Page 3 of Tinsel & Chrome
Indi
Knowing they were going to meet with Lilian at the agency, Indi dressed with care. She chose an ankle length skirt in deep green and a pale gold top paired with a pair of low-heeled boots. She put her hair up in a twist, applied a little lipstick, and she was ready.
Filled with nervous energy, she paced the living room while she waited for Chaos to arrive. When she heard the door open, she rushed toward it.
“Anxious, Kitten?”
he asked as he stepped inside.
“A little,”
she admitted.
He dipped his head and kissed her gently.
“Me too. Let’s go see what Lilian wants.”
He led her out to her SUV and helped her in before he got behind the wheel and they were off.
The entire drive into Hartford, Chaos held her hand and squeezed it periodically. It helped to keep her grounded. They pulled into the parking lot at the agency and he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it before they got out and went inside.
“Welcome back to Golden Angels Adoption Agency Mr. and Mrs. Baxter,”
Colleen, the receptionist said.
“Thank you, Colleen. Can you let Lilian know that we’re here?”
Chaos questioned.
“Of course. Please have a seat,”
she replied before she spoke into her headset.
“Lilian will be right out,”
she added.
They sat and Indi tried to keep from fidgeting, but it wasn’t easy. When she spotted Lilian headed their way, she perked up.
“Reese, Indi, thank you so much for coming in. Let’s go to my office so we can talk,”
Lilian said after she shook hands with them.
They followed her to her now familiar office-they’d been in it so much-and took the guest seats while Lilian sat behind her desk.
“Now, I know you’ve said you were looking to adopt just one child, but I am hoping I can change your mind. We have a brother and sister in desperate need. They’re four and six and just the sweetest babies.
“They have recently been orphaned. Their mother was killed in a fire, and they themselves sustained some burns from it. They don’t have any other family on record, and given their trauma, we’d like to keep them together. That’s often not an option when placed in foster care. Sure, we’d rather no siblings are separated, but that just isn’t feasible.”
“Oh my gosh. Those poor babies. I can only imagine how scared they must be,”
Indi said. She had to blink to clear her vision of the tears that threatened.
“Yes. The hospital staff said they’ve both been having nightmares. They will be released from the hospital on Friday, and I’d really like to have a placement for them by then. In all honesty, you two were my first choice,”
Lilian informed them.
Indi looked at her husband.
“You want them, don’t you Kitten?” he asked.
“I know we said we just wanted to start with one, but we’ve always talked about having at least two kids,”
she pointed out.
“When can we meet them?”
Chaos asked Lilian.
Indi practically squealed in happiness.
“We can go today. You can follow me to the hospital,”
Lilian replied.
“Then let’s go,”
Chaos said and they followed her out.
The drive to the hospital took a bit because of traffic, but soon enough they were stepping into the pediatric ward.
After checking in at the nurse’s station, Lilian led them to a room at the end of the hall.
“The children share a room,”
she explained before she opened the door and stepped inside.
Inside the room there were two ginger-haired children huddled together on one bed.
“Hello sweet ones,”
Lilian said as she approached.
“I’ve brought someone to meet you. Darby, Lorcan, this is Reese and Indi,”
she added gently.
Indi approached slowly.
“Hi. Darby is a very pretty name,”
she said softly.
“And Lorcan sounds very strong.”
That got her smiles.
“Is it okay if I sit right here?”
she asked and patted the end of the bed. She watched as they looked at each other before nodding.
Chaos pulled the chair over and sat on it while Indi perched on the foot of the bed.
“I want mommy,”
Darby said and Indi’s heart hurt at the sorrow in her voice.
“I know you do, sweetpea. And your mommy would be here if she could. Do you know what an angel is?”
Indi asked.
“Uh uh,”
the little girl replied.
“Angels are special people who look out for us. But in order to be an angel, they have to go to heaven. That’s where your mommy is now. She’s an angel in heaven, watching over both of you. I know you both miss her so, so much, and she misses you too, but she sent Reese and I to look after you and love you just like she did.”
Both children sniffled and Indi just wanted to hold them and make it better. She wanted these children. She wanted to give them the love and healing they needed.
“She did?”
Lorcan asked.
“She did, little man,”
Chaos said.
When Darby crawled into her lap and clung to her, Indi wrapped her arms around her and rocked her.
“Shh. It’s okay sweetpea. I know you’re scared, but we’re right here.”
Soon she had both of them clinging to her, and tears streaked her own cheeks as they quietly cried against her.
“I knew you two were the right ones. I’ll head back to the office and get the paperwork started. I know three days doesn’t give you a lot of time to get everything you’ll need for them, so I am willing to grant an extension as long as they each have their own room.”
“Thanks, Lilian. We’ll be ready,”
Chaos told her.
“All right. Here’s the list of what you’ll need, including clothing and shoe sizes. Come to the office Thursday to sign everything and then I will meet you both here Friday morning,”
Lilian replied.
“Will do,”
Chaos told her and she left.
Once the children stopped crying, Chaos soon got them laughing by making funny faces and tickling them.
When their dinner arrived, Chaos wrinkled his nose.
“That doesn’t look tasty. How about I go get us some hamburgers and french fries?”
he suggested.
“Yes!”
they said in unison, and he chuckled.
“I’ll be right back then,”
he replied and left.
“How about a story while we wait?”
Indi asked and then she spun a tale about a prince and princess who were saved from a fire-breathing dragon.
By the time Chaos returned, the story was over with the prince and princess getting a new mommy and daddy.
“Here we go,”
he said, handing out food and drinks and they all chowed down.
No sooner had they finished eating and a nurse stuck her head in the door.
“Visiting hours are over in five minutes.”
“Okay. Thank you,”
Indi replied before she turned to the children.
“We have to go, sweet ones.”
“Pwease don’t weave,”
Darby cried and it just about broke her heart.
“We have to, sweetpea, but I promise I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Then she leaned in and mock-whispered, “Wanna hear a secret?”
“Uh huh,”
was her reply.
“Friday, you and Lorcan get to come home with me and Chaos. I mean Reese. I call hin Chaos,”
she said and winked at her husband.
“Weally? Pwomise?”
Darby asked in a small voice.
“I promise. I’m not taking the place of your mommy. That’s who she will always be, but I’d like to be your second mommy, if you’ll let me.”
She watched as Darby sniffled and wiped her nose. “Okay,”
the little girl said.
“That goes for you too, Lorcan. I want to be your second mommy, too.”
“Will you be our daddy?”
Lorcan asked Chaos.
“Yeah, I will be, little man,”
he replied.
“We never had a daddy,”
Lorcan informed them.
“You will now,”
Chaos assured him.
“We have to go, but we’ll be back,” he added.
“Okay,”
they mumbled.
It was so hard for Indi to leave that room, but she managed.
“What do you say we do a little shopping and then we can swing by the Hog for a drink before heading home?”
Chaos offered.
“We can get stuff for the kids since we have to get their rooms ready.”
“That sounds good,”
she replied.
They headed to a store that featured specialty children’s furniture in hopes of finding something unique for each of them.
“Oh, wow. This is amazing,”
Indi said, looking over a princess castle bunk bed bedroom set. It was in pale pink and white complete with turrets. It had steps on one side leading up to the ‘parapet’, where the second bed sat.
“It’s perfect for our little princess,”
Chaos said.
“Come see what I’m thinking for our little prince,”
he added and led her to a sailor-themed set. It had two beds separated by a small partition and steps leading up to a platform with a mock ship that could be used as a reading nook if they put a bunch of throw pillows on it.
“Perfect!”
Indi told him.
“Let’s go see if we can get them delivered and assembled in time.”
As luck would have it, they were able to deliver and assemble both the next day. They added in dressers for clothes and then headed to a clothing store since Lilian had given them the children’s clothing and shoe sizes. They spent a good bit of time buying clothes and shoes so Darby and Lorcan would have some right away.
“We’ll take them shopping this weekend so they can pick out more stuff themselves,”
Chaos told her as they left.
“Sounds good, Hotstuff,”
she replied before they went to The Dancing Hog where they both got a drink-alcoholic for her and non for him. They were joined by Bones, and she wanted so badly to tell him their news, but they wanted to wait until the kids were actually with them.
That night, once they were home and in bed, Indi curled around him.
“We’re going to be parents,”
she said, awe in her voice.
“Yeah, we are, Kitten,”
he replied and kissed her temple.
“I can’t wait to tell our family,”
she breathed, referring to their MC family.
“We will soon. We should let the kids get settled in first before we overwhelm them with so many strangers.”
“Okay.”
She yawned, snuggled closer, and was soon drifting off to sleep.