Chapter 9
Abandonment and Baby's First Birthday
The First Year
The first few months after Jade's birth were tough for both Jen and I. Jen began to slowly gravitate back to her old party lifestyle. I knew she loved her daughter, but she just couldn't handle the responsibilities that came with having an infant. I adored being with the baby and didn't mind when Jen would leave her with me to go out with friends. By the time Jade was five months old Jen had met a guy and within days she moved out taking Jade and only a quarter of her stuff to his apartment. Two nights after they left I was heading out to go race when Jen's Civic came to a screeching stop outside of my apartment. Her window rolled down and she called out to me.
"Mo, you've got to take the baby. I can't do it, she hates me, she hasn't stopped crying since we left."
"Jen that's impossible, she hardly ever cries."
"I don't know what to do with her. Joe's all pissy because he hasn't been able to sleep and he's working the late shift."
I walked closer to the car and was surprised at how bad my friend looked. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hands were shaking despite the tight grip that she had on the steering wheel. Jade was in the back screaming, but she started to quiet down as soon as she saw me approaching.
"Jen are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay. I need a drink my nerves are fried. You going out tonight?"
"I was just going for a drive, why don't I take Jade with me tonight so you can get some rest?"
"You'll do that for me? Thanks Mo, I'd really appreciate that."
I opened up Jade's door and was shocked at what I saw. She was filthy; her beautiful black hair was a tangle of knots. I quickly removed her from her car seat once she was out I slammed the door shut and looked back at Jen. I had a feeling that Jade and I wouldn't be seeing her for awhile. Jen looked at me and in that fraction of a second when our eyes met, I knew that I was right.
"Take care of her Mo."
"I will Jen, you take care of yourself."
"I'll try."
Then she was gone. I looked down at the now content child that I was holding in my arms.
"Well, it looks like it's just the two of us now Jade."
Jade's Birthday
I got up earlier and took a shower, while Jade was still sleeping. We were having a small party for her at my friend Lia's house. I had met Lia four months ago at a performance shop in Long Island. I was with Jade and she was with her youngest Zach. We started talking and hit it off immediately, I felt so glad to meet someone that had the same interests as me. Lia is seven years older then I, and already has six children. Even with a full family life, she was still semi-active in the scene. Her new car a red Honda S2000 with black graphics, was a birthday gift from her brother Johnny in California. I started spending time with her so Jade could be around other kids and I could finally sit down and have a beer or two with another adult. Those occasions Lia would tell me about the California scene mostly about the cars and the men. She had moved out to the East Coast after meeting her future husband who was the son of one of her father's business associates. I had only met her husband once and found him to be very proper and boring, certainly not the type of person that I thought Lia would marry.
When I got out of the shower I peeked in on Jade who just starting to stir. Figuring I had about ten minutes before she was fully awake, I decided to try to find something to wear. I hated getting dressed in the morning, trying to figure out what to wear made me crazy. I had a kid now and most of my outfits that Jen and I had bought screamed out that I was single and looking. I knew I should be looking for a boyfriend but having Jade added a whole new list of priorities when searching for Mr.Right. I decided on a pair of black pants and my white girl racer shirt. I brushed out my hair and moved around the apartment straightening up, while I waiting for Jade to get up. As I was putting away her toys, I started thinking about everything that had happened.
The previous six months went quick for Jade and I. Race season had come and gone, with me only racing about five times. Jade had received the nickname Little Mo since she was my constant companion on race nights. At first, I was worried about bringing her out with me, afraid that the cars and the noise would frighten her. However, she seemed to enjoy looking at the cars and seeing all the different people.
During these six months time, Jade had an enormous amount of "firsts" that I was lucky enough to experience with her. She had taken her first steps, got her first teeth and had said her first few words, which were Mo, Ma, car, and up. Now that we had made it to her first birthday, I wondered what was in store for us. We hadn't seen Jen since that night but I had heard that she had turned into a serious dust head with her boyfriend Joe. I had been thinking about going to a lawyer and finding out how to get legal custody of Jade. I wasn't sure what the process would be or how long it would take but I thought it would be a good idea to get that taken care of before she started school.
Finally, Jade's voice came calling out of the bedroom.
"Mo Up."
Smiling I got up and went to get her. She was sitting up staring at the door with her little toothy grin.
"Good Morning beautiful. How's my baby girl today? Today is your birthday, you're one now and we're going to have a party for you with cake and pudding at Aunt Lia's."
Jade just sat there looking at me smiling, waiting for me to say something else. Once she started speaking real words, I began talking to her like she could understand every word I said. Lia had suggested I do this so that she was exposed to a variety of words and sounds. I picked her up and proceeded to head towards the bathroom to give her a bath.
Two hours later.
Jade was fully dressed and fed, her diaper bag was packed and we were ready to roll. Lia had a house in Brookhaven. The ride to get there should take us just under an hour if we didn't hit too much traffic.
"Jade, time to go in the car. We're going to see Aunt Lia."
"'kay"
I raised my eyebrow and went to go investigate what she was up to. I found her in the living room trying to climb the entertainment unit.
"Jade what are you doing?"
"Up car race."
I picked her up and she reached for two of the die cast model cars that I kept up there. I didn't say anything as she picked out the Skyline and the Altezza.
"Down"
I put her down on the floor and sat down on the couch. I was curious to see what she was going to do. She lined both the cars up on the floor, sat between them, and looked at me.
"Ma race."
"That's right Jade, Ma races."
I got up and picked her and the cars up, giving her a quick kiss on her head.
"I love you Jade, but we've got to go to Aunt Lia's. We're going to have a party for you."
Lia's House
I pulled into Lia's driveway behind the SUV or as she called it her mom mobile.
"Lia"
"Yes, Jade we're here. Now let Mo get you out of your seat so you can go play with the kids."
"Ma race?"
"I'm not racing right now Jade. We're going to have a party for you."
I unbuckled her car seat and placed her on the driveway and handed her the two cars.
"Mo up."
"No, up Jade. You can walk with me."
I held out my hand and she took it and we headed towards the front door. I rang the bell and expected Lia or one of the older kids to answer it. Instead a younger guy answered it complete with a fading black eye and a full leg cast. He stared at me and then looked down at Jade who was clinging to my pants leg. He crouched down the best he could to be on her level.
"So this must be the birthday girl. Hi Jade, I'm Lance Lia's cousin."
I glanced at Jade and nodded and she loosened her grip on my leg.
"Boo-boo?"
"Yes, I've got a big boo-boo."
"Hurt?"
"No, it doesn't hurt. What's that you have in your hands?"
"Ma race."
She held out the skyline model to him as Lia came to the door and swatted at her cousin.
"What are you doing keeping them on the doorstep."
She scoped down and picked Jade up cars and headed into the back of the house all after giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. I stepped in and extended my hand to Lance.
"Hi, I'm Morgan but everybody calls me Mo."
"I'm Lance, Lia's cousin. You live around here?"
"No, I'm in Queens, you here on vacation or just recovering here."
I was nosy, Lia never mentioned her cousin Lance. He was sort of attractive in an odd way.
"Something like that. I got into some trouble back home in California so my uncle thought it would be best if I came out here for awhile. Plus Lee is in Japan on business so he didn't want Lia and the kids all alone, I came in yesterday afternoon."
"How bad was the break?"
"Surprisingly it could have been worse. I was in a bike accident; I went off the road and down a cliff. So tell me is that your car out there or your boyfriends."
"It's all mine, I'm not currently seeing anyone right now. With Jade it's hard I have a whole different set of priorities."
"What about her father?"
"I don't know who he is Jen never told me."
I caught the confused look on his face and realized that Lia hadn't told him anything.
"Jade's not mine, she's my best friend."
"She calls you Ma though."
"It's because I'm the only person she's really known since her birth."
"Oh it must have been hard for you to suddenly become a mother."
I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a Corona out of the cooler and sat at the table so that I could see out into the yard. Jade and Zach were on the deck playing with the cars oblivious to the world around them.
"Actually, it wasn't that bad really. I was surprised how well I adapted my life around her. Lia says that some people are just naturally born to be good parents."
"So you think one day you'll settle down and have your own children?"
"I'd like too, I want to get out of Queens first. Move somewhere where I can race yet my kids can get a good education and have a yard to play in."
I looked up and found Lance staring at me and to my surprise I felt myself blushing.
"Have you thought about California?"
"I've thought about it, but I have other things to do first before I can even think about moving."
"Like what?"
"I want to try to legally adopt Jade."
"You do that's wonderful!"
I jumped at the sound of Lia's voice. She was standing in the doorway holding Jade who was looking angry.
"What's wrong Jade?
"Lost"
I looked at Lia for a further explanation.
"She was racing with Zach and the skyline lost."
I got up and took Jade from her and returned to my seat.
"Jade, it's okay to lose sometimes. You've got to deal with it and move on, you get to full of yourself and you'll slip up and make a mistake that will cost you."
She looked satisfied, so I set her on the floor gave her butt a little swat and she went back outside to play. Lia laughed and looked at me.
"That was pretty good coming from someone who hasn't lost a race in her life."
Lance looked at me before speaking.
"You've never lost"
"Not yet, I know it'll happen eventually though. "
Lia replaced my empty bottle with a fresh one and grabbed one for herself.
"So are you really going to try to legally adopt her?"
"Yes, I just have to do the research and find a lawyer."
"I've got a great lawyer that you can call, he's helped us before."
Lance shot Lia a look that caused her to pale, interesting I wonder if there was something more to this story. I was going to push further but her cell phone started ringing.
"Yeah, really no the Honda isn't ready but I might know somebody who might be interested. I'll get back to you tonight."
I looked at her as I took a hit of my Corona.
"Race?"
"Yeah, you interested?"
"Maybe, who, how much, what, and why."
"Cheap no more then one large, newbie needs a lesson, driving a near stock Honda hatch."
"How near stock?"
"Intake, Exhaust and a few V-Tec stickers."
"I'm in but don't tell Jade, I want to surprise her."
The rest of the afternoon was spent on the deck and in the yard with the kids. By seven o'clock we had dinner and we were just finishing up with Jade's birthday cake. She had eaten nearly all of it but some how managed to still get some rubbed into her hair.
"Mo, why don't you give her a quick bath upstairs before we leave. That way by the time you get home you'll be able to just put her in bed."
"That's a good idea let me go grab our stuff from the trunk."
I gave Jade a kiss on the head and went out to grab the bags from my trunk. As soon as I came back in Jade saw the duffel bag that contained my duffel bag she started fussing to get out of her seat.
"Ma race? Me up. Me go."
"Yes Ma is racing, and yes Jade is coming. But first we need to get you cleaned up."
"kay."
8:45 PM
Jade and I were ready and waiting in the living room while Lia put the last of her kids to bed. Lance was in the kitchen on the phone, talking to Johnny. Finally Lia came downstairs wearing the same outfit that she had worn all day. I raised an eyebrow at her and she shook her head and mouthed later.
"Mo, I figured I take the SUV, so that way after the race you could go straight home with Jade."
"That works, you ready to roll?"
"Yes, I've got everything."
I stuck my head in the kitchen and waved goodbye to Lance before picking up Jade and heading out the front door.