Chapter 4: The Adoption
1110 Words
“There must have been an error in the result of the ultrasound scan. We regret our action and are sorry about this sir.” Doctor Gonzalez managed to respond.
Everyone knew how the old man had been looking for a son for years and what it meant to him. The look on his face described disappointment when he heard the doctor’s words.
He stood with his hands on his head almost looking like he didn’t know how to react to the news. Then suddenly, and out of nowhere, he pounced on the poor doctor, grabbing him by his clothes.
“You i***t! I’d make sure you pay for what you’ve done.”
It took the intervention of other health workers on the scene to help him escape the strike. He was lucky.
On the other side, Audrey lay on the bed, hearing the noise from the commotion. She knew she had disappointed Chief. She felt her heart becoming heavy as tears dropped down her cheeks.
How would she face him now? Will she still get a second chance? Those were some of the thoughts that ran through her mind.
“Please take it easy on yourself.” A nurse attending to her said. “I know how you feel, but this is not the time for this. Your child needs you right now in many ways and you can’t afford not to be there for her. Just get some rest for now.”
She turned to her left and looked at her newborn who was fast asleep. She was so cute.
“My poor, innocent baby.” She forced a smile amidst her teary face.
****2 years later****
“Good morning Mr. Keen. I’m aware you are here regarding your intention to adopt a child, a male child to be specific.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Keen Pager had resolved to adopt a son since Audrey’s expected child turned out to be a girl. He saw it as his only option to get a successor to run his empire while he was no more.
“This way, sir.” The head of the agency said leading Mr. Keen out of her office.
They headed to the unit where the children were. As they strolled the area, his eye caught a young boy.
“What’s his name?” He asked pointing at the boy.
“Oh, that’s Devon. He was brought in 4 years ago.”
“Can I know more about him?”
“Well, Devon is not like any of the other children here. I’ve observed him to be quite determined and tough. Sometimes he….”
“I want him…” Mr. Keen interrupted her.
“Okay, sure. We can begin the documentation process right away. I understand that you are a person of high reputation in the city so we might be skipping some of the regular procedures just for you.”
“Yeah, that’s okay.”
Everything was done and completed in a couple of hours later and they were ready to head home.
“So tell me, Devon, what do you want to be when you grow up?” Keen Pager tried to initiate a conversation with the boy on their way home.
Devon was about 9 years old.
“I want to own a company…a rich one.”
“Hmm…Interesting.” Keen Pager’s eyes lit up with surprise. He would make a good successor to my empire, he thought. “Can you tell me why?”
“Because…” The little boy paused as he looked for the best words to use.
“Don’t worry, take your time.” Mr. Keen added as he saw the poor boy struggling.
“I want to be called a boss.”
“Well, how about you take over my company while I’m away?”
“You’ll let me do that?”
“Yes, I will”
“Wow! That’d be fun. So what about you, what would you be doing?”
“Let’s say maybe I’d take a very long break to rest. So, would you still be able to handle it while I’m away?”
“Yes sir!”
“Erhh, about that Devon, you’d now address me as Dad henceforth.”
“Like I’m now going to live with you forever?”
“Yes. Don’t you like it?”
“I like it. It's gonna be super cool.”
The rest of the short journey was accompanied by some sort of silence as Keen Pager had nothing else to talk about with the little boy.
“Mummy, Daddy is home,” Ivy said to her mother, Audrey as she heard the sound of the incoming car pulling into the driveway.
She dropped the toys she was playing with and ran down to welcome him.
“Welcome back Daddy.”
“Thank you, Ivy, how are you doing?” Mr. Keen responded almost ignoring her.
“Mummy, did I do something wrong to daddy?” Ivy asked facing her mom with an inquisitive look as her enthusiasm was met with a lukewarm response from her father.
“No, you didn’t. Daddy is just a bit tired.” Audrey tried to cover up.
Since Audrey returned from the hospital with her child, Mr. Keen had withdrawn his love and affection from her because it didn’t turn out to be the boy child he expected.
“Hey, what’s your name?” Ivy’s attention was directed to the newcomer standing by the door.
“My name is Devon.”
“Are you my new big brother?”
“Yes, I am your new big brother. Dad says he’d put me in charge of his big company while he’s away.”
Audrey’s eyes met with Mr. Keen’s and then back to both kids. A silent understanding passed between them at that moment. She wasn’t really surprised, after all, it was all he ever wanted.
“Enough of all that. Let’s get settled in, shall we?” came Mr. Keen’s firm but detached voice. “Devon, you’d be staying in the room next to Ivy’s. I’ll show you around the house later.”
As they made their way upstairs, Ivy couldn’t help but chat excitedly about her toys and game with Devon, oblivious to the underlying tension that filled the air.
Ding-dong…the sound of the doorbell interrupted.
“I’ll get it,” Audrey said heading back for the door.
She opened the door and found a woman standing, about to hit the doorbell again.
“Hi, can I help you?”
“I’ve come for my son; he doesn’t belong here!”. The woman responded with an unwavering gaze.
- Writer
