“You’re playing a dangerous game, woman.” He was the luckiest man in the world, his wife still had the sex drive she had found when he took her virginity on her wedding night. He didn’t know many men his age who still got it five or more times a week, even with Viagra and their third wife. He’d hit the jackpot on his only play. “You’re right, though. I need to pay attention or we’ll end up hitting a deer before we get out of these woods.”
He leaned into the next turn, accelerating out of it, when he spotted something in the road. “Possum” is what he thought as he hit the brakes, moving into the other lane to avoid the roadkill. “DA FUCK,” he exclaimed as he got a closer look, locking up the brakes and skidding to a stop just past the naked baby sitting in the middle of the road.
Dawn was off the motorcycle as soon as it stopped, running back in her boots to the child who was playing with a pine cone. Picking her up, she quickly looked her over. “Look around, her Mom must be nearby.”
Mark pushed his motorcycle to the edge of the road, put the flashers on and the kickstand down, then grabbed a Maglite out of the cargo carrier. “Is she all right?”
Dawn had already zipped down her motorcycle jacket and opened her hoodie sweatshirt, placing the girl close to her chest before zipping back up. “She seems fine, just cold. What’s your name, sweetie?” The girl just leaned into her, her tiny hands grabbing her t-shirt as she snuggled in.
“Found something,” Mark said as he picked something up from the side of the road. The baby sling had the blanket partially inside still after the girl had crawled out. He brought it over to his wife, who put it around her neck and wrapped the child again before zipping up as best she could. “I’m going to look around, maybe there’s a car in the ditch or something.”
“Fine, I’m taking her back to the bike to call 911,” Dawn replied. She got back and opened up the storage compartment, fishing in her purse for her flip phone. Opening it up, she cursed the spotty cellphone coverage. “I’ve got no bars,” she said.
Mark jogged back, shaking his head. “There’s nothing here, and we didn’t pass any houses or cars. We need to get ahold of the local Sheriff.”
“She needs to be checked out at the hospital, too,” Dawn said. “She seems all right but who knows what happened. Who abandons a baby in the middle of nowhere?”
Mark pulled her back to his chest. “I don’t know, but she’s ours to protect right now. Be careful not to crush her as we ride.”
“You drive slow, there’s a baby on board here,” Dawn replied. She got up to her seat, then Mark fired the big bike up and started down the road. They didn’t see anything after a mile, so he accelerated back to normal speed.
It was almost twenty miles before they stopped and got a cellphone signal. The 911 operator was shocked, no one had reported a missing baby. Dispatch sent a Sheriff’s Deputy to meet them, and Dawn climbed into the back of the heated patrol car while Mark followed with the motorcycle. With lights and sirens, they made the sixty-minute drive in forty.
The ER staff took her from them, and the Deputy took their statements. Other patrol cars had scoured the road and ditches where she was found, and nothing was turned up. He took the blanket and sling they found and put it in an evidence bag, then left them alone in the waiting room. “How could anyone dump her by the side of the road like a piece of trash,” she cried into his shoulder as they waited.
“Some people’s trash is other people’s treasure,” Mark said. “I’ve seen some weird stuff in my life, but I have to think God put us on that road tonight to find her. I was going to head back to 61 for the easy drive, but something in my head told me to take the long way instead.”
“Do you… I mean, if they let us… would you?”
“Adopt her?” He looked into his wife’s face, an infection had rendered her sterile and they didn’t want to use a surrogate. She had thought she was all right with being childless but watching the other couples in their families with their babies was never easy for her.
“I think you’re right. She’s our Treasure.” The door opened, and a Doctor came in with another woman, smiling when he saw Dawn. “Doctor Jenkins, is she all right?”
“She’s fine,” he said with a smile. “No signs of frostbite, lungs are good, just a little hungry and dehydrated but we’re taking care of that. She’s very lucky you found her, on a night like this she could have died within hours.”
“Where is she,” Mark asked. “Can we see her?”
“She’s being placed in emergency foster care,” the woman with him said. “I’m Melody Thompson, with Child Protective Services. She is going to remain in foster care until we find the mother, or she is declared abandoned and adopted out.”
“We want to adopt her,” Dawn said.
“What do we need to do?”
She handed Dawn her card. “Unless you are already licensed for foster care, you can’t do anything right now. The law requires a baby to be declared abandoned before parental rights can be terminated and the baby is eligible for adoption. Six months has to elapse without the parents being identified before the court can rule that way.”
Six months. Six months with strangers, moving around in the system. “How can we proceed?”
“If you’re serious, get yourself certified for foster care. Once you have that, you can petition for her to be placed with you, and that strengthens your adoption case. Nothing is for sure, though. Healthy babies are in demand.”
Dawn just nodded, her head already going through the motions of what they would need to do. “I’ll call you in a day or two to check in. Could we visit her?”
“I’m sorry, you have zero legal status here and we can’t reveal the location of the foster care.”
Dawn looked at the Doctor, holding back tears. “Can we at least say goodbye to her?”
The social worker nodded. “I don’t see a problem with that, but you have to leave before the foster parents arrive. They will be here at five.” She looked up at the clock, it was just after two in the morning.