A Mother's Love

Parker and May sat in the bedroom with the child long after Angie had left to deliver the paperwork to Gaetano. By this time tomorrow the records would show that they are the proud legal parents of Peter Garrett.

They had prayed and waited for this day to come and now that it was here it was even greater than they had ever imagined. They finally felt complete as a family. Everything seemed right with the world, but that was soon to change. They knew this child was special, but didn’t really comprehend how special.

May and Parker talked about the future and all the great experiences they would share as parents.

Hearing Peter say his first word, take his first step, and his first day at school. All of this and much more as Peter grew into manhood. Parker started talking about how he could see Peter working at the bakery and learning the business under Angie and his guidance. May laughed and said, “And what if he doesn’t want to be a baker? What if he wanted to be something else like a doctor or an astronaut?” Parker smiled back at her and said, “Whatever he wants to be he’ll have both our blessings in his pursuit, but I’d bet he’d make a great baker.” Not too far off into the future they would find out his calling in life and be proud of what he does, but at a cost they would not foresee.

May looked down at Peter lying on the bed. He had fallen back to sleep and looked so peaceful. In her mind she wondered how anyone could give up the precious child. She knew and understood some of the circumstances that lead to the mother abandoning the child, but she couldn’t understand the whys. That’s the part that bothered her the most. She felt that her motherly instincts would have made her protect the child at any cost, even her life before abandoning the child. What danger could be so great that a mother would choose abandonment over fighting and protecting her child? She felt like she would never know or comprehend the reason, but by this time tomorrow she would know the answer to that question and it would be one that would change her very existence.

May picked up Peter and kissed him gently on his forehead. She walked over to the dresser and placed him in his makeshift crib. She drew the blanket over him and tucked it in around the edges. She kissed him once more and whispered, “I love you little angel.” She stood there for a moment just looking at him and feeling the joy of being a mother. Parker walked over and joined her watching their child sleep then said, “We have to go out tomorrow and get this boy a crib and whatever else he needs.” May smiled and said, “A carriage, car seat, cloths, diapers, bottles and much more, I’ll make a list in the morning and well go out when you come home tomorrow. Parker made a mental note of Diapers, bottle, car seat and carriage. He hugged May and said, “Time for bed. Gotta get up early and make the money to support this family.” May smiled back and they headed off to prepare for bed.

May lied in bed and couldn’t fall asleep. Parker laid beside her and she heard his breathing and knew he was sound asleep. In her mind she kept thinking about why a mother would give up such a precious child. It bothered her not to know the whole reasoning behind why she abandoned Peter. See went over it in her mind again and again trying to reason out the purpose. This was on her mind as she finally faded off into sleep.