A Mother's Love

Parker Garret was on the last leg of his daily morning walk to his job. He would walk three miles every day from his home to the bakery he owned in the early morning hours. Parker had to start early at the bakery to meet the demands for the morning rush. There was coffee to make, pastries to put out and bread and bagels to bake. He enjoyed these morning walks. The city was quiet and it gave him time to think. This morning he was contemplating a conversation he and his wife May had the night before. They had been married over twenty years and never were blessed with a child. They were soul mates and they both understood this, but being childless left an emptiness they both felt deeply. Adoption was an option they looked into, but it didn’t seem right for them. Between the legal matters and the searching for the right child, the process left them feeling like they were purchasing an object like a car or an appliance. Not a child to love and nurture. To fill the emptiness they both shared a wish in their hearts. Someday a child would come into their life and share the love they had to give. He walked on down South Hunnington Ave with his hands in his pockets feeling the emptiness they shared.

His attention was called back to reality when he heard the cry of a baby coming from his right. He tried to locate the origin from where the sound was coming from. He heard the cry again and realized it was coming from the foyer at the top of the stair in the building to his right. Parker walked up the driveway and towards the stairs. As he got closer he could see a wicker basket and the movement of something inside. Parker ascended the stairs and quickly looked in the basket to find a child. The bright blue eyes of the child looked up at him and suddenly the emptiness he had felt seconds before vanished. The child seemed to smile at him and reach out with his small hand. A folded piece of paper was in the child’s hand. Parker reached down and took the paper and unfolded it. It was a note that read, “This is a very special child. Whoever finds him, please love and protect him. His name is Peter. He was born on February 14th of this year. It breaks my heart to give him up, but destiny has dealt us both a bitter hand in life. Do not think ill of me for this was done for the best of both of us. It was signed with the name of Fawn. He folded up the letter and stashed it in his jacket pocket. Parker looked down at the child again and said, “Hello Peter, pleased to meet you”. The baby made a happy little sound as if to say hello. Without hesitance Parker picked up the basket and headed back towards his home and to May. He thought how May would be so happy and her emptiness to would vanish at the sight of the child. Again the child made a small happy sound as if in approval of his thoughts. Parker talked to the child on the way back to his house, He told him all about May and how they had wanted a child and the emptiness they both felt. How he was their wish come true and that their prayers had been answered that day. The child just looked up at Parker as if he was really listening and understanding all that was said. Parker smiled at the child and the child seemed to smile back, then closed its’ eyes and fell fast asleep. Packer got a feeling that the child felt safe with him. He didn’t feel it in his heart as much as in his mind.

Reaching his home Parker ascended the stairs and unlocked the front door and entered. May was probably still in bed. She didn’t usually rise until around seven in the morning. He placed the basket on the dining room table and took off his coat and tossed it on one of the chairs by the table. He picked up the basket and walk down the hall that led to the stairs that accessed the second floor bedroom. As he walked up the stairs the boards creaked with each step he took. From upstairs came a sleepy sounding voice that said, “Who is there? Parker is that you?” Parker quickly answered that it was he, and that he had a surprise for her. She asked, “What kind of surprise are you bringing me at this hour of the morning”. Parker responded, “Our wish has come true May”. “And what wish is that may I ask?” she responded. Parker by now had reached the top of the stairs and cross the hall into the bedroom. The room was dark for the sun had not yet rose, but May was able to see the silhouette of Parker in the doorway and he was carrying something. May sat up in bed and switched on the lamp next to the bed. She turned and saw that Parker was carrying some sort of basket and there was something in it but she couldn’t make it out. Parker placed the basket on the bed beside May and drew back the blanket and showed May the child. The look on May’s face was one of pure surprise. “Where did you get this child”, she asked. Parker told her how he had come to find the child as he was walking to work and told her about the note. May said “Let me see the note.” Parker ran back down stairs and retrieved the note from his jacket pocket and came back upstairs. There he found May holding the child and talking softly to it. A tear of joy came to his eye as he watched May bond with the child. May looked up at him and smiled and said, “Can we keep him?” Parker handed her the note and she read it, Tears filled her eyes as she felt the sorrow the writer had felt in leaving the child. She looked down at the child in her arms and said, “Welcome to our home Peter.”

Parker looked down at the basket and saw something partially hidden in the blanket. He reached into the basket and retrieved the object. It was a book. The title of the book was Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M.

Barrie, on the cover was an Illustration of Peter standing holding a sword. Sitting below him was Captain Hook on Peter’s right and an Indian Chief smoking a peace pipe on his left. Parker opened the book and saw that the copyright was from 1915 and the illustrations were by F.D Bedford. As he flipped through the pages of the book something fell out onto the floor. Parker picked it up and saw that it was a picture of a woman who appeared to be in her twenties with red hair and a pleasant smile. He turned the picture over and written on the back was the name Fawn Moore. Was this the Fawn that wrote the note? Parker folded the picture and stuck it in his back pocket of his trousers. He flipped through rest of the book to see if anything else was in hidden within its pages. On the back inside cover he found some writing. It read” To our lovely daughter Fawn on her tenth birthday, Love Mom and Dad”. Parker closed the book and placed it back in the basket.

May looked up at Parker and said, “We can’t just keep the child. Someone will question how we came into possession of the child. We’ll have to call the police and tell them and maybe file for an adoption.” Parker thought about what May was saying, but somewhere in his mind something was telling him that calling the police was not a good idea. Without warning images started to flash within his mind’s eye. He saw the woman named Fawn with panic showing in her eyes. He saw an older man with graying hair and beard talking to a woman. He couldn’t understand anything that they were saying but he got the feeling that this was causing the panic in Fawn. The image change and he saw Fawn again running through the streets of Boston. He felt the fear and loathing she felt for the older man. Somehow he realized that this older man was somehow a threat to the child and that the child must be protected from him. Then like an echo he heard May calling his name.

There was concern and fear in her voice. The images in his mind faded and he was back in their bedroom.

May told him that the child started to cry and that he just stood there staring off into space as if in a trance.

Parker felt week and sat on the bed. The images and feeling still fresh in him mind. He turned to May and said, “I don’t fully understand what just happened, but I know we have to keep this child and protect it.” Parker reached back into his pocket and withdrew the picture of Fawn and handed it to May. “I just saw her in my mind”, he said. “She is the mother of the child and I felt the fear and concern she felt. I saw an older man, who she knows, that is a threat to this child. I don’t know how or why he’s a threat, but I know for sure that he is.” May felt afraid, confused and worried about were this all could lead. She looked down at the baby and gazed into his bright blue eyes. A feeling of content and peace came over her like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. She heard a tiny voice in her mind say, “You’ll be alright.” The child then reached out its small hand and touched hers. May’s whole body and soul seem to fill with inexpressible joy and love. She now realized what the note meant when it said this was a special child.

May turned to Parker and said, “We’ll do what we have to do to keep this child. No matter the consequences to us, this child will be safe.