Chapter Three: I'll Keep You My Dirty Little Secret

"Now, promise me that you will take care of this little baby."

I raised my right hand and placed my left hand on one of the various baby books sitting on the table, "I, Shayda Elaine Buckley, do solemnly swear to take care of my daughter, Aponi Malani Buckley."

Mom cut her eyes at me as she handed Aponi back to me, "Oh, so you've got jokes, huh?"

"Plenty of them!" I laughed. Carefully, I took Aponi from my mom and placed her little body against my chest. "Mom, this is my baby girl! Of course I am going to take care of her!"

"I know, Shayda. It's just-" Mom let out a small sigh, "she is a human-being. She needs love and affection. You can't just leave her in her crib and expect her to thrive." Suddenly, Mom's face grew stern and she pressed her luscious lips into a thin line, "But above all, you have to feed her."

My eyes widened in mock horror, "Oh my god! Really?! Oh, Mom! Thank you so much for pointing out the extremely obvious to me!"

"Shayda Elaine Buckley, I am serious!"

"Mom, I know. But really, why would you feel the need to inform me about something so, well, obvious?"

My younger sister Nikki laughed softly as she scooped Aponi out of my arms. It truly was a chore to keep Aponi to myself. "She's still a little bitter about Lady Marble."

"Lady Marble? Who the hell is Lady-"

Suddenly, it hit me like a brick.

"Oh, Mom! You have got to be kidding me! I was five! Besides, unlike Marble, Aponi is not going to let me ignore her needs!"

During my preschool and early kindergarten years, I was obsessed with hamsters; dwarf hamsters to be exact. A couple of months before my birthday, my parents purchased a small, fluffy, dark chocolate and mocha colored hamster, just for me. I named her Lady Marble (because I considered her to be my little lady; and, I was totally into marbles); she was my Easter and early birthday present.

Even though Marble was a gift, there was a catch; she was completely my responsibilty.

Well, since I was only five at the time, I wasn't very responsible. There were plenty of times where I would forget to feed Marble and give her fresh water.

Eventually, my carefree ways resulted in her premature death.

In spite of the fact that she never came behind me to feed or bathe Marble, Mom took Marble's passing harder than I did. She didn't consider playing with Marble as helping me care for her, so, basically, Mom played with her whenever she got the chance, which alotted time for her to become so close to the fuzzy little critter.

Mom's face relaxed, "Well, I suppose you're right." She watched me like a hawk as I took take Aponi from Nikki's arms. This time, I planned on keeping her against my chest. "I guess what I don't understand is what made you decide to adopt so soon. I mean, Shayda, you just moved to Bridgeport less than a year ago!"

That's right. I told my family that Aponi was adopted; and since she didn't bear any resemblance of me, they had no right not to believe me. Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, I didn't make up this terrible lie because I was ashamed of Aponi. Oh no. This was not the case at all. I merely expounded on the truth because:

A: My family did not know Beau. Hell, I barely knew Beau!

B: My family would think that I was insane if they knew about my goal.

C: Beau was a vampire.

D: Aponi was conceived out of wedlock

(Which was a big no-no, stating that my family is Catholic)

"Mom, I've wanted a baby since I was 18; I just decided to be wise and wait before I went out and got one." Phrasing this the way I did made Aponi sound like a piece of merchandise. "Also, I figured that it would be better if I adopted, because I'm not married and the last thing I need is you bitching at me about getting knocked-up before marriage."

Mom didn't look very convinced. She stared at me long and hard before signalling for Nikki. "Well, I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into," she warned as she picked up her sweater from the back of the couch. "I'll give you a call when we get back to Sunset Valley."

I nodded stiffly, "Okay. I'll be waiting."

Mom looked down at Aponi and smiled, "Good-bye little one." She leaned over and kissed Aponi ever so lightly on her forehead, "I'll be calling to check on you. Okay?"

Then it was Nikki's turn. Unlike Mom, Nikki gave me a big hug before focusing all of her attention to Aponi, "Now, don't you give your mommy a hard time? Do you hear me?" She took her index finger and stroked Aponi's shimmering cheek, "Auntie Nikki loves you!"

About an hour after Mom and Nikki left, Aponi began fuss. It was way past her naptime, but she was fighting her sleep. "There, there, little one. It's all right. You're psychotic grandma and silly aunt are gone, now; which means it's just you and me. You can go to sleep. You won't miss a thing. I swear." 

After thirty minutes, or so, of bouncing Aponi up and down as I walked around the nursey, she was fast asleep.

Seconds after placing Aponi in her crib, my phone began to vibrate. Now, the drive from Sunset Valley to Bridgeport was more than an hour and thirty minutes long; and depending on the traffic, the drive back could be even longer, so I just knew that it wasn't Mom calling me. To my surprise, it was a text from my sister:

U may b able 2 fool mum, but u can't fool me.

I kno that Aponi is ur biological daughter.

She's a blonde like daddy.

She has your eyes.

Also, you've got curves. NOT. NORMAL!

Tell me EVERYTHING.

Is her daddy sexi? ;)

~ Luvs Ya~

Nikki

 Well, it looks like this cat was out of the bag.