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.
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.
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?
