SS: Inexplicable Decisions

“I still don't know why he picked you.”

My mother's voice echoed in my head as I navigated the hills and turns leading to my apartment. I kept an anxious ear out for any sign of distress from the baby – my brother's baby – in the backseat, but she sounded like she was sleeping. I tried to sneak a glance using the rear view mirror, but couldn't see, so I craned my neck around my seat. Irritatingly, I had chosen to seat her directly behind me – something I need to learn not to do – so I couldn't see. I craned my neck a bit farther, and caught a glimpse of the infant happily sleeping. I turned around to face the road again, just in time to watch myself veer into the opposite lane. Jesus. I wrenched the wheel around and drove back into the proper lane. This was going to take some getting used to.

My brother and his wife had died two months ago in a skydiving accident. Since both he and his wife were in the military, he'd left instructions as to what would happen to his property if he died unexpectedly. His monetary assets were split evenly among his parents and siblings, his property was given to his parents, and any children he might have went to me. Yeah, me, his kid brother, just a few years out of college. As my mother had wondered, why had he chosen me? We hadn't been very close while he was still at home, and we'd only grown more distant once he went to the academy.

It was a shock to everybody when I had been named as the guardian of any children he might have. Most had assumed it would be one of the grandparents, but instead it was me. There wasn't any reason why I couldn't take Elizabeth, so the executor of the will had decided it would be best to honor his request, odd as it was. So, here I was, on the last leg of my trip back home with a new responsibility that I wasn't fully sure I was ready for.

I took a deep breath as I flicked my turn signal on and drove into the apartment complexes parking lot. I parked my car, got out, didn't lock the keys inside, and removed the still sleeping baby from her car seat. I held her against my shoulder with my left arm, and got inside without incident. I closed the door gently behind me, and walked through the short hall into the main room of the apartment I shared with my two roommates.

Jim, an engineer I'd roomed with at school, was sitting on the couch watching football. Angie, the punk rocker girl who had answered our ad for a roommate, was at the counter baking something. She looked up when I came in, and broke out in a grin. “Hey,” she said too loudly. “How's she doing.”
“She's asleep,” I admonished, smiling at Angie's exuberance despite myself. One of the teams on the television scored a touchdown and roars filled the room, pumped through Jim's sound system. She started to fuss in my arms. “Well, she was,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Angie stopped halfway across the room and put her hands on her hips. “You're just going to take that?”
I blinked. “Take what?”
She pointed at Jim. “He's not even paying attention, probably didn't even notice you come in. You're not going to tell him to shut the game off and come say hi to our new roommate?”
I shrugged. “Why? He can say hi after the game, and it's his right to be able to watch it on the TV.”
She rolled her eyes. “Good thing there's a woman in this house, no use leaving you guys alone with an innocent child.” She walked over to him and thumped his shoulder, hard. “Hey, you! Turn that game down, Eric just got back and the baby's sleeping.”
“Too late,” I said, bouncing her in a likely futile attempt to keep her from crying. Jim muted the TV and turned around.
“Oh, I didn't even see you come in!”
“What did I tell you?” Angie interjected.
He ignored her and walked around the couch. “Can I hold her?”
“Don't drop her,” I said protectively.
“I won't,” he said, feigning hurt. “What do you take me for?”
“A clumsy oaf,” Angie muttered to herself, grinning, as I passed over the baby. She couldn't contain herself. “Aww, she's so cute. Just look at that cute little nose, those tiny fingers, her lit-ack!” Those tiny little fingers had just grabbed Angie's decidedly not cute little nose, and Elizabeth giggled at the resultant noise.
“Hey look,” Jim said, laughing. “She loves you already.”
Angie extracted her nose, and rolled her eyes at Jim. “The kid's got spunk, I'll give her that. Though she has to start directing that at the system, not at her friends. Damn, ow.” She rubbed her nose, and walked away back to her baking.

“What are you cooking?” I asked.
“Chocolate cake,” she responded. “It'll be done in a few hours.”
“Chocolate cake?” Jim said excitedly, passing Elizabeth back to me. “I want chocolate cake!”
“I said in a few hours,” she said forcefully. “It needs to cook, cool, and get iced first. I said no!” She grabbed a wooden spoon and bopped him on the head. “Get away! No cake for you!”

I laughed at my friend's mock battle, and walked into my bedroom. A crib had been set up for Elizabeth, but I set her down on my bed instead, sitting down beside her. I looked at her, then around the room. Maybe this could work. It wouldn't be easy, and I'd have to change my career plans to something in-home since I don't have a girlfriend, but it was doable. We could do it together.