Chapter 64: Sh*t Just Got Real

*AMY'S POV*

Randi looks so ashamed as she tells me she is pregnant.  To beat it all, she's not entirely sure who the father is.  She had a boyfriend awhile ago, but they broke up and she kind of went wild when she left her mom's.

"What do you want to do?" I ask her.

"I'm not ready.  I know I'm not.  I can't raise a kid.  I'm not going to be able to do anything...graduate, go to college...I'm so not ready to have a kid." she keeps repeating.

I can't help but think how unfair this is.  Here's a young teenage girl with her whole life in front of her, completely not ready to have a child and she gets pregnant.  Then there's me.  A completely settled woman with financial security, an established career, a house...all that...and so far I haven't been able to get pregnant...well, except for that once...but we all know how that went.

"So what are you thinking honey?" I ask her.

She looks at me with a guilty look on her face, "I think I want to get an abortion."

I take a deep breath, "How long have you known you were pregnant?"

"I just found out last night." she replies.

"Okay," I start, "do you think you might want to think about it a little longer?  Just to be sure this is what you want to do?"

"I don't think I could be more sure.  I know I'm not ready for a kid." She tells me.

"How sure are you?" I ask.

"Like 98% sure." she says.

"Okay, what's keeping it from being 100%?" I ask.

"Probably my mom," she says, "I know things are weird with us right now, but she told me she would disown me if I ever did anything like this."

"Well, you just turned eighteen, so she doesn't have to know," I offer.

"You don't think I'm a horrible person for wanting to do this?" she asks.

"Of course not," I say, "I'll support you no matter what you want to do.  This is your body."

She sighs, hopefully in relief.

"So what can I do to help?" I ask.

Turns out Randi doesn't have a clue what to do from here, so I do some research and find "local" clinics that provide abortions.  Well, the closest ones we can find are an hour or two away, and there are all kinds of hoops she needs to jump through, but after talking with them, I go ahead and schedule an appointment for her.

With her appointment two days away, I sit down to talk to her.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" I ask her.

I have agreed to go with her to the clinic.  I know how hard this is going to be and I don't want her to be alone.

"Yeah, I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore.  I hate getting sick all the time and being tired," she tells me.

I nod, "Well, it's almost over."

We sit in silence awhile longer when she turns and starts talking to me again.

"Amy, I have a question for you," she starts.

"Okay..." I urge her to continue.

"Why don't you have any kids?" she asks.

I gulp.  The truth is that I want children more than anything and I am really upset that I don't have any children yet, but I can't really go into all that with her.

"I just haven't had any yet.  I want them...but it just hasn't happened yet." I tell her.

"But you want them?" she asks.

I nod, "Yes, very much."

"Can I ask you something else?" she continues.

"Sure," I reply, not really sure where this is going.

"If I were to have the baby and give it up for adoption, would you adopt it?" she asks.

I don't even have to think about it, partly because this option had crossed my mind from the time she found out she was pregnant.  I didn't bring it up because I didn't want her going through the heartache of giving up a child.  I definitely didn't want to saddle her with raising a child she didn't want in the first place.  Either way, I answer, "In a heartbeat."

She's silent and I don't really know how to get more information out of her without seeming like a baby poacher.  The truth is, I would be absolutely ecstatic if she let me adopt the baby, but I can't let her just do this for me.

"Would you consider that?" I ask her.

She thinks before answering, "Yes...but I don't know what we would need to do."

"Hmm...I think I might know who could help.  Do you mind if I spoke with my mom?  She's a family attorney and I know she would know how to do an adoption.

"Yeah, sure.  I probably need to think about it a little bit more, but I think this could work." she smiles.

As much as I don't want to get excited, I can't help but be a little excited.  Hell, I'm willing to talk to my mother about this whole thing.

I keep thinking that God always gives me what I want but just in a completely screwed up way.  This will definitely qualify.

I meet my mom for dinner that night.

I am anxious to find out exactly what I need to do to adopt Randi's baby.

"So what's going on with you?" She asks me.

I kind of dread talking to her about it because I feel like she's' going to think it's a bad idea, but as I go through the spill, she surprises me.

"So do you think it's a good idea?" I ask as I finish giving her the details, "Will I have any problems adopting?"

"You shouldn't," she says, "it's not as easy as a family adoption or something, but if the child is in your custody for a certain amount of time that will make it easier."

I decide not to push it by asking her if she thinks I'll be a good mother or anything, but she starts talking about having another grandchild and being excited, so I think that's more what it's about than my having a child.

The next person I talk to about this is Zoey.

"So what's been going on with you?" she asks the next time we get on the phone.

"Um...I actually have some news," I start.

"Oh yeah?  What's up?" she prods.

"Remember me telling you about this Randi girl that has been living with me?" I start.

"Yeah, did she steal from you yet?" Z asks.

I smile, "No...actually she's pregnant."

"Aw shit," she says reflexively.

"Well, there's more." I say.

"It's not twins is it?"

I laugh, "God, I hope not.  She actually wants me to adopt the baby."

I hear a thud followed by Zoey sounding far away, "Hold on, I dropped you..."

I can't help but laugh.

"Okay, I'm back.  So you're adopting a baby?" She asks to clarify.

"Well, it's not official yet, but I think so." I tell her.

Well, the next day, it was official.  Randi decides that she doesn't want to have an abortion and wants me to adopt the baby.  I couldn't be more excited and neither could the rest of my family members.

As the time got closer, I kept getting gifts.  I tried to tell them not to give me anything, but they insisted.

Rebecca sent me over a high chair with fish on it.

My mom sent over a crib that matched.

...and Zoey sent over a swing.

It looks like I'm going to have to prepare for the arrival of my first child.