Herons Gift

With a smile the nurse handed the baby girl to the beaming mother. Bundled up and gurgling, she was the picture of happiness as she slowly adjusted to life outside the womb. Gazing down at them both, her father crossed his arms and looked nervously at the man dressed in a black suit and red tie.

‘She’s perfect’ her mother said, whilst looking up at her husband. ‘She’s got to be top 25, maybe even top 10’ she continued, her eyes bright as tears ran down her cheek.

The man in black approached and picked up the clipboard from the head of the bed. A nurse walked in and handed him a piece of paper. After studying the paper the man took a red pen from a pocket in his suit and wrote something on the paper.

The girl’s mother offered up the baby to her husband, but he waved her off without a word. ‘Well’ the father asked, looking over at the man with the clipboard.

The man held up the clipboard to face them. In the corner 5% was written in red ink.

The woman laughed with giddiness ‘I told you it’d be fine, top 5%. Everything will be ok’ she said rocking the baby and looking lovingly into her eyes.

‘Bottom 5%, we’ll net make our money back’ the father said, shacking his head, then gazing out of the window.

The mother looked up at her husband then over at the man in black. He slowly and deliberately nodded his head and her smile faded. The man held out his hands and with a heavy sigh she handled the bundle of blankets that held the girl to the man.

‘You made the right decision’ the man said ‘You’d be surprised how many people don’t’. He handed the baby to the nurse and she swiftly left the room.

‘Now, which corporation do you want the credit made out to’ the man said as he took his phone out of his pocket.