It was a few days before Zacky plucked up the courage to call Keira. He’d stared at the phone number obsessively for days, especially when Linzee was sleeping and he was left alone with his thoughts.
The papers for adoption had already come through, but his lawyers still hadn’t been able to track down either one of the birth parents, and had given Zacky the all clear to treat this child like she was his own.

Every day, Linzee surprised him. Whether it was that when he held her she seemed to stop being scared or when her laugh filled the room, all of Zacky’s problems seemed to float straight out the window, all he cared about was making this little girl the happiest little girl on the planet.
Now, she was sleeping, napping with the dogs in the living room, and Zacky was staring at his phone, the numbers already keyed in. Now it was just a question of pressing the little green symbol and hearing Keira’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Don’t chicken out now. She might be the last date you get in a long time” he coached himself, and sighing, he pressed the little button and brought the phone up to his ear.
The wait while the rings buzzed in his ear was the most tension Zacky had ever been put through in his life. Each time the monotone noise sounded over and over, his hope began to fade a little that she wasn’t going to pick up and if she did- she’d turn him down.

“Hello?”
“Keira? It’s Zacky, from the store”
She laughed, sounding genuinely happy to hear from him, which put one point in Zacky’s corner.
“Hi Zacky from the store. How are you?”

That accent was going to kill Zacky, he just knew it. It was so perfect, and if they got to know each other a little better, he could see himself imitating it every day.
“I’m good. Listen, I was wondering if you, uh, wanted to come over, maybe…um, and you can, y’know, give me a few pointers?” Zacky stumbled awkwardly over his words, slipping into old habits when it came to breaking up words. When he was in high school and had had to speak as part of a debate, a group of jocks at the back had come up with a drinking game- to take a shot whenever he said ‘Y’know’.

Keira giggled from the other end of the line, obviously not on the same line that jocks had been on, and he could hear her scrabbling around for something on the other end of the line.
"I'd love to come over, Zacky. I'm dying to meet this little Linzee you spoke so fondly about. Give me your address and I'll be over in an hour" she replied, and as Zacky reeled off his address to the girl on the other end of the line, he began to smile. This girl actually wanted to come over- she could've just turned him down in the store but maybe, just maybe, she liked him.

Zacky said goodbye to Keira as soon as he heard the soft cries from the living room and in seconds, he had Linzee in his arms and she was laughing at him.
A happy family. Just the two of them.

***

A half hour later, and Zacky was playing with Linzee on the pink play mat Brian had picked out when the two of them had been shopping. It astounded Zacky how interested Linzee seemed in the shapes and colours of the mobile above her, but then again, she was only six months old, and seeing a window to her was like seeing Picasso rise from the dead.
"Purple is your Uncle Brian's favourite colour- that's why he picked out that little outfit for you" Zacky cooed to her as she prodded at a little purple octopus with one finger. She was wearing the 'Daddy's Little Girl' babygro- and he'd already texted a photo to Brian to tell him it was paying for itself.

The doorbell rang suddenly, making a loud noise as the room became quiet and Zacky's dogs start barking again. Picking up Linzee with one arm, and quietening the dogs, he walked over to the door and opened it, to reveal Keira on the other side. Her hair had been thrown into a ponytail with little tendrils framing her heart shaped face, and she wore a Metallica t-shirt over black jeans.
"Hey Zacky- and is this Linzee? Isn't she adorable?" she gushed, just like any woman would over a small child, and with Zacky's permission, picked the baby out of his hands. Linzee adjusted almost instantly to the new person who was holding her, and smiled as Keira walked through into the living room.

As Zacky watched the woman walk, his heart skipped a little beat. He could see a future flashing before his eyes. He could see his life with Linzee, and now it involved Keira too. She would be right there in all of the big moments- watching this little girl that had crawled into his life grow up- happy.

Would she feel the same way?