh" hoping for the sequel...*

    :-)
    Véronique

    ReplyDelete
  13. You have a real knack for story-telling. I'm enjoying this immensely. Sandie

    ReplyDelete