The Forgotten Adoption

Chapter 21 - Onwards & Upwards

Three months later.

"All I ask iiiiiissssss if, this is my last night with you, HOLD ME LIKE I'M MORE THAN JUST A FRIEND, give me a memory I can use, take me by the hand while we do what lovers do. It matters how this ends, CAUSE WHAT IF I NEVER LOVE AGAIN!" 

The final words left my lips and I heaved sharply. Crushed it!

I had just officially butchered All I Ask by Adele, in my very drunken state. I stumbled off the stage with a thunderous clap from the crowd gathered in the small karaoke bar and made my way to Emily and Caz.
They were on their feet whooping and cheering as I neared and shouted for an encore. I bowed graciously and took my seat.

"You is shhhhhooooooo gooded!" Emily slurred. She took her seat and placed her hand on top of mine and sighed dramatically.

"Cameron! I'm soooooo shorry I got the part of Sandy and you did NOT!" Caz exclaimed drunkenly.

"Cazzzzzzzzzz, honestly its ok, cause you is so nice and sooooooo pretty and that's where, I mean, that is why the shows sold out." I replied back, barely making sense. We all sighed and continued to drink until we were kicked out.

We had come to the city for a girls weekend, mostly because Emily and Caz were having relationship problems and I didn't have Lily for the weekend.

After almost a month, Lily came around to finally calling Jack. I, of course being a mother, had to ease drop on to her phone call with him and I was able to get to the bottom of why she reacted the way she did that day. She said she had thought of Jack as her...Dad. When he told her he was leaving she felt as though her parents were getting divorced and that Jack didn't want her any more. She said she had started to believe that we were a family with Jack and I both being her parents. She said if anything, she felt embarrassed that she had imagined Jack to be her...Dad. At this point of the phone call I was in tears, sobbing at the fact she felt as though Jack didn't want her any more.

Jack's reply was simple, that he was coming to Clairview to see her and talk to me.

An hour and a half later Jack was at my door step. My heart went a flutter and I had to remind myself he was here for Lily, not me.

He looked like he meant business and we all took a seat around the dining room table to talk.

"Cameron, I'm pretty sure I heard you sobbing on the other line, so I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess you already know why Lily was so upset." Jack said while half smiling at me.

"I was curious, thats all." I replied. I turned and looked at Lily. "Lily, why didn't you tell me what you were feeling?" I asked Lily in a quiet voice. She looked down at her hands and sighed.

"I felt embarrassed. I got it all wrong. I started to think of Jack as my Dad and then when he told me he was moving away...I thought he didn't want me." Lily said quietly.

"W-would you like me to be your Dad?" Jack asked suddenly. My head shot to him and I glared at him. When the fuck was he going to ask me? Lily looked at him in confusion and then looked over at me. 

"Jack, can I have a word with you outside?" I said rhetorically. I stood up and walked outside to the front door with Jack following closely.

"What the fuck was that?" I whispered angrily as I closed the door behind me.

"Cameron listen, I know I should have asked your permission first before asking Lily, but...I want to be Lily's Father. Now hear me out, I've been there right from the start of the adoption and I love Lily as my own child and that whole month I called every single day hoping she would talk to me. And when she wouldn't it killed me. I even got Walter to go to her school to see what she looked like and if she had grown any taller. I understand if you're angry but for some reason unknown to me I feel as though Lily is mine. She's my daughter Cameron, and I would really like to have your permission to be able to call her mine." Jack pleaded as he stood unbearably close. My heart rate increased as I went to hold on to the railing to help me stand up.

"You sent your brother to stalk my daughter?" I asked feeling uncomfortable.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds creepy. I just wanted to know she was okay. She's stubborn. She wouldn't talk to me for a WHOLE MONTH!" Jack exclaimed deep in thought. I stood and looked over at Jack. He was right, he was there right from the start and I'm pretty sure he loves her unconditionally like I do. Who am I to keep Lily away from a man she already thought of as her father?

"Okay." I said quietly before taking a seat on the porch swing chair.

"Okay? Okay? What does that mean? Okay what?" Jack asked hurriedly.

"Okay, you can be her father, as long as she agrees to it." I said firmly. Before Jack could respond Lily came rushing out the front door and tackled Jack to the ground in excitement.

"I WANT YOU TO BE MY DAD!" Lily screamed in excitement.

After that we went inside to discuss visitation. If we were going to be doing this co-parenting thing we had to be on the same page, the whole time. We decided that he gets her every second weekend and on the first week of school holidays. Jack told me he will start the adoption papers and to leave everything up to him. It was all too real and before I knew it Lily's first weekend at her Dad's had come around. I had anxiety the whole weekend but I knew I had nothing to worry about. Everything was happening so quickly. Now, I'm a co-parent.

Jack and I both agreed to be on the same page when it came to discipline.

As usual my family had A LOT to say about this new arrangement. My Dad was so mad that he wouldn't talk to me for two weeks. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if I will ever get through a week without someone in my family being mad at me.

So, it was Jack's weekend with her and here I was with my cousin and sister getting shit faced.

Caz and Daniel were at a stand still about when the right time was to have a baby. Dan wanted one right away and Caz wanted to wait a little bit. She had turned up to my house upset after they had an argument and ended up staying the night.

Emily and Callum weren't on good terms as Callum was deployed back to Afghanistan for 9 months. He had told her that he wasn't going back to the army but he ended up leaving anyway.

"I just don't understand why he wants a baby NOW!" Caz said with a mouth full of burger.

"Yeah, I don't know why Callum would lie to me. I like having the truth being told." Emily replied munching at her fries drunkenly.

"I wonder if Jack has a girl friend?" I said more to myself than to the drunken messes sitting in front of me. I was drunk but I was still aware of my surroundings.

We all ended back at our hotel, drunk and very emotional.