Untitled by Marybeth H.

Marietta Greer was only a young girl when she saw her friend’s father die right before her very eyes. The tire on his tractor blew up while he was on it and he was thrown into the air, landing on a Chevron sign. Once he passed, Marietta was never the same. She decided one day that she was going to drive her car until it ran out of gas and then take on the name of whatever street she ends up on. She arrives in Taylorville right before her car dies; she takes on the name Taylor. Having driven all day with no pit stops Taylor decides it’s a good idea for her to stop at an old bar and grab and hamburger and a cup of coffee. Once Taylor finishes her dinner, she is about to drive off when a woman she’d never met before begins walking towards the car. The woman puts a baby in Taylor’s front seat. She tells her to take and keep the baby. The woman tells Taylor she is the baby’s sister and her mother had just given birth in a car. Taylor is very confused, but drives off with the baby. Having only been in town one night, the two have nowhere to sleep. Taylor finds a hotel; she decides to give the baby a bath. While doing so, she sees that the baby girl had been both sexually molested and abused. This breaks her heart; she is determined to give the child a better life. She names the child Turtle, because the baby clings to things like the mud turtles back at Taylors home.
The next day Taylor decides to go shopping for the child, because she hadn’t expected to be given a child in a bar parking lot, she had very little for the baby. After buying Turtle endless amounts of clothes and toys, the two finally checkout and head for the exit, but they hear a yell and halt. A man in a purple “Babies R’ Us” shirt with a name tag that read Mike ran over with a look of horror on his face, he said “Bella?! Is that Bella?!” Taylor looked around, surely this man was not talking to her, but no one else was around. “Excuse me?” Taylor said with a bit of attitude and confusion. Mike stood there staring at Turtle, then at Taylor, then back at Turtle. “That’s baby Bella, she was stolen from a car last night at a local bar. Why do you have her?!” he asked frantically. Taylor was shocked, a million thoughts were running through her head at once. She didn’t understand, she thought she was doing the stranger in the parking lot a favor by taking Turtle that night. Taylor said “I’m not so sure I know what you’re talking about. This child was placed in my car last night, her sister asked me to take her. I thought I could give her a better life.” Once she began telling him about that night at the bar parking lot it seemed that Mike was starting to believe her. Just before he could ask another question his manager came over and told him to get back to work. Before doing what his boss had ordered he turned to Taylor and said “Would you like to meet up when I get out of work and finish this discussion?” Taylor, of course said yes. While leaving the store she held Turtle close, no way was she going to risk anyone else noticing the baby. It was hers now, she finally had something to love, and love her back.
Later that night Taylor got a phone call, it was Mike. “Hi, it’s Mike! I was thinking we could meet up at the bar, grab some dinner and finish our discussion” Taylor had so many different emotions hitting her at once. She was excited to have maybe made a friend, scared she could lose the baby she had grown to know and love, she was fearful someone else might call the police if they saw her with the baby. She got ready, and she and Turtle were on their way to the bar. When they got there they saw Mike waiting with a big smile. “Listen, I didn’t kidnap her, her sister told me to take her and give her a good life. While I was bathing her I saw she had been molested and abused, I need to help her.” Taylor told Mike, both had tears wallowing up in their eyes. The two talked all night and agreed to see each other again.
In the next months, Mike and Taylor spent every moment that they could together. The two began dating and not long after Taylor and Turtle moved into his home. Mike had to support the family alone, because he too didn’t want to risk someone noticing Turtle. Taylor and Turtle would stay inside all day every day; eventually the family got fed up. Mike approached Taylor with the idea of leaving the state. “We can legally claim Turtle as our child and we won’t have to sneak around any longer.” Taylor was iffy about the suggestion but went along with it. She didn’t want to have to keep Turtle in hiding for the rest of her life. Once they moved they met up with Mike’s friends, Amanda and Tom. They were going to pretend to be Turtles real parents and sign her over to Mike and Taylor. Once the papers were signed, it was such a relief to everyone. They could finally live happily and normally, like any other family.