I sighed as my shirt comfortably fell past my belt. “Well, you didn’t have to practically knock my door down just to tell me that.”
He shrugged again and followed me out of the room. I took the nearest car keys and stepped out into the rather chilly weather. The temperature was tolerable, but the wind seemed unusually strong as we headed to my SUV.
After driving aimlessly for a countless number of minutes, I gave in and turned into a restaurant called Decadence. It seemed like any other run-of-the-mill restaurant trying to gain popularity among customers. I parked right at the entrance and walked in with Toby. His whining on how we should’ve kept looking for a Denny’s persisted even when entering the elegant establishment. It was only fueled when we took notice of the ridiculous prices for food here.
“Told ya we should’ve gone to Denny’s…” He whispered as the waitress came upon our table.
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the woman asking us on what we would like to drink. I settled on water and Toby asked for a glass of orange juice. Our drinks arrived after a short while and there ended the positive experience in that restaurant. The food that we both ordered turned out to be blander than some cheap places I had visited! Not to mention the absurd amount of time waiting for something that had only disappointed the both of us in the end. I quickly paid and walked out. I knew that if I showed just how upset I was over the food, Toby would truly demonstrate his disappointment in god-knows what ways! The restaurant was not worth trashing and getting arrested for so I jolted out of there as fast as I could.
With that mistake now behind us, we both focused on what was needed to be done next. It was about fifteen minutes to 10:00 so I knew it would be a proper time to begin our drive to the orphanage.
With roughly ten minutes of derailment, I finally managed to arrive in one piece at the entrance. The excitement of today began to take its effect as I felt my stomach erupt with butterflies. The rumble of my car died down as I flipped the motor off and rushed inside. Along the trek to seeing Lea, I caught a glimpse at Amber who was returning from another hallway.
“You know I said a few minutes after ten, not before, right?” She asked me smiling.
“Well, you know what they say: The early bird gets the worm!” I casually replied.
“Does that even apply to this?” She said, laughing.
“I’d like to think so.” I looked over at Toby who appeared to have seen a ghost. His mouth inaudibly formed a “Whoa” as he continued to stare at Amber.
“Oh yeah, this is an old friend of mine. His name’s Toby.” I added while gently hitting him out of his stunned expression. He returned back to his old self and politely went for a handshake. Amber smiled back at the man towering high over her and returned the greeting. After the formalities were completed, the three of us marched on to where Lea was.
The door creaked sharply as I attempted to enter the room without bringing Lea’s attention toward us. My nonsuccess proved obvious once we took notice of a small shadow taking a number of careful steps toward our direction. I allowed the door to completely open, revealing once more that curious little girl, Lea.
Her pacifier dropped out her mouth as a wide smile grew on her face. I smiled back and opened my arms to the child. The impact of her little head hitting my stomach forced me to groan slightly as I pulled her into my embrace. Almost immediately, the past disruptions and annoyances adding up to today simply faded from my train of thought as I looked into her bright eyes. I walked the few feet with Lea still in my arms to pick up the once-abandoned pacifier and proceeded to briefly wash any harmful residue that may have landed on it. I turned off the faucet and placed the nipple between Lea’s lips.
I walked back to the rest of the group and handed the child over to Amber so that Toby and I could proceed with putting her belongings into the car. The task was brief as all of Lea’s possessions only accumulated to about three small boxes. The diaper bag was all that remained inside her former living space. I gently swung it over my shoulder and closed the door behind me.