Ms. Clark walks up to me and says, “Thank you JJ for having the children over, it looks like they’re having a good time for the first time this week.”
I can’t help but ask, “Ms. Clark how tough is it for single woman to adopt? MC, Michelle seems to be hitting it off with that young girl in her lap.”
Ms. Clark giggles before she says, “You called her a member of your family right, so then she’s been checked out by the organization already. If she did the paperwork, we can have the child in her home in less than a week, and finalized in two months.”
Alyssa has the same young girl up in her arms right now and I ask Ms. Clark if the same holds true for the Judge and his new wife. Ms. Clark simply shakes her head yes with another giggle.
Who knows that play house might get a lot more use now that Sam isn’t going to be the only child her age around here. Sam and her friend come back up to me and ask, “Can we go out to the play house?” Sam adds, “Please Daddy.”
I look to Ms. Clark who only shakes her head yes, I look back to Sam and say, “You can go for a while but you have to come back in for dinner and to help make tamales. You can take a few of the girls with you if you want.”
Sam with a bright smile says, “Okay, Daddy I just want to show my play house to my friends.” Sam takes a hold of the young girls hand and the two skip off together, and they talk to a couple of the girls before going out to Sam’s play house.
Ms. Clark says, “Maybe I should go keep an eye on them.”
I switch to Sam’s play house channel on the TV set and Miss Clark looks surprised for instant before she says, “I should have known, you are a protected parent with enough money to do things like that.”
I chuckle and say, “It’s a two-way channel by the way, there’s a TV set inside Sam’s play house displaying us right now.”
Sam seeing the display says, “Hi Daddy.”
A couple of the other girls have come to where they can see and stand near Miss Clark. Sam’s friend Cindy says, “Miss Clark you’re on TV.”
Ms. Clark giggles and says, “So are you Cindy.” Cindy’s eyes got large at that bit of news, and Sam giggled at her expression.
In a bright voice I say to the girls, “Why don’t you two put on a show for the other girls, they can watch and then take turns putting on shows for you.”
Sam giggles saying, “That sounds like fun.”
Sam and Cindy start whispering back and forth as the figure out what they want to put on for a show for the other girls. We let the girls watch as Sam and Cindy begin singing a song before long the girls in the room join in, even the three-year-old that’s clutching to a teddy bear much like Sam’s.
Ms. Clark mouth nearly falls open in shock at the youngsters change in behavior, pulling me over to the side she tells me. “That’s Crystal she just came to us two weeks before Christmas, her family died in a car accident and she’s been withdrawn. The only thing beforehand she would say is that’s her teddy bear. She barely leaves it to take a bath, and it always has to be in sight or she panics.”
I ask, “So she came with the bear.”
Ms. Clark says, “No, that’s the oddest thing, it showed up on Christmas morning. No one at the orphanage gave her the bear; I got a good look at it a couple times. It doesn’t have any of the normal tags. It’s not from build a bear and unlike any teddy bear that’s on the market. It had a note saying it was from Santa Claus, but who believes in that.”
With a chuckle I ask, “What you never read, Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus. You deal with children all the time, they believe even when people say they shouldn’t believe in the spirit of Christmas. Only later in life when we get disappointed we stopped believing in that spirit. Maybe if we still believe the world would be a better place.”
Before Ms. Clark has time to reply, Alyssa announces it’s time for everyone to start help making dinner and then will make the tamales right after.
Sam says, “We’ll be right there Aunt Alyssa.”
Ms. Clark and I bring the rest of the girls in, and Crystal actually allows me to pick her up. Ms. Clark only shakes her head at the difference in the young girl. Walking to the table with the young girl, I stand her in a chair and she holds to her teddy bear and I steady her by one hand on her other shoulder. I ask Crystal, “Have you ever done this before young lady?”
Crystal shakes her head no and I ask, “Have you ever had a taco before?” Crystal shakes her head yes, causing her light brown hair to fly in waves. I say, “Judging from that yes I bet you like tacos.” Again Crystal shakes her head yes vigorously.
I take two plates one for me and the other for Crystal, I place a tortilla on my plate and wait for Crystal to do the same after a moment when she doesn’t I ask, “Would you like a tortilla?” Crystal shakes her head yes, so I add one to her plate. Crystal isn’t very talkative, but as long as she shakes her head yes or no I can deal with that. I noticed Ms. Clark is watching me intently as I work with Crystal. The next item to decide on is it beef or chicken, Alyssa had prepared both, personally I like the beef. I take some of the beef and put it on my taco. I ask Crystal, “Which you like best the beef or chicken on your taco?”
Crystal looks up at me, and I can tell she almost wants to say something but is almost afraid to. I gently ask “Crystal do you want the beef or chicken on your taco?”
Crystal still looking into my face like she’s trying to figure out if she says something it will make me mad or not, so I smile to reassure her and wait patiently. Instead of saying anything Crystal points to the beef, and I add a few pieces to her taco before I ask “Would you like more?”
Crystal again simply shakes her head yes, so I add a few more pieces and ask “more?” Still without saying a word Crystal shakes her head yes. Again I add a few more pieces. Crystal smiles up at me which gives me the idea I’ve given her enough meat. So I slide the plates on down, the next few bowls hold, lettuce, diced tomatoes, guacamole, and cilantro. I put a little of all of it on mine, before I ask Crystal if she wants any of it on hers, I ask “Crystal do you want, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole? You might try a bit of this one but it’s a little spicy and if you’re like Sam you won’t like it, but I like it. Crystal simply shakes her head no, so I ask, “Would you like lettuce and tomato or just guacamole?”
Crystal shakes her head no so I asked her to do one thing I know she will do, “Crystal you just point to anything you want on yours?” Crystal gives me a smile and points to the tomatoes. So I add some diced tomatoes to her taco, when Crystal gives me a smile I know that I added enough. Before we go anywhere else I ask, “Anything else?” Crystal again shakes her head no.
So I slide our plates on down, Alyssa has placed a number of sauces to add some kick to your taco. First is a bright red sauce, mostly made from tomato with a tiny bit of cilantro. The next is a green sauce made from Chilies and a bit spicier, the next is a roasted chilies sauce which is a lot spicier. I ask Crystal, “I think I’ll pass on the hot sauce how about you?”
Crystal have been looking at my face and she cracks a smile and gives her head a shake yes. I take our plates and we set down next to one another on the opposite side of the table. I fold my tacos a little differently than most people, most people simply fold them in half but I fold mine more like a burrito, flipping one site in before folding it in half with that side held at the bottom. I found out that causes a lot less spillage, and fewer embarrassing stains.
Crystal mimics the way I fold my tacos, and she takes a big bite chewing happily. Sam comes and sets in my lap she looks over at Crystal and says, “Hi.”
Crystal for the first time actually says anything to another person directly, she returns Sam’s greeting saying, “Hi.”
I can almost hear an audible gasp from Ms. Clark who is now on the other side of the table making a taco for her and another of the smaller children. I look up and see Ms. Clark smiling who explains, “That’s the first word Crystal has spoken to anyone directly in nearly two weeks.”
Alyssa seems to be helping the same girl and I over hear her calling her Anna. She is almost the same age as Sam and also one of the newer girls Ms. Clark has under her care. George shows up with a young boy a little younger than Anna maybe a year or a few months more than that. George slides into line beside Alyssa and gives her a kiss on the cheek, he looks like he needs to ask her something important, and she has the same expression.
The little boy greets Anna with “Hi sis.” Anna returns his greeting with, “Hi brother.”
George and Alyssa both got bright smiles as they simultaneously say, “Brother and sister.” It looks like the couple can read each other’s minds in that instant and I would bet Marshall, Joan and Johnny are going to have a younger brother and sister in a couple months.
Ms. Clark looks at the two for an instant and a bright smile comes across her face as she looks away. I’ve heard it is hard placing siblings; few people want to adopt two children at the same time. I’m sure Ms. Clark worried about having to split the two up. It would be traumatic for the two siblings, the brother and sister placed in two different homes, never knowing if they can see each other again.
Kathryn comes to set down, seeing Crystal she asks, “Could you sit on my lap and we sit together?”
Crystal only hesitates for a moment before shaking her head yes to Kathryn, after sitting her plate down Kathryn gently lifts Crystal and places her in her lap, but Crystal loses her grip on her teddy bear and it falls to the floor, not even thinking Kathryn reaches down and picks up the bear handing it back to Crystal. The look on Kathryn’s face as Crystal gives Kathryn a kiss on the cheek for returning her teddy bear tells me everything. I know in that instant that Crystal will be part of our family. Kathryn feels the connection to Crystal just like we felt for Sam.
My only worry is Sam. I know she was excited about having a younger sister when we told her the news about Amanda. I wonder if she would feel the same excitement learning that Crystal will be part of the family too.
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