ADOPTION DAY

AUTHOR'S NOTE

This was taken from a much earlier draft, when the story was told in way too many Point-of-Views. It was one of the chapters I sadly had to cut. But didn't want to delete forever.

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Evelyn

September 2003

Northfield, Washington

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“James!” Evelyn called over her shoulder from the stove.

          From around the corner, James walked into the kitchen, his full attention on the bright red tie around his neck. “Yes?”

          “Can you please go wake the boys? Breakfast is almost ready. And then we need to leave precisely at ten.”

          “Yes, I know.” James strolled over and pecked her on the cheek. “Good morning, by the way.”

          “Morning.” She smiled, returning a kiss.

          James stepped back and once again untied the knot around his neck. “These blasted things,” he mumbled. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

          Evelyn stirred the eggs in the pan. “A little.”

          “Evie,” he whined.

          “What?”

          “Everything is going to be okay. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

          “I know that.”

          James wasn’t convinced. “Evie.”

          Evelyn frowned. “Fine. I’m a little worried.”

          “About what?”

          “Of all the things that could go wrong. Of everything that could keep us from her.” Or someone.

          “Like what? A meteor crashing into town? A third world war starting? Aliens landing on top of the courthouse?”

          She sighed and gave him a withering look. “I was thinking more of her father or mother suddenly showing up. Or a relative. Or the judge might cancel or our attorney calls and tells us something went wrong with the paperwork and she now belongs to another family. You know, realistic reasons as to why our new baby can’t join our family.”

          James shook his head. “She’s not a baby. And she’s going to notice how nervous you are. Relax. Everything is going to be fine.” He attempted again to tie his tie, but gave up.

          “Here.” Evelyn turned the stove knob to low and went to rescue him.

          “You’re a saint.”

          “I know.” She smirked. Even on their wedding day, he sneaked into her dressing room and asked her to tie his tie. And every day since when he needed to wear one. She never minded it. She always enjoyed how close he always wanted to be near her. And the scent of his cologne wasn't exactly shooing her away. “There. Handsome as ever. Now go wake the boys.”

          James stuck out his bottom lip. “Must I? It’s so quiet right now.”

         Evelyn chuckled. “Go.”

          James retreated around the corner, heading for the stairs. “Prepare yourself for the screaming parade!”

          “I’ll get the earplugs!” She went back to the stove and deposited the cooked eggs onto a large plate. The table had been set up with cut fruit in the middle, a jar of orange juice on the side, and toast and bacon on another plate.

          Not two seconds later, the excited screams of two, energetic boys filled the air of the house. The eight-year-old twins Hunter and Charlie bounded into the kitchen and raced around the table.
         “I got here first!” Hunter shouted.

          “No, you didn’t. I did!” Charlie retorted.

          “Mom!”

          “Boys!” Evelyn snapped.

          They whipped their heads around.

          “Sit down and behave like gentlemen.”

          Reluctantly, they took a seat next to each other and then started poking the other in the arm with their fork.

          “Stop that,” Evelyn said as she set the eggs on the table.

          “He started it!” Charlie tattled.

          “Hey, Mom? When are we going to bring Alaine home?”

          “In an hour. So you need to eat up and then go get dressed.”

          Charlie began to fill his plate. “Where’s Lainy now?”

          “At the courthouse, probably,” Evelyn answered.

          “Will we get to play with her afterwards?” asked Hunter, a strip of bacon hanging from the tip of his mouth.

          “Chew with your mouth closed, please. And of course. She’s coming to stay with us forever. We’re going to have lunch at the park later. You boys can go play on the playground then.”

          “Yes!” Hunter pumped hit fist.

          James came back down the stairs with their eldest Stephan, who rubbed his eyes.

          “Morning, Mom,” Stephan said as we took a seat opposite of Charlie.

          “Morning, sweetie.”

          James sat down at the end of the table. “Eat up, everybody. Big day, today!”

          The twins finished breakfast first and then raced upstairs to dress. Stephan followed, still trying to wake up. James and Evelyn cleaned up and then went to try to make their children look decent. Evelyn had a difficult time combing Stephan’s wild red hair. It never wanted to cooperate. Perhaps she should try cutting it short again.

          A quarter to ten, they piled into the family van and drove straight to the courthouse. Outside the front doors awaited Evelyn’s best friend Harriet Hart and her husband Dennis and five-year-old son Matthew, who was the same age as Alaine. Both the women embraced.

          “Exciting day!” Harriet beamed.

          “Yes, it is!”

          Harriet looked down at Matthew, who clung to her hand in his own blue suit. “Say hello, Matthew.”

          Matthew reached his short arm up. “Hello, Mrs. Turner.”

          Chuckling, Evelyn shook his hand. “Hello, Matthew. You look very handsome today.”

          “Thank you” He flushed.

          The whole group headed into the courthouse. Evelyn’s parents and James’ parents were waiting inside. Everyone greeted each other and then proceeded into the courtroom, where Evelyn and James met with their lawyer. At the corner of the room, a door opened and in walked Alaine holding the hand of a woman. Alaine wore a white, frilly dress with a white, artificial flower in her hair. Upon seeing Evelyn, she let go of the woman’s hand and dashed into Evelyn’s open arms.

          Evelyn picked her up and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful, sweetie.”

          “Thank you,” Alaine squeaked. She waved at Matthew, who waved back.

          Everyone took their seat and Evelyn, James, Alaine, and their lawyer went to the front where the judge sat.

          The judge beamed down at Alaine. “Are you excited, little lady? Today’s a very special day.”

          Alaine shyly nodded her head. Before the ceremony began, Evelyn took one glance behind her shoulder at the doors. No one new had entered. Good. James took her free hand and gave it a squeeze, along with a reassuring smile.

          For the next several minutes, James and Evelyn were asked questions about Alaine, their family, and lifestyle by the lawyer. Alaine answered a couple of questions, but then hid her face in Evelyn’s neck. Once the lawyer was finished, the judge gave the name Turner to Alaine, and she got to pound the gavel.

          Harriet came up with the three boys and took a picture of the whole Turner family with the judge and lawyer.

          “Well, no alien attack,” James noted as they exited the courthouse.

          “Or meteor shower or world war beginning again.” Evelyn laughed. She held Alaine’s hand as they made their way to the van.

          “Nothing went wrong. You can finally relax,” he whispered in her ear.

          “I know. Thank you for keeping me sane.”

          “It’s my job.”

          The family piled into the van and they all headed to Jefferson Park situated at the end of their street.

          As the children bolted to the playground, the adults found a couple of empty picnic tables and began to set up for lunch. The grandparents were the only ones who followed the children.

          “Four adoptive kids,” Harriet said. “Do you want to strive for five?”

          “I think four’s enough,” James answered, eyeing his kids every now and then. “We might have to turn the basement into another room if we add one more.”

          “You might have to, if Matthew wants to stay over,” Dennis said.

          “True. He can’t stay in the guest bedroom anymore. Evie?”

          Evelyn was just finish setting up the plates and utensils. “Hmm?”

          “I think we might have to renovate.”

          “Finally. I hate to use that poor basement as a storage unit.”

          “Dad!”

          Dennis and James turned their head at the same time. Matthew was on the swing, Grandma Turner behind him. “No, I want my dad to push me. Dad!”

          Dennis smirked. “Duty calls.”

          Harriet and Evelyn took a seat at the table and watched the kids chase each other around. Alaine hopped onto a swing and tried to pump her legs, but the swing wouldn’t move. Next to her, Dennis seemed to be offering to push her, but Alaine kept shaking her head.

          Evelyn stared at Stephan as he twirled around on the tire swing. For a twelve-year-old, he was surprising tall. His birth mother Leslie said he’d take after his birth father. Leslie got pregnant when she was only sixteen. Her boyfriend ran off a few days before she delivered. Leslie wanted to keep Stephan, but she couldn’t support him and her family . . . well that was another matter entirely. Leslie wanted Stephan to go to a good family who would be okay with having her remain in his life. Evelyn and James had no problem with that. They liked Leslie and were always happy to see her every other weekend.

          With the identical twins, there was no mother. The father disappeared when they were born. The mother died of some sort of health complication. Apparently, she did everything she could to keep her sons alive. Evelyn would have loved to have met her. From what the mother’s neighbors said about her, she was a very independent “I can do it myself; I don’t need any help” type of woman. Sometimes, Evelyn imaged herself in that apartment the police had found the African American twins in. She imagined herself holding the mother’s hand as she slowly passed away and promising her that she would take care of her children and give them all the love in the world. It was a silly fantasy, but Evelyn still would have liked to have met the woman.

          And now they had Alaine, a girl who had no record of a family or a past. Where she came from or who her parents were was a mystery, a mystery Evelyn didn’t like. At least with her boys she knew the background of their birth parents, but Evelyn knew nothing about Alaine’s. Were they alive? Were they dead? Did they know where she was? Or have they just forgotten her existence?

          “Oh, Evie, I’m so happy for you,” Harriet said beside her, drawing Evelyn out of her thoughts.

          “Thank you.” She took her best friend’s hand.

          “I love the dress she’s wearing. Though I’m pretty sure it’ll be dirty before noon.”

          Evelyn laughed. She looked back at the swing sets. Matthew and Dennis were still there, but Alaine was gone. She searched the playground for the little girl in the white dress, finally spotting her by the monkey bars. Alaine reached her hand up and clung to one of the bars. Evelyn moved to the edge of her seat. “Don’t do it, sweetie,” she mumbled.

          Alaine reached up with her other hand and dangled in the air. Her grip wouldn’t hold and she fell to the wood shavings. Evelyn flew out of her seat and rapidly made her way to her daughter.

          “Sweetie, are you all right?”

          “Yeah.” Alaine jumped up.

          “Oh, sweetie, look at your knees.” She knelt down and examined her daughter’s scraped knees with the white tights torn. “Does it hurt?”

          “No. When are we eating?”

          “Soon. But let’s go home really quick and get you fixed up.”

          “Okay.”

          Evelyn collected Alaine in her arms, Alaine wrapping her arms around her neck.

          As they headed down the sidewalk toward the house, Alaine whispered in Evelyn's ear, "I love you, Mommy."

          Evelyn fought back tears as she kissed Alaine's cheek. "I love you, too, my sweet girl. Always."

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Evelyn Turner kissed Alaine on the top of her head after she tucked her into bed. “Goodnight, sweetie.”

          “Night, Mommy.” Alaine yawned. She settled down under her new yellow covers.

          Evelyn lingered at the doorway, watching her daughter slowly drift off to sleep. Alaine was theirs. Three longs years of paperwork and patience were finally over. A smile crept up on her lips. They finally had a daughter in the family. Evelyn flipped the light switch and closed Alaine’s door.

          She crossed the hall and said goodnight to Stephan. He rolled over onto his side, his pajama shirt riding halfway up his stomach. Evelyn tiptoed into his room, pulled the covers over him, and kissed his unruly, red hair.

          “Goodnight, my little man,” she whispered. Once she closed his door, she turned to the right and went to the twins’ room. They were anything, but asleep. Both jumped on their twin beds, throwing balled up socks at each other.

          “You can’t hit me!” singed Hunter.

          Charlie scrunched his nose and threw a sock at Hunter.

          Hunter dodged it and fell onto his bed. “Haha! Told you!”

          Evelyn leaned against their door frame, her arms crossed, but the hint of a grin crept up on her mouth.

          “Ow!” Charlie shouted, clutching his forehead. “You hurt me!”

          “Did not!”

          “Boys,” she scolded.

          Charlie stopped jumping and fell onto his bed. He crawled under the covers.

          Hunter got back up and started jumping again. “Mommy, watch this!” He bounced up and down, and then jumped over to Charlie’s bed.

          Charlie kicked at Hunter’s legs to knock him off balance.

          “Stop that! Mom!”

          “Get off my bed!”

          “Stop it!"​

          “Boys!” Evelyn shouted. They froze. “Hunter, into bed now.”

          He obeyed, though dragging his feet.

          Evelyn strolled over and tucked Charlie in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Night, sweetie.”

          “Goodnight, Mom.”

          She did the same to Hunter.

          Right as she was about to flip the switch, Hunter called out, “Mom is Lainy really living with us forever?”

          “Yes. She is.”

          “Good. I like her.”

          “Me too!” Charlie chimed in.

          “So do I. Goodnight, boys.”

          “Night!” they said in unison.

          She turned the overhead light off, closed their door, and proceeded downstairs. Evelyn loved this part of the day. She could clean the house, do the dishes, and fold the laundry all in silence. She loved her children, but loved them even better when they were in bed and quiet.

           James was in his study, sitting on the leather couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table. He waved at her to come in.

          Evelyn slid the glass door open and stepped in. “How’s it going?”

          “I hate editing. It’s gruesome. Sorry I couldn’t tuck the kids in with you.”

          “It’s all right.” She sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

          “How’s Lainy?”

          “Good. She went right to sleep.”

          James marked a line on the sheet in his hand. “I’m not surprised. It was a very eventful day.”

          “Yeah, it was.”

          “And you were so worried this morning that something would go wrong.”

          She lifted her head and glared at him. “I wasn’t that worried.”

          James set the sheet of paper on the coffee table. “Shall I quote your worries? The judge did not cancel, the paperwork did not get mixed up, and I don’t believe her father or mother or a relative showed up at the courthouse.”

          She smirked. Nothing had gone wrong, and yet-

          James squeezed her shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”

          She relaxed her forehead. “What if her family wakes up one day and tries to find her? What if they want her back?” Evelyn hated mysteries, but Alaine was one entirely. She was left abandoned downtown in Seattle. When found, all she had was this horsehide blanket with her named burned into it. Burned. No note. Nothing.

          James huffed a laugh. “Oh, Evie, I hardly doubt it.”

          “Really? Why?”

          He shrugged. “I don’t know. They’ve had five years, and they haven’t done anything to find her.” James reached over and retrieved the paper. “She’s ours. No one can take her away from us.”

          After thinking a moment, she nodded. “You’re right.”

          “Of course, I’m right. Now,” he squinted at the paper in his hand, “what’s another word for vexatious?”

          “Troublesome.” But what if they did come looking for her? Could she really give up this little girl they fought for? No. She had to stop thinking like that. James was right. Alaine was theirs. No one could take her away.

          “Bubbling.”

          “Fizzy?”

          James pecked her cheek. “And you say I need to get myself a thesaurus.”

          “Yes, to replace me.”

          “But you’re the best.”

          “Greatest.”

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