Under Your Skin by Shannyn Schroeder Page A

knocked up. I thought I was being careful. I’d been on the pill. After months of pretending it wasn’t real, I came home.” Her rambling caused a surge of embarrassment. She drank a gulp of water. “I didn’t know what to do.”
    â€œYou have options, and that’s what I’m here for.”
    â€œI don’t think I’m ready to be a mother, so maybe adoption is right for me.”
    â€œI can help you with whatever you choose. If it’s lack of readiness, we can get you into parenting classes. We can find you a mentor.”
    â€œIt’s not just the parenting. I haven’t finished college. I don’t have a job. I don’t really have support.” She immediately thought of Jimmy, but it wasn’t his job to support her child. “I don’t feel ready because I haven’t lived my life yet. I don’t think I can give what a baby needs.”
    â€œI can help with finding a job, getting financial support. Help you find a lawyer to get child support. However, if you want to talk about an adoption plan, we can go over that too.”
    â€œMy family is better than I make them sound. My brother Jimmy would take care of me and the baby, but I don’t want him to have to. It’s more than money and jobs. I don’t feel like a mom.” Because of this, she felt like there was something fundamentally wrong with her. Most women would be cooing over little pajamas and baby strollers. She hadn’t even looked at one.
    â€œRight now, I think the only thing holding me back from jumping at adoption is guilt. I spent a lot of time on your Web site. I like the idea of an open adoption. I don’t want my baby to feel abandoned.” Tears filled her eyes with the thought. She knew that feeling too well.
    Teagan reached across the table and held her hand. “We’ll work toward whatever makes you comfortable. This is about you making the best choice for you and the baby, not assigning guilt or blame.”
    Norah didn’t know what she had been expecting. Maybe someone berating her for stupidly getting pregnant without a plan. Maybe someone telling her she should give her baby away. But she hadn’t expected someone to hold her hand and tell her it would be okay. Surprisingly, it made a hell of a difference.
    â€œTell me how open adoption works. I read about some of it online, but if I decide on adoption, what happens?”
    â€œWe talk, like we are now, about what you want and what you expect, both in adoptive parents and life after adoption. Then we try to find a match.” She sipped her coffee, but still held Norah’s hand.
    â€œWhat if I change my mind?”
    â€œAfter you have the baby, by law you have to wait three days to make the adoption official. It gives you time and space to reconsider. You can take all the time you need.”
    â€œWhat about the baby’s father?”
    â€œDo you know who he is and how to reach him?”
    Norah nodded.
    â€œWe’ll contact him and ask for a waiver. If he refuses, adoption is still possible. It will take longer and there’s more paperwork to make it legal. It’s easiest if he’s on board.”
    â€œI get to choose where the baby goes? Like someone here in Chicago?”
    â€œYou would go through profiles we have on adoptive parents, and then you can choose to meet some. The choice is completely up to you.”
    Norah drained her water glass. There was so much to this.
    â€œThere’s no hurry. You have time to think about what you want for you and the baby as well as what your expectations are. I’m only a phone call away at any time.”
    Norah stared into Teagan’s dark brown eyes. Her wildly curly hair bounced around her shoulders as she talked and offered reassurance. She was pretty and confident and knew what she was talking about. Norah vaguely remembered feeling that way herself.
    Over these past few months, she lost herself