Layla Comes Home
1147 Words
As Morgan and Annabelle arrived at the orphanage, Annabelle became a bundle of nerves.
"What if..." Doubts began to set in.
"You are going to be an amazing mother, Annabelle," Morgan encouraged her, pacifying her nervousness.
"You're right," she smiled, "let's go get our daughter."
Entering the orphanage, they were met by Trish Peterson. "Morning Trish," Annabelle greeted her politely. "We have a proposition for you. We would like you to come and work for us looking after Layla and the new baby when it arrives."
Trish's jaw dropped, "What! Are you serious? After everything I said before!"
"Trish, everyone deserves a second chance," Morgan responded.
Emotion flickered in her eyes. "When?" she questioned.
"Right away. Go pack your things while we get Layla ready."
"Thank you. Thank you for this opportunity. You won't regret this," she responded, sounding ever so appreciative.
In the room where the children were playing, they spotted Layla. "Hello, Layla," Annabelle and Morgan greeted her.
"Uncle, Aunty," she smiled, running to them.
"Layla, we have good news. You get to come home with us today," Morgan said, looking into her eyes.
"I'm going to be your mommy, and this is going to be your daddy," Annabelle explained.
Layla's eyes sparkled with joy, her small mouth forming a perfect 'O.' "Really?"
Annabelle's voice cracked with emotion. "Yes, pumpkin, really."
Layla looked at them, and without warning, she threw herself into Annabelle's arms, her little body trembling with excitement.
"Mommy! Daddy!" she cried, her voice filled with pure, uncontainable joy.
Annabelle and Morgan hugged her tightly, and excitement filled the air.
As they were about to leave, Layla saw Trish. "Aunty Trish, are you also coming?" she asked.
"Yes, honey. Aunty Trish is also coming," Annabelle jumped in.
"Mommy is the best," she giggled happily.
Leaving the orphanage, Layla walked between Morgan and Annabelle, holding each of their hands while Trish helped by carrying the luggage to the car.
Morgan unlocked the car, and as he opened the back door, Layla’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the pink teddy bear in the back. "Is this for me?" she asked, all excited.
"Yes, sweetheart. All yours," Morgan confirmed, lifting her into the backseat and buckling her in.
Annabelle watched, her heart melted as Layla hugged the overgrown-sized teddy. Trish climbed in beside her.
Once inside the car, Annabelle reached back, brushing Layla's hair affectionately. "Are you excited about seeing your new room?"
Layla's eyes widened. "I get my own room?"
Morgan chuckled, his eyes meeting Annabelle's as he said," "Not just any room. A room fit for a princess."
Layla's face lit up, her joy contagious. "I always wanted to be a princess," she whispered.
"Where will Aunty Trish sleep?" she asked curiously.
"In the room next door to you," Annabelle smiled.
As they pulled up to their home, Layla gasped. "Wow... it's so big!"
Morgan helped her out of the car, both of them holding her hand as they walked up the path.
At the door, Annabelle paused, her heart thundering. This was it, the moment she had waited for, for so long. She knelt down to Layla’s height, her voice tender, "Welcome home, baby girl."
As they stepped inside, the house seemed to come alive with laughter and love, as the whole family waited for her in the foyer.
"Welcome home, sweetheart," Camilla said, pulling her in for a hug.
"Let's all go to the living room," Morgan suggested, "then we can introduce everyone calmly.
"I'm grandma Camilla and this is grandpa Brad," Camilla introduced.
"Nanna and papa," she smiled, hugging them.
"I'm Uncle Marshall and this is Aunty Danielle. And this young lady is Emilla, our daughter."
Uncle Mash, Aunty Elle," she giggled and then said, "Em," and hugged Emilla, who hugged her back in return.
"I'm your Aunty Meghan and this is Uncle Lloyd. These two are River and Coralline," Meghan introduced.
"Aunty Meg, Uncle Oyd, River, Coralline" she laughed.
"Everyone, this is princess Layla," Morgan introduced her, "and this is Trish. She will help us with the children."
"Hello sweetheart," everyone hugged her.
"Hi Trish," they greeted.
"Mommy, this is a castle," Layla's face lit up.
"Yes and you are the princess," Annabelle giggled with her, "come, let's show you to your room."
Seeing the photo of her new parents she giggled, admiring Annabelle, "mommy looks like a queen in this picture."
As they reached the first floor, Layla got excited about her room. "Open daddy."
The door opened, they were met with rhe soft colors of pink and blue for her room and white with a plush carpet. Teddy bears and dolls rested on shelves and a dolls house in the corner.
"Look Aunty," she said, "I even have my own bathroom."
"Yes I see," Trish smiled gently at her.
"Look at your bed," Trish said.
"Princess Barbie bed," she laughed as she bounced on it. "It can fit 10 of us on it."
In the middle of the bed was a plush, soft, white teddy dog for her to cuddle at night.
"Meet Mr Woffles," Camilla walked over to her and played with the toy dog, making barking sounds that led to Layla roaring with laughter.
"Granny," she laughed so hard she ended up having hiccups.
By the time they had shown Trish and Layla around, it was past 2 in the afternoon.
"So who's hungry?" Meghan said in a slightly excited tone.
"I am," Morgan answered his sister.
"Let's all go eat. Trish you eat with the family," she explained.
"Spaghetti Bolognaise it is," Meghan dished up for the children. Meghan and Lloyd fed their two toddlers first, then settled down to enjoy a meal with the family.
Later that afternoon, just before it started getting too late, the men took the children to go play in the back garden.
"I have my own park?" she said, even more surprised.
"Yes, you do, this was where daddy, Uncle Marshall, and Aunty Meghan spent most of their younger days," Lloyd explained.
"We'll let you come over next weekend for a family day. Then we will show you my old house and where your dad had another house."
"Dad has two houses," her eyes wide like saucers.
"No munchkin, daddy had lived in another house before this. Aunty Meghan and I are there now."
They played a little longer in the park before going back inside to enjoy dinner.
"Granny, will you read me a story?" she asked.
"Sure, sweetheart," Camilla agreed, carrying her to her room and getting her ready for bed before reading her a story.
"Granny, where do you live?" she asked.
"I live here. Granddad and I have our own house here," she explained.
"Granny lives with us," a hugh smile beamed across her face.
Camilla began reading the story. It wasn't long after that that Layla fell asleep, and Trish also retired.
- Writer
