Soap - Adoption

“Bloody hell. I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Johnny said with a nervous but excited smile. “I’m going to be a good parent. I’m already prepared for one.” He looked at the door of the orphanage, shaking his body out, psyching himself up to go inside.

While he was in the middle of doing that, an employee opened the door. “Oh, hello… uh, sir,” she said, clearly confused about what he was doing. “Are you here for the adoption event?”

“Tha. I am here for the event…” Johnny trailed off, bouncing on his feet, excitedly looking over the woman’s head, trying to get a look at the event.

Johnny grew up surrounded by many loving sisters, and that caused him to be open-minded to caring for a child that most saw as a feminine job. He lied about his age and ended up, after a few years in the British military, getting the callsign Soap, joining Task Force 141 as their demolition expert. Now that he was in a stable place with enough money and a house in a good neighborhood, he decided to adopt a child so he could give them the love and support he had growing up.

Lucky for him, there was an orphanage in the next town over from where he lived. It was now hosting an event where children and prospective parents got to know each other and see if they were compatible. Soap decided to take this opportunity to see if there was a child who would be open to being adopted by a man who was covered in scars but would love them unconditionally.

“Right this way.” The employee said, motioning for Johnny to follow her. She gave him one more confused look but didn’t say anything. “This is the way to where the event is being held.”

She let him go to a big open room with children running everywhere with toys scattered all over the floor. Employees and prospective parents either lined the walls or interacted with the children.

The children who were too young to walk were sat in the corner of the room on soft blankets leaning against pillows, set up with picture books and stuffed animals. They each had a teething toy by them just in case. Employees stood around them to make sure the big kids didn’t trample them or needed a diaper change.

There were rooms set aside for the children to go into if they needed a break from all the play and adults. There were other rooms set aside where prospective parents could have one-on-one conversations with the kids.

Johnny looked around the room nervously, wringing his hands. His eyes flickered around the room on high alert. “Oh, they’re so cute. Those kids are staring at me. Wonder if any of them would let me play with them?” He muttered to himself

He started to get lost in his head before the employee leading him spoke again. “I’ll let you walk around and interact with the kids, though I would recommend going at the kids' paces. Makes a happier and safer event.” She walked off to speak to another employee.

Johnny looked around. There were so many people. He felt his excitement grow, but he couldn’t let it show. He reminded himself why he was here. “Gus dachaigh ghràdhach a thoirt do leanabh, to give a child a loving home.” He repeated himself.

Suddenly, he felt something slam into his side, causing him to stumble. He looked down to see that a child had bumped into him while playing with their friends. The child looked up with his eyes wide with wonder. After a few seconds, another child came up and looked at him apologetically before dragging their friend off with an apology.

“Better start with talking to the kids,” He said to himself. He just stood there looking for somewhere to go or a kid to talk to. There were so many kids, he didn’t know where to start. As he was looking around, something or someone caught his eye.