Celeste didn’t know what to do about the small child, the parents seemed uninterested at best, it was not a sight that she had ever seen before. As a prenatal nurse she saw the tiniest ones in the hospital, and the most vulnerable, and what she had witnessed over the last two days with this one was beyond her comprehension.
Normally the parents were more than excited when their newborn finally entered the world, all thoughts were upon the one that they had prepared for so long to come into their lives, and it was all that preoccupied their time. Names had been picked out, bedrooms rearranged and painted, cribs and toys all set in place for the newest member of their family to enjoy, they were precious to them. Not with these two though, it was almost as if they had no concerns whatsoever about the tiny life that lay in front of them now.
They had arrived twenty-six hours ago, in a cab she was told, and the driver had complained because he had not been paid, the young girl at the front desk had taken care of that when she noticed the condition that the mother to be was in. There was not even a thank you when the young couple were informed of this courtesy, but it had been glossed over at the time, forgetfulness about all but the birth of a child was common at the hospital. She had given birth only an hour after their arrival, and the child seemed normal. All the test said that it was a healthy boy, almost eight pounds, and everything seemed like it was as common as most of the other births that had happened at the large hospital, until later in the day when the father disappeared and did not return.
The young woman would give nothing but her first name, not even the prompting of nearly every nurse on the floor could entice any more than that from her. The strangest part was how unattached she seemed to be from the child, not even its cries seemed to affect her, and she absolutely refused to nurse the infant, Celest had seen post-partum depression before, in some cases it could last for a very long time, but she had never witnessed anyone completely disregard their own child in such a way as this woman had. On the second day she had walked into the room at the beginning of her shift and found the mother stepping out of the bathroom fully dressed, shoes in hand, the small bag that she had brought with her laying on the bed she had occupied.
“Can I help you with something?” The young woman just smiled at her, put her shoes on, picked up her bag and walked out the door. Celeste looked on in amazement, not exactly sure what to do, and then finally ran out of the room and down the hallway just as the woman headed into the waiting elevator. “Wait, you can’t just leave, what about your child?” Another smile, and the elevator door closed leaving Celeste with a feeling in her stomach like a prize fighters punch. She turned and started to run back to the nurse’s station, slamming her knee hard into a wheelchair that had been left beside the wall, she grabbed the phone out of the nurse’s hand who was on duty and dialed security at the front of the building. After six rings it was picked up by an orderly, there had been a fight between two drug addicts in the waiting room of the lobby, and the young woman had not been seen leaving. “Maybe she went out a different door, we can check the security cameras.”
John Doe was resting comfortably in the nursery, completely oblivious to all that had occurred to him in his very short life so far. “What are we to do with you, little one.” The security cameras had turned up the young woman simply walking out of the front of the lobby as if she was only visiting a sick relative, no cab, no car, she just walked across the street and out of her child’s life forever. “How long before we need to call someone?” The police of course had been notified the next morning, all the paperwork that could be done was completed, and they said that they would start a search for the young woman, but not to get their hopes up too much. There had been babies left at the door of the hospital before, but this was a completely new situation, total abandonment after a birth had never happened here, not like this.
“Why would anyone do that, I just don’t understand, especially when there are so many like us who have tried for so long.” Celeste was resting her head on her husbands shoulder in the bed, they had talked about the little boy half the night, and it was just as surprising to her husband the total lack of desire for one so small. “I don’t know sweetheart, I just don’t know, the world is not what it used to be, are you sure the baby isn’t addicted to anything from the mother?” All the test had come up negative, he was a healthy little baby boy without a mother or father, and tomorrow the state would need to be contacted, he couldn’t just live in the hospital.
Celeste and her husband of almost five years could not have children, something they had found out just a year ago, their love was deep, but the thought of a childless home for the both of them was still depressing. They had begun the conversation of adoption, and the financial ability was not a problem, but the waiting list was so long, many years could pass by before the sound of a child’s laughter might be heard in their home.
“There’s a lot of paperwork, Celest, not just a few pages, we’re talking about a stack a mile high, are you two sure about this?” The social worker was a good friend of Celest’s, they had grown up together and the woman knew all about her and her husband’s many attempts at having a child, “And I know I shouldn’t mention this, but the baby does not have the same complexion as you and Robert do.” “I’ve already talked with the hospital, in essence because the baby was born here and there is no mother or father, or any other relative for that matter that can be located, they are the temporary guardians, but that can be transferred over to me, if we can find a judge that will agree with the whole thing.”
The sermon that morning was on 1st Samuel, Chapter one, specifically about Samuels mother, Hannah. Celeste knew why the pastor had chosen this sermon for this morning, he had stopped by the house and met the newest addition to their family, along with about a hundred other people during the last few weeks. There was a joy around not only their church family for them, but also at the hospital, Celeste was looked upon as the local hero, and nearly everyone there had signed one of those giant cards. They had named the baby Samuel, it just seemed appropriate, and in their own way they had dedicated him to the Lord before he even arrived at their home.
“The Lord is good, my love.” Yes, He is, my dear, yes He is.”
