SkyGirl5
Cadet
Chapter 6
On Saturday morning, Sydney forced herself from bed early, part because she had some things she needed to attend to and part because she wasn’t really sleeping anyway due to her sister’s foghorn like snoring. She went for a jog to energize her and, when she returned, she found that her sister was still asleep, though she wasn’t exactly surprised. She showered and changed, not even bothering to be quiet, before returning to the kitchen and pulling out her address book.
The phone number she was searching for belong to her long time friend, Will Tippin. They had dated briefly after meeting during Sydney’s freshmen year of college, and, after they broke up, had remained friends. Will always seemed to be there for her if she needed him. In this case, she didn’t need him, exactly, she needed his profession; Will was an attorney practicing family law.
When Sydney reached his office phone, Will was surprised to hear from Sydney and even more surprised that her call was business related and not a personal call. He agreed to meet with her, though, that afternoon, in fact. Sydney decided that this first meeting would be much better without Nadia in attendance, not that she could have been able to get Nadia to go had her presence been required anyway.
“Whatcha doin’,” Nadia asked through a yawn as she shuffled her way into the kitchen, scratching her rounded belly.
“Balancing my check book,” Sydney said, not looking up from the papers in front of her. Nadia rolled her eyes slightly at this before making her way to the refrigerator. She looked inside for a few minutes, but saw nothing she liked so she turned her attention to the cabinets. She continued her search until she found something that caught her eye.
At the sound of the cork popping out of a wine bottle, Sydney looked up and gasped in horror at the sight of her sister pouring a glass of wine. She wasn’t sure what to be more horrified about: the fact that she was pregnant and drinking or the fact that she was drinking at ten thirty in the morning shortly after she woke up. “What the hell are you doing?!” Sydney screeched and bolted from her chair, snatching the glass before her irresponsible sister could take a sip. Sydney promptly emptied the glass into the sink while Nadia whined,
“Heyyyyyy!”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sydney shouted once more. Nadia shrugged with indifference. “Nadia you’re pregnant. You cannot have alcohol. Have you been drinking through your pregnancy – don’t lie to me!” she threatened in a dangerous tone.
“Well,” Nadia began in a very tiny voice, averting her eyes to the floor, “I didn’t get drunk or nothin’…”
“NADIA!”
“Jesus, Syd, chill out. It’s not like it’s bad or anything…”
“BAD?! Of course it’s bad!” Sydney screeched. “Do you know how much alcohol could hurt your baby!?”
“She’s fine the doctor said so,” Nadia said in a defiant tone.
Sydney glared at her, but said nothing as she exhaled sharply through her nose. She snatched the wine bottle off the counter and dumped the remainder of its contents down the drain. “No alcohol,” Sydney instructed her sister firmly.
“Fine, fine… but what am I supposed to eat for breakfast?!”
“I’ll make you a nice, healthy, well balanced meal – now sit,” Sydney instructed, pointing to the kitchen table. “From now on you’re eating nothing but healthy foods.”
“Oh gross! I have to be as big as a whale and I have to suffer through shitty food?!” Nadia asked in horror. Sydney gave her a stern look while thinking to herself that the next five weeks would probably be the longest of her life.
~*~
“Syd!” Will greeted his friend with a warm hug. “You look fabulous.”
“Thanks Will, you too,” Sydney smiled, hugging him back tightly. She then followed him into his office at the law firm, where they were meeting. She took a seat across from him as he sat behind his desk.
“So, what can I do ya for?” Will asked with a smile.
“Well, I’m adopting a baby and-”
“Serious?!” Will interrupted her with a laugh. Sydney cringed slightly and nodded. Then, she briefed him on the Nadia situation. Being that they were old friends, Will knew all about Nadia and her antics, so the fact that she was pregnant didn’t surprise him in the least. What did surprise him, though, was that Sydney would be adopting her baby. When he asked her what in the free world possessed her to make such a commitment she responded,
“Because,” Sydney sighed. “I don’t know… I can’t explain it really. I just want her Will and I… I guess I feel a little guilty that, you know, her mother is Nadia, which totally sucks and I just have these visions of her going to an orphanage and becoming little orphan Annie with no one to love her…”
Will cracked a small smile at Sydney’s tone. “Well, Syd, I don’t know what to say except you’re the best sister on the planet,” he told her. She blushed slightly and shook her head. “You are, Syd, you are. You’re a better person than most too.”
“Thanks Will,” Sydney said. “So… is it possible to do all this legally?”
“Absolutely. The fact that Nadia doesn’t know who the father is makes it even easier. All Nadia has to do is sign a form once the baby is born giving up all her parental rights. In the mean time we can get started on the paper work for the adoption. It won’t actually be able to be completed until the baby’s born, of course, but we can work on it. Then, after she’s born, she’ll be put in your custody while everything’s finalized. It should only take a month or so – I know a guy,” he said with a slight wink.
“Thank you so much Will, you have no idea how much this means,” Sydney beamed at him.
He smiled. “Of course, I do expect you to name the little tyke ‘Wilma’ now.” Sydney laughed loudly and shook her head. “HEY! I was serious!”
“Hasn’t she already been tortured enough? She doesn’t need a lifetimes worth of Flintstones jokes,” Sydney told him.
“Oh… I never thought of it that way – good point.”
Sydney and Will discussed adoption arrangements for another fifteen minutes before they parted after Sydney thanked him repeatedly. When she went home, she found her sister stretched out on the couch, surrounded by junk food and DVDs. “What happened to the carrot sticks I left you?” Sydney asked, her fist on her hip.
“Yick,” Nadia grimaced before popping the rest of the Hershey’s bar in her hand into her mouth. Sydney rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. “Where ya been anyway?” Nadia asked.
“Talking to a lawyer about adopting Amanda.”
“Who the hell’s Amanda?!” Nadia asked.
“The baby… I’m trying out different names… but I don’t think I like that one,” Sydney said.
“Don’t I get to pick the name?”
“What name would you pick?”
“Hmm,” Nadia thought for a moment before answering, “Rose.”
“Ick,” Sydney grimaced.
“Lilly?”
“No.”
“Violet?”
“No.”
“Tulip?”
“Would you quit naming flowers?!” Sydney shouted. Nadia laughed. Sydney grumbled at her. “Anyway, when the baby’s born all you have to do is sign a piece of paper saying you’re giving her up; that’s all.”
Nadia shrugged slightly. “Sounds easy enough to me. Hey, you know I was thinking thought. Don’t people like… pay lots of money to adopt babies?”
Sydney looked away from her sister at this comment; she had been waiting for that to be brought up. “How much do you want?” Sydney asked in a quiet voice.
“Ten grand would be nice…”
“How about one?” Sydney offered, not wanting to give her sister any sum of money that she knew would be wasted on partying.
“Eight?”
“Two.”
“Five?”
“Fine, but that means I get to tell you what you can and cannot do to my baby so that means NO junk food,” Sydney said, walking over and snatching the bag of chips from her sister.
Nadia sulked. “Fine… but no carrots!”
On Saturday morning, Sydney forced herself from bed early, part because she had some things she needed to attend to and part because she wasn’t really sleeping anyway due to her sister’s foghorn like snoring. She went for a jog to energize her and, when she returned, she found that her sister was still asleep, though she wasn’t exactly surprised. She showered and changed, not even bothering to be quiet, before returning to the kitchen and pulling out her address book.
The phone number she was searching for belong to her long time friend, Will Tippin. They had dated briefly after meeting during Sydney’s freshmen year of college, and, after they broke up, had remained friends. Will always seemed to be there for her if she needed him. In this case, she didn’t need him, exactly, she needed his profession; Will was an attorney practicing family law.
When Sydney reached his office phone, Will was surprised to hear from Sydney and even more surprised that her call was business related and not a personal call. He agreed to meet with her, though, that afternoon, in fact. Sydney decided that this first meeting would be much better without Nadia in attendance, not that she could have been able to get Nadia to go had her presence been required anyway.
“Whatcha doin’,” Nadia asked through a yawn as she shuffled her way into the kitchen, scratching her rounded belly.
“Balancing my check book,” Sydney said, not looking up from the papers in front of her. Nadia rolled her eyes slightly at this before making her way to the refrigerator. She looked inside for a few minutes, but saw nothing she liked so she turned her attention to the cabinets. She continued her search until she found something that caught her eye.
At the sound of the cork popping out of a wine bottle, Sydney looked up and gasped in horror at the sight of her sister pouring a glass of wine. She wasn’t sure what to be more horrified about: the fact that she was pregnant and drinking or the fact that she was drinking at ten thirty in the morning shortly after she woke up. “What the hell are you doing?!” Sydney screeched and bolted from her chair, snatching the glass before her irresponsible sister could take a sip. Sydney promptly emptied the glass into the sink while Nadia whined,
“Heyyyyyy!”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sydney shouted once more. Nadia shrugged with indifference. “Nadia you’re pregnant. You cannot have alcohol. Have you been drinking through your pregnancy – don’t lie to me!” she threatened in a dangerous tone.
“Well,” Nadia began in a very tiny voice, averting her eyes to the floor, “I didn’t get drunk or nothin’…”
“NADIA!”
“Jesus, Syd, chill out. It’s not like it’s bad or anything…”
“BAD?! Of course it’s bad!” Sydney screeched. “Do you know how much alcohol could hurt your baby!?”
“She’s fine the doctor said so,” Nadia said in a defiant tone.
Sydney glared at her, but said nothing as she exhaled sharply through her nose. She snatched the wine bottle off the counter and dumped the remainder of its contents down the drain. “No alcohol,” Sydney instructed her sister firmly.
“Fine, fine… but what am I supposed to eat for breakfast?!”
“I’ll make you a nice, healthy, well balanced meal – now sit,” Sydney instructed, pointing to the kitchen table. “From now on you’re eating nothing but healthy foods.”
“Oh gross! I have to be as big as a whale and I have to suffer through shitty food?!” Nadia asked in horror. Sydney gave her a stern look while thinking to herself that the next five weeks would probably be the longest of her life.
~*~
“Syd!” Will greeted his friend with a warm hug. “You look fabulous.”
“Thanks Will, you too,” Sydney smiled, hugging him back tightly. She then followed him into his office at the law firm, where they were meeting. She took a seat across from him as he sat behind his desk.
“So, what can I do ya for?” Will asked with a smile.
“Well, I’m adopting a baby and-”
“Serious?!” Will interrupted her with a laugh. Sydney cringed slightly and nodded. Then, she briefed him on the Nadia situation. Being that they were old friends, Will knew all about Nadia and her antics, so the fact that she was pregnant didn’t surprise him in the least. What did surprise him, though, was that Sydney would be adopting her baby. When he asked her what in the free world possessed her to make such a commitment she responded,
“Because,” Sydney sighed. “I don’t know… I can’t explain it really. I just want her Will and I… I guess I feel a little guilty that, you know, her mother is Nadia, which totally sucks and I just have these visions of her going to an orphanage and becoming little orphan Annie with no one to love her…”
Will cracked a small smile at Sydney’s tone. “Well, Syd, I don’t know what to say except you’re the best sister on the planet,” he told her. She blushed slightly and shook her head. “You are, Syd, you are. You’re a better person than most too.”
“Thanks Will,” Sydney said. “So… is it possible to do all this legally?”
“Absolutely. The fact that Nadia doesn’t know who the father is makes it even easier. All Nadia has to do is sign a form once the baby is born giving up all her parental rights. In the mean time we can get started on the paper work for the adoption. It won’t actually be able to be completed until the baby’s born, of course, but we can work on it. Then, after she’s born, she’ll be put in your custody while everything’s finalized. It should only take a month or so – I know a guy,” he said with a slight wink.
“Thank you so much Will, you have no idea how much this means,” Sydney beamed at him.
He smiled. “Of course, I do expect you to name the little tyke ‘Wilma’ now.” Sydney laughed loudly and shook her head. “HEY! I was serious!”
“Hasn’t she already been tortured enough? She doesn’t need a lifetimes worth of Flintstones jokes,” Sydney told him.
“Oh… I never thought of it that way – good point.”
Sydney and Will discussed adoption arrangements for another fifteen minutes before they parted after Sydney thanked him repeatedly. When she went home, she found her sister stretched out on the couch, surrounded by junk food and DVDs. “What happened to the carrot sticks I left you?” Sydney asked, her fist on her hip.
“Yick,” Nadia grimaced before popping the rest of the Hershey’s bar in her hand into her mouth. Sydney rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. “Where ya been anyway?” Nadia asked.
“Talking to a lawyer about adopting Amanda.”
“Who the hell’s Amanda?!” Nadia asked.
“The baby… I’m trying out different names… but I don’t think I like that one,” Sydney said.
“Don’t I get to pick the name?”
“What name would you pick?”
“Hmm,” Nadia thought for a moment before answering, “Rose.”
“Ick,” Sydney grimaced.
“Lilly?”
“No.”
“Violet?”
“No.”
“Tulip?”
“Would you quit naming flowers?!” Sydney shouted. Nadia laughed. Sydney grumbled at her. “Anyway, when the baby’s born all you have to do is sign a piece of paper saying you’re giving her up; that’s all.”
Nadia shrugged slightly. “Sounds easy enough to me. Hey, you know I was thinking thought. Don’t people like… pay lots of money to adopt babies?”
Sydney looked away from her sister at this comment; she had been waiting for that to be brought up. “How much do you want?” Sydney asked in a quiet voice.
“Ten grand would be nice…”
“How about one?” Sydney offered, not wanting to give her sister any sum of money that she knew would be wasted on partying.
“Eight?”
“Two.”
“Five?”
“Fine, but that means I get to tell you what you can and cannot do to my baby so that means NO junk food,” Sydney said, walking over and snatching the bag of chips from her sister.
Nadia sulked. “Fine… but no carrots!”
