Chapter Four

April 1983

Moonbeam Dreamer was an unhappy teenager. It wasn't bad enough that she was a foster child and had been in eight foster homes in six years. She had already had a dozen social workers and couldn't even remember the name of her current one. What did it matter-he would burn out in a few months anyway. The only thing she knew was the he had told her the same thing the other ones had. She would have to wait until she was legally an adult to change her name. She scowled and reminded herself that she should be somewhat thankful her parents hadn't been able to agree on a middle name. In one of the homes another foster child had looked at her sympathetically and said, "Kid, I thought I had it bad to be named Ashbury Song Weaver, but my life looks pretty good, now."

Needless to say, Moonbeam kept a low profile and was surprised when she was pulled out of literature class by the guidance counselor. She was an outstanding student, but was known to sit in the back of the room and never volunteer unless she was directly asked a question. She didn't have any friends and the only extra-curricular activity she participated in was the Astronomy Club. Her teachers described her as bright, but more sullen than depressed. She was looking forward to high school just because she was convinced in a large school she would be an anonymous face in the crowd. But right now, she wasn't sure what she could have done to warrant a trip to the guidance counselor's office.

So, she was surprised to see her foster mother and a strange man and woman in the office when she arrived. The guidance counselor motioned her to an empty seat next to her foster mother. The couple was staring at her intently, but she didn't think there was any malice in their eyes. Moonbeam was on edge-the unknown always did that to her and she forced herself to appear nonchalant even though inside she was working herself into a panic.

"Moonbeam," began the counselor. "These are your Godparents, Martha and Andrew Barton. They have been overseas with the Peace Corps for ten years."

This confused her. Her parents hadn't left a will and she wasn't aware of ever meeting these two people. Godparents were people who took care of kids who had lost their parents, right? She was pretty fuzzy on the details.

"I don't understand," she said weakly.

"I'm Andy," the man said unnecessarily (she didn't think he was Martha). "Your parents had you baptized in the Roman Catholic Church and Marti and I were your Godparents. This is our first trip home in eight years. It took us a while to find you since your parents changed addresses often."

Her foster mother showed some signs of being frazzled and while Moonbeam knew she wasn't a bad woman, she was probably calculating how much her monthly check would be decreased when another child was removed from her house.

"There is still some question if the courts will honor the claim legally," she huffed. "But Mr. and Mrs. Barton would like you to spend the weekend with them. I packed a bag for you and made arrangements for you to have an excused absence for the rest of today and all of tomorrow."

She was processing all of this far too slowly. Somebody actually wanted to spend three whole days with her? She nodded and stood up as did Marti and Andy.

"We'll have her back before supper on Sunday," said Marti softly. Moonbeam noticed she didn't say 'we'll have her home before supper' and she wondered if Marti somehow knew the importance of the distinction.

Marti and Andy chatted with her on the drive to her weekend getaway. "We'll be staying with Andy's family on the beach. My family all moved to Florida years ago, but his family is almost like a second one to me," said Marti.

From the backseat she could see that Andy's hair was braided and from the lump in his shirt his hair must be almost to the middle of his back. It seemed incongruous with his dark blue suit and patterned necktie.

"How did you know my parents? I don't remember seeing you when I was growing up," asked Moonbeam.

A blush started to climb from Andy's neck until his ears were an uncomfortable shade of red. He cleared his throat, "I was…uh….Rainbow Chaser and Marti took the name Lilac Dreamer."

"I'm very sorry, dear, but I think you are named after me," said Marti with a tinge of red on her cheeks as well.

She had a dim memory of an aunt and uncle. "Uncle Bo-bo and Aunt Lila?"

"That's us!" they both chorused.

That night she met Andy's mother, father and his two brothers. Patrick was a lawyer and the other brother was a smiling man with bushy hair. The family teased him so much about wearing real clothes that she had finally timidly asked him if his job didn't require clothing. The family laughed hysterically at that and when James caught his breath he explained.

"I am a Cardinal in the Catholic Church," he said. "When they told me there was going to be a beautiful young lady joining us for the weekend, I thought I would dress to impress rather than intimidate."

She blushed. No one had ever called her beautiful or a young lady before that night. She actually thought her nose was too big and that she was very plain compared to the other girls.

Later as she lay in bed with the window open, she could hear snatches of the conversation from the deck below her room where the adults had gathered. "Legalities…family court…social services…decisions…Africa…Moonbeam. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning after breakfast Marti and Andy took her for a walk on the ocean. After a mile or so they stopped and sat down in the sand and watched the waves crash onto the shore.

Andy took a deep breath and began "Moonbeam," he said. She winced visibly at the name and he nodded sympathetically. "We both want you to know that you have essentially four choices. One-you can stay where you are. Two-you can come with us-our next posting is going to be in Africa. Three-my mother and father would love to have you live with them. Four-there are some fantastic private schools that you might like. Your guidance counselor said you have a strong aptitude for math and science and there are schools that would foster that."

She pondered what he had said silently.

"We want…" began Marti.

"Sweetheart, it isn't about what we want," Andy interrupted gently.

Marti looked away and began again, "It's important for you to know that there aren't any wrong choices and nobody will be disappointed no matter what you decide," she said. "We think you are old enough to have the principle say-so in what happens next. This doesn't have to be figured out this very minute. We leave for Africa in two weeks, but Patrick is going to petition to be appointed your guardian ad litem. That means he will do what is in your best interest and he will respect your wishes."

Her voice wavered as she looked at the two earnest adults and spoke, "Could I change my name now rather than having to wait four more years?"