Deasil Street10.1

Bernice and Gracie had wasted no time, and had spent the last few weeks jumping through hoops in order to secure an interview with child services.

The house was spotless, they’d both dressed to impress and were both terrified. The interview was super important, what if the person they dispatched was homophobic? Or was a man who hated women? Or was just a normal person who worried they didn’t own the house outright, instead sharing with another mother and child.

It was a minefield!

Everything seemed to go well. The older woman had seen everything before, and put them at their ease while asking questions. Neither of them could be sure of the impression she was getting of them though, she was giving nothing away.

The interview went on longer than they’d expected by a good few hours, so Bernice gave a tour of the house while Gracie fixed them all something to eat.

Bernice saw a glimmer of hope when the woman commented how impressed she was with the thought that had gone into the possible child's sleeping arrangements.

During their meal the woman suddenly told them with no preamble or warning that they had been successful, and could adopt with their agency.

Neither of them could believe how easy it had been in the end. The next week or so they were in a second honeymoon mood, everything was going their way.

What they didn’t know was that their was a crisis in the adoption system – the economic downturn had seen a drop in applications. The agency would never let an unsuitable couple adopt obviously, but it had meant that the application process had been streamlined and simplified.

Bernice invited Teresa round and showered her with champagne, it was partly due to her that they’d thought of adopting in the first place. They were adopting a child, skipping the baby and toddlers who were usually adopted for someone who really needed a chance.

Alfred Hennrick was feeling the love too. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he couldn’t get Ambrose Merrihall out of his head. He decided to ask her out on a date. They’d hung out as friends before, but not like this. He asked her in a letter, too shy to do it in person.

He arranged to meet her at the only fancy restaurant in town, but wasn’t certain she would turn up until she was there in front of him.

Usually so cool and calm, Alfred was practically stammering as he handed over the flowers he’d chosen.

Luckily Ambrose found it adorable rather than pitiful. After all, Frank, the father of Julian, had been confident and smooth but had turned out to be all wrong.

She took a deep breath before following Alfred into the restaurant. This was her first date since having Julian, she hoped it would go well. She really quite liked him.

The meal went well, with Alfred making a real effort with their conversation. He walked her home, then shyly gave Ambrose a peck on the lips outside her door. He didn’t want to scare her off, but in all honesty he was in very unfamiliar territory.

Ambrose wasn’t going to settle for such a chaste kiss at the end of her evening.

So she pulled him in close and let him know how much she had enjoyed the evening. There was no question, she would be seeing him again.