Tim was watching his daughter enjoy her birthday party with a big smile on his face when thoughts began to stir in his head.
This is why you buy a monkey, he had said. The only thing wrong with that statement was the fact that they didn't buy the monkey they knew as Bob…
And now that he thought about it, the way they did in fact find Bob – with Becky- did seem a little odd.
Tim remembered the day as if it were yesterday; it had been a sunny Sunday afternoon and there was a slight breeze blowing. He and Sally were just getting home from the grocery store, and when they got out of their car they saw a baby sitting on their doorstep, arm being pulled on by a monkey in an odd little costume. It seemed as if the monkey was in a hurry to leave, but the little girl wasn't. The six-months-married couple approached the two slowly to see that the little girl was reading their Sunday newspaper.
They immediately knew to find out if they were lost and being searched for, only to find out that they weren't. The parents weren't in any sort of accident, or recently killed somehow. In fact, the police couldn't find any sort of record for her parents. They somehow just didn't exist. And, apparently, neither did the child. No one knew her name, where she could possibly have come from; none of the nearest orphanages had ever even seen the baby or monkey before. The two were somehow completely off the grid.
So the young couple had decided to take her back to their house. They gave her some markers and paper to draw with, as to keep her occupied for a while while they decided what to do with her. Somehow, for some reason, they didn't want to give her to an orphanage. For some reason, that just didn't seem like something they wanted to do. They watched her doodle stars inside of shields on most of her papers and sighed. She had run out of paper to draw on (plus, she had gotten bored with drawing), so they gave her a teddy bear, which had been stowed away in a closet, to play with.
After a while, they noticed the little girl yawning, her eyes flickering open as she fought to stay awake. Tim went to the next door neighbors to borrow a portable crib that their five-year-old child didn't need anymore (explaining their situation, of course), so the little girl could sleep in it.
As the couple watched the baby sleeping on her side, sucking her thumb and snuggling the teddy bear, and the monkey sleeping directly outside the crib, all the troubles from their day had vanished. They observed the little girl's innocence.
And there, watching the two sleep, knowing they were meant to be the best of friends and together forever, they decided that their place was here; as a part of the Bottsford family.
But now that he thought about it, watching Becky ride a pony around their lawn with a wide smile on her face, and watching Bob as he sat on her back, he wondered about the small things about that day ten years ago. About why a little girl, probably no more than a year old, was reading a newspaper and doing the crossword. Sure, he had thrown the crossword away without looking at it even once, but still. What if she had filled it out correctly? And Bob…why was he wearing that costume when they were found? He barely remembered the costume. They had thrown it in the closet of the room they had given to Becky, and honestly, had never looked at it again. But it just didn't add up…how could a child be completely off the grid? Have no paperwork or even remote memory to her name? Where could she possibly have come from? Would anyone ever know?
Tim looked back to his daughter, and suddenly, all those thoughts vanished. For now, it didn't matter. For now, he was just glad that they had made the decision to keep them. For now, all that mattered was that they were a family.
Little did he know that in just a few years, this family would find out all the answers to his questions.
Just a short oneshot I thought about…well, a while back…finally stopped procrastinating the finish…so review!