The Warning

Anthony

“She’s heavier than I thought she’d be,” I joked, trying to hold back a sob as I stared into my daughter’s gray eyes that mirrored mine. She curiously reached out and patted my face.

“Yeah…she’s a good eater.”

“What does she like to eat?” I asked, nibbling on a finger Nori shoved in my mouth. She snatched it away and glared at me before rolling her eyes.

I’m making a great first impression.

“Most fruits, but lately, she’s discovered the joy of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

That’s something we have in common. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk are the best snacks for restless nights.

“She looks like me,” I said absentmindedly.

“That she does. You’re basically twins.”

“Can you tell me more about her?”

The tears finally burst from Simone’s eyes as she wrung her hands in the middle of the nursery. “Y-you’re going to take my daughter away from me, aren’t you?”

“Look…Simone…I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, from agreeing to be my surrogate and sacrificing your body to carry her and loving and caring for her in my absence, but…we had an agreement. She’s my daughter…not yours.”

“She is my daughter!” she shouted, startling Nori, who began to cry in distress.

“I know you’re upset, but please lower your tone. You’re upsetting her.”

“Y-you can’t take her away from me. She’s all that I have.”

“Have you stopped to think about me and my situation, Simone? I feel for you. I do, but she’s all that I have. You know how much I wanted her.”

“How about we split custody?” Simone suggested eagerly. I shook my head.

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“What about what’s best for Nori? You don’t think taking her away from me will mess her up?”

“I’m sure she’ll have difficulty adjusting initially, but children are resilient. Please, tell me more about Nori.”

Simone licked the tears away from the prominent cupid’s bow of her lush upper lip before sitting on the fluffy white rug that spanned most of the nursery.

“Nori’s a good baby—the best baby—the baby every first-time mother wishes to have. She makes parenthood seem like a breeze. She rarely cries. I want to think it’s because she’s always content and satisfied, but who really knows? She doesn’t like onesies with the feet because she likes to feel the carpet underneath her toes. She despises socks and will fight you every chance she gets, but she knows I won’t allow her to leave the house without anything covering her feet. She prefers that her back and bottom be rubbed counterclockwise when she goes down for the night. She’s an early riser. Sometimes I call her my little alarm clock.” Simone paused to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. “N-Nori loves to dance. Sometimes, I’ll turn on music and rearrange the furniture in the living room so we can have a little dance party.”

“What does she like to dance to?”

“R&B,” Simone replied with a chuckle. “Mary J. Blige is her favorite.”

“She gets that from you.”

“Mhm. What else? Strawberry-scented bubbles are her favorite—don’t try to switch it up during bath time because she won’t let it fly. Despite how much she enjoys fruit, she’s not much of a juice drinker. She’s satisfied with water or milk. She has an odd fascination with watching The Weather Channel. She’ll sit on the floor with one hand tightly fisting her curls and the other clutching her sippy cup. She gets that from you. Not the sippy cup part, but the Weather Channel part.”

“It’s nice white noise to have in the background. What else?” I asked greedily. Simone spent the next hour feeding me every detail of my daughter. It was evident that Nori was her entire world.

“She fell asleep. She should rest in her crib,” I said. I stole a few kisses from the sleeping toddler before returning her to Simone.

“W-what happens next?”

“I’ll be back for my daughter.” Simone shook her head furiously. “You can comply and release her to me, or we’ll have to let a court decide.”

“I guess I’ll see you in court.” I sighed at her persistence and reached for the bulky manila envelope inside my jacket. “What is that?”

“Sixty thousand dollars. Our original agreement was that you’d receive $30,000.00 after confirmation of pregnancy and another $30,000.00 after the birth. I added an extra $30,000.00 for the inconvenience.”

“Inconvenience?” she shrieked.

“Calm down. It was a poor choice of words. I added a bonus for not being able to settle my debt as agreed upon.” A dark look flashed across Simone’s face. I knew she was seconds away from telling me to shove the stack of money up my ass. “Take the money. You’ll need it for a good lawyer.” I was shocked when she accepted without further provocation. “I’ll see myself out. And Simone?” I said, stopping at the door.

“What?” she gritted out.

“Don’t try to disappear. I’ll find you.”