“No, it’s not. The last thing you need is your parents interrupting your lives. I know you’re busy trying for a baby,” she said, turning away.
I grabbed her shoulders and made her look me in the eye. “You guys are not going anywhere. We’ll all pitch in and take care of dad. I know Addy would be happy to help, and you know it, too. She loves you both.”
My mother looked down and nodded her head okay.
“Is there someone you can call back home and have them ship your stuff here?”
“Yeah, Adonna across the hall would help out. She has two boys she could have help her pack things up.”
“Good, now go get settled in your room. You’ll be staying permanently,” I said with finality. “Can you ask Addy to come in when you go out?”
“Of course,” she said, already sounding like her burden had been lifted a little.
She stepped out, and I closed my eyes, trying to come up with an easy way to break it to my girl that we needed to take care of my parents.
I heard the door close and her soft voice ask, “Matthew, please tell me they’re moving here for good. They look like they need help so badly. You can’t let them leave,” my beautiful wife insisted.
I looked up at her with tears in my eyes. I pulled my sweet, wonderful wife into my arms. “I love you so much,” I said kissing her. “Thank you. They do need to stay.”
She squeezed me tighter. “We’ll take good care of them, Matthew. It’s going to be okay.”
I knew she hoped they would be alright, but in truth, I knew my father’s days were numbered. My mother would soon be falling apart, once he was gone. The challenges of our perfect life seemed to be stacking against us fast. I just hoped we would be up for it and come out on top.
Chapter 30 - Family, Friends and Neighbors
Mom’s neighbor, Adonna, was a lifesaver. She sounded relieved, when she found out my parents were moving in with us. She spoke with me personally, telling me I was a good son, and that my parents needed me. She worried about them, because they had been living across from her for close to twenty years, and she could see the stress taking its toll on my mother. They were good friends, and I knew she would be sorely missed.
Mom spent the first week getting all of my dad’s records transferred and setting up doctor’s appointments. I went with her to talk with the doctors and finally got an idea of what was going on with my dad. It was worse than I had thought. He had been bad for a long time. They had just been really good at hiding it.
My mom was surprised the doctors here in Woodville wanted to take a more aggressive stance on treating my father. It gave her some hope that maybe things would get better for him.
Kelly and Jason were married. Addy and I went, and we gave them an electric can opener. I was sure they would have several to spare. Word had gotten around that Kelly couldn’t cook. It also had gotten around that Jason loved canned ravioli. Kyle bought him a case of that crap, making me laugh.
Their wedding was much bigger than ours. They had it in the Christianson’s backyard. I had to admit, I liked ours better. I think the town did, too. It was all a little too pretentious for my liking, but Kelly had grown up as a rich city girl, and her parents wanted her to have her dream wedding. At least that was the excuse Addy gave me, when I called it pretentious and said ours was better. She might have giggled a little, kissing me as well. Did I mention my girl had dressed up for this wedding and looked amazingly hot?
Having sex with my parents in the house was awkward. We were still trying for a baby, but now we were also trying to try for a baby and be quiet at the same time. My parents were no help. My mom could really kill a mood by talking about ovulating in front of me. My dad would occasionally tell me dirty jokes to help me out. It didn’t. I didn’t know why he thought me hearing about “The Man from Nantucket” would help me. When I told him that was sick, he burst out laughing. That did help me relax. It felt good to hear my dad laugh and see my mom smile.
My dad started doing better, and my mom wanted to get a part-time job down at the library. She and Addy would carpool, because Addy was taking some classes online down there. She really had thrown herself into her schoolwork and had earned her Associate’s degree already.
When I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said a social worker. I think the woman who had taken her from her mother had really made a good impression on her. I had yet to meet her, but Addy spoke with her more often now on the phone. Ms. Jordan was the mother Addy didn’t have, but had always wanted.
I came home for lunch one day to find my wife sitting at the table, staring at some papers she had in front of her. “Hey, babe, where are mom and dad?” I asked.
She looked startled and put her hand over the top of them. “They went to an appointment.”
Her covering the papers made me more curious. If she hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have glanced at them twice. “What do you have there, an assignment?” I asked.
She glanced at them and shifted uncomfortably. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I quickly dropped down next to her and pulled her into my arms. I peeked over her shoulder at the papers and was confused. They were for some sort of home study. I didn’t even know what that meant.
“Matthew, I think I want to stop trying for a baby,” she whispered so softly, I almost missed it.
“We can do whatever you want, honey.”
She sniffled and nodded. She pushed the papers to me, and I still was confused. “What are these?” I finally asked.
She took a deep breath before speaking. “It’s the first step to adopting.”
The words didn’t seem to sink into my head. They were foreign. “What?” I asked shocked.
“I want to stop trying to have a baby and adopt one instead.”
I sat back and pulled on my hair nervously. I wasn’t big on having a kid in the first place, and now she wanted to go pick one up and bam, I was a dad? “How, um, we…I…huh?” Yeah, not my best moment.
She stood up and started pacing. I quickly calculated that she was not due for her period for another four days, so hopefully she wouldn’t hit me. “I want to adopt, Matthew. I’m not getting pregnant,” she said, a little more upset.
“Can we even do that, I mean, legally? Don’t we have to be rich or, I don’t know, something? I don’t know if I’d qualify to be an adoptive dad, honey.” There, I had said it. It was one thing to have a kid on your own. It was another for someone to give you one. I wouldn’t feel so bad if I messed up my own kid, but I didn’t want to mess up someone else’s. Didn’t people give their babies up to have a better life? I looked at my house. I knew it was well taken care of, and I provided for my family, but we were barely making it. “What if they don’t like me? What if I’m not good enough?”
Her angry face turned soft, and she kneeled down in front of me. “They’ll love you, just like I do. Matthew, you’re such a good man,” she said and kissed my lips softly. “We can do this. Ms. Jordan will help us. Please, can we at least try?” she begged.
I finally broke down and said what I feared the most. “If they say no, because I was homeless, will you still love me? Will you still love me if we can’t have any kids at all?”
She jumped into my arms and was squeezing me tightly. I heard her sob softly. “Would you love me if we couldn’t have kids?” she asked.
“Of course,” I answered instantly, like the notion was stupid, because it was.
She laughed. “I feel the same way, baby. Let’s just fill out the paperwork and see what happens.”
We turned it in, and Ms. Jordan sent us a list of what we needed to do, so we could pass the home inspection. I realized there was probably a whole market in doing this kind of work, and I decided to add it to my list of things we could be hired for. Ms. Jordan absolutely loved the idea and took some of my new cards.
Not only did I do my house, but I did a few houses in neighboring towns as well. It was a couple of hours to drive one way, but the pay and the chance to c
onnect with other people trying to adopt made me feel better about it all. Turned out they were not rich, either.
Ms. Jordan let us know we had been approved for fostering after six months of paperwork, interviews and background checks. Tamera counted against us, but she was not in our lives. Daniel, being sheriff and our neighbor, counted in our favor. My parents checked out as well. They looked deeper into them, because they were living with us. Turned out them being married for thirty-five years looked good. The fact that we owned the house was a positive thing as well. We had only been married for two years, but Ms. Jordan didn’t think that would be a problem with fostering at first. We would foster, and then we would adopt. That was how it worked. At least, that was how it was going to work for us.
We met with Ms. Jordan, and I couldn’t help but love her. She was sweet and soft-spoken, but I had a feeling she would kick your butt if you messed with her kids. She just put off that vibe. She hugged Addy, who held onto her a moment longer. Ms. Jordan held Addy’s face in her hands and smiled. “You’re beautiful in love,” she said and then turned to me. “Matthew, it’s wonderful to meet you. I know we’ve talked over the phone a lot, and I have a couple of other workers handling your case, but when I saw these little girls,” she looked over at Addy, “I knew they’d be perfect for you. I know you wanted younger and only one, but please, just look at the file, and you’ll know just what I mean,” she said, sliding the file across the table to us.
We opened it to see two little girls hugging each other. They both had very pale skin, brown hair and big brown eyes. They were named Genevieve and Gabriella. They went by Genny and Gabby. One would be turning two in six months, and the other was about to turn three. I was nervous. We had never talked about having a boy or girl, but seeing these little girls kind of freaked me out.
“Matthew,” my wife said my name softly and pointed down a little further. I read that their mother was a drug addict, and they were homeless. I was scared for what the little girls might have had to go through. I didn’t want them to be homeless, and heaven forbid, if a freak like Tamera got their hands on these precious babies. I didn’t realize it, but I was shaking. My hand pressed down into the file, and I wanted to hug them and tell them they were safe.
“Where are they?” I asked, with more force than I meant to. I was practically demanding it.
Ms. Jordan just smiled, like she knew a secret. “They’ll be here in the playroom in a few minutes. They were just released from the hospital.”
It was then I realized the stark white walls in the picture and the animal prints on their clothes were standard hospital fare, they were wearing hospital gowns.
“We’ll need to get beds for them. We only have a crib,” I said, and Addy was suddenly squeezing my middle hard. She was crying, but when I looked down at her, she was smiling huge.
“The crib will be fine for Genny. If you sign them out, then I can get the paperwork started. By the end of the visit, I should be able to get you a check, so you can get a bed for Gabby.”
“We can call my dad. He still has my old bed. He can bring it over and set it up, so it’ll be ready when we get home,” Addy offered. Before I could say anything, she was on the phone making the arrangements.
Ms. Jordan reached over the file and squeezed my hand. “They’re going to be alright, Matthew.”
I didn’t realize it, but I had let out a breath of relief and nodded okay. We were led into a room with all sorts of toys for all different ages. Addy was reading over a thick stack of papers talking about child development at eighteen to twenty-four-months-old. She had another stack for development between three and four years as well.
The girls were brought in by Ms. Jordan. Gabby was holding her sister, even though she herself wasn’t much bigger than Genny. You could tell she had been taking care of her little sister for a long time. Genny wiggled out of her arms when she saw the toys and started to play, ignoring us completely. We did see her making sure Gabby was nearby. Gabby just watched us, as if she was waiting for something bad to happen.
Ms. Jordan grabbed a couple of toys and handed them to Addy and me. It was a tea set. She suggested we have a tea party. I was confused at first, but I followed my girl’s lead. I had never been to a tea party. Ms. Jordan came back with cookies and juice boxes. Addy carefully squeezed some juice into my cup.
“Top of the morning to ya,” I said, holding my cup up with my pinky out.
Addy laughed. “Top of the morning?” she said in some posh accent. “Don’t be ridiculous, Matthew, it’s afternoon.” She reached behind me and put a feather boa on my shoulders. I was about to protest, but Gabby smirked at me.
I smiled and flipped it over my shoulder. I could do this. I could make that little girl smile. “Well,” I said, primping my hair, “This tea is rather strong. What is this, apple?” I asked.
“Yes, though grape is my favorite, I knew you loved apple.” She was right. I loved apple juice.
Addy put a huge floppy hat on her head. “Do you like my new hat? It’s the latest fashion in Paris.”
“Oh, you’re absolutely beautiful. You know what I saw on my way over here? I saw the cutest pair of little girls. They were just darling. We should invite them to tea sometime.”
“Do you think they’d like apple juice tea?” she asked.
I flipped my boa. “Well, if they don’t, they’d love the cookies.”
I must have said the magic word, because suddenly, Genny was by our side. “Cookies!” she squealed in a cute toddler voice.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Addy pulled out the little seat next to her and pushed a plate of cookies and a box of juice in front of her. Genny looked over at Gabby, waiting for approval, so Gabby stomped over and plopped down next to me.
I pushed a plate of cookies and a cup of juice to her. “Have you seen Ms. Addy’s hat?” I asked in a girly voice, “It’s the latest fashion from Paris. Oh, is your sweater the latest fashion from Paris as well?” I asked, flipping my feather boa at her.
“It’s divine,” Addy added.
Gabby cracked and giggled, and I felt like I had just won an Olympic Gold medal. My chest ached with so much love and protectiveness for these little girls already. I knew we were doing the right thing by taking them home. I would do everything in my power to keep them happy and safe for the rest of their lives.
Addy must have been thinking the same thing, because she smiled at me and squeezed my hand. We talked with the girls a little more and introduced ourselves. Genny seemed to be warming up to Addy, because she climbed into her lap and snuggled with her.
Gabby was a little more reserved, but when I asked if she would mind coming to live with us, because we couldn’t have kids and would really like it if they would come be our kids, she took me seriously. She actually stopped and thought about it. “At your house?” she asked, and I nodded. She let out a breath. “Okay, but Genny stays with me.”
“Of course,” Addy added. “You’ll be sharing a room, and it’s right across the hall from ours, if you need us for anything.”
Gabby nodded in acceptance, and Ms. Jordan brought out a car seat and a booster seat to my parent’s van. It was now our official family car. We buckled the girls in, and Addy kissed little Genny on the head and smiled at Gabby. We knew it would be harder to win over Gabby, but I knew it would be worth it, when she finally trusted us in the end.
Chapter 31 - Give and Take and Take
I didn’t understand my compulsion to buy pink and girly things these days. I would walk through a store and see something I thought the girls might like and want to get it. I knew I felt this way about Addy, too, but she had a much smaller range of things I would get for her…her favorite candy, flowers, a pack of fancy pens for school. She always appreciated it and said I was sweet for thinking of her. The truth was, I never stopped thinking of her, and now I was thinking of Genny and Gabby as well.
I had never noticed the kid’s tool boxes at the hardware store before. Now, not on
ly did I notice them, I noticed they had a pink one and bought two of them. I didn’t know why. I guess I just kind of hoped the girls would want to take an interest in what I did. I had visions of watching them grow up and join me in the family business in some capacity. In the end, Addy intercepted me and told me they were a little too young for tool boxes and put them in our attic, along with the remote control cars and several other toys Addy had deemed not age appropriate. She could be such a party pooper. They were pink! That meant they were for girls, and I had two perfect little girls.
I didn’t understand what it was about being a parent that made me want to spoil my girls. We really didn’t have the money, but I would rather have eaten PB&J for lunch the rest of the month, than pass up the little pink things I thought my girls needed.
Addy was just as bad, but she wouldn’t admit it, because her obsession was not toys, but clothes. The girls had more clothes than they knew what to do with, and there were a few boxes in the attic for them to grow into as well. She defended that the clothes were from yard sales and second-hand stores, or that she had gotten them on clearance. Did little girls really need six pairs of shoes? Genny didn’t like shoes at all, but she had six pairs. Gabby, on the other hand, always had her shoes on. They didn’t always match, but she had them on.
It took about three months of living with us for Gabby to really relax. She finally realized she was safe and we weren’t going anywhere. We had bonded so closely with them, but the fact that we kept giving her and Genny stuff just seemed to confuse Gabby. She asked Addy why we had so much little girl stuff, and Addy just laughed and said, “Because we have two wonderful little girls.”
After that, Gabby loosened up. Genny was an angel. A very cute, determined, “I want to do it myself” little angel, but just the cutest thing ever, as she struggled to be grown up, just like her sister. The fact that she would run to me and jump into my arm when I got home just made my day. I didn’t know when exactly she had warmed up to me, but I did remember the first time she ran to me. Addy was still at class, and the girls had been home with my mom and dad. When they had heard the door open, Genny saw me and ran to me, like I was the best thing she had ever seen. I couldn’t help hugging her tightly and kissing her little head. I told her how happy I was to see her, too. From then on, she made it a point to jump into my arms when I came home. With a reception like that, how could I not spoil my girls?
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