This might be the end... let me know whether i should continue or not. Thanks for being patient.
"I see you've changed your mind." Alice said when Maureen and Joanne came back the next week.
"Yes please." Maureen said softly, trying to look apologetic. It was a difficult task.
"Good. I think we've got the perfect child for you."
She flipped open the manila folder in front of her on the desk and turned it around so they could see. The snapshot staring back at them was of an eleven-year-old Caucasian girl with messy dirty blonde hair and dark green eyes. Her teeth were perfectly straight and presented in a forced smile.
"She's cute." Maureen gushed.
"Her name is Cashlyn Blake. Her parents died in a train wreck three years ago."
"How awful." Joanne said already planning therapy.
"Can we meet her?" Maureen asked, closing the file.
"Of course."
Alice showed them into the common room where the children spent their free time. There was a battered ping-pong table covered in maker graffiti, a few overflowing bookshelves, a tiny television on a folding card table that had probably seen better days and some mismatched furniture. Cashlyn was sitting on a wobbly folding chair, alone, in front of the row of windows sketching with an impossibly small piece of charcoal. Her hair was held back with a black shoelace that matched the dark t-shirt and paint splattered jeans she was wearing.
"She'll fit right in." Maureen whispered to Joanne.
"Bohemian for sure." She replied.
Alice put her wrinkled hand on Cashlyn's shoulder.
"You have some visitors."
"Tell them I need five minutes to finish this." The girl sighed, obviously frustrated at the disruption.
"Cashlyn."
"No, it's alright we understand. Most of our friends are artists too." Maureen volunteered.
Cashlyn dropped her charcoal.
"You guys are artists?" she asked turning around to look at the couple.
"Well, I'm a retired stage performer. Our friend Mark is a filmmaker, Roger is a musician and we had a good friend who was a dancer." The diva replied.
"Cashlyn Blake, nice to meet you." She said offering her pale charcoal smudged hand.
"Maureen Johnson-Jefferson and Joanne Jefferson at your service."
Maureen and Joanne stayed another hour talking to Cashlyn. They would begin filling out the proper paper work right away. They gave her one last hug before going home.
"We should have a big party to introduce her to everybody. And she's going to need clothes and definitely some new art supplies. Oh this is going to be so much fun!" Maureen said excitedly while they ate the Chinese take out they picked up on the way home.
"It'll be a few weeks before the paperwork goes through but you might as well start buying some stuff. Don't forget to keep all the receipts just in case she doesn't like your taste." The lawyer cautioned.
"She's an artist, I know what that's like."
"Exactly. She's an artist, she'll have particular tastes."
Maureen pouted.
"Are you saying I'm picky?"
"Yes, but I've learned to deal with that."
"Well I've had to deal with you being so perfect all the time too ya know."
"What ever you say, Maureen."
One month, two gallons of plum purple paint (Cashlyn's favorite color), countless shopping trips and a forest worth of paperwork later it was time to introduce Cashlyn to the people Maureen and Joanne considered family.
"I told everyone to be at the apartment around three, we should be back by then right?" Maureen said tugging at her impossibly short leather skirt while she and Joanne waited for Alice to bring Cashlyn to her office for the last bit of paperwork before they could bring her home. Joanne pushed up the sleeve of her tan suit jacket to look at the gold sun watch Maureen bought her for her last birthday.
"It's only two o'clock now. I can't imagine we'll be here that long."
"Good." Maureen said before beginning to fidget again.
The office door opened again. Cashlyn had left her hair down this time, but was wearing the same jeans as the day they first met. She was carrying a small black backpack and had a huge smile on her face despite the tears in her eyes.
"Hey Cash. Ready to go?" Maureen said giving her a hello hug.
"Definitely."
Alice pulled out the necessary forms and Joanne got to work only interrupting Maureen when her signature was needed.
"You're all set then." Alice said when the last page had been signed and initialed by everyone.
"Thank you for all your help." Joanne said shaking the older woman's hand.
"Yeah, thanks for finding us the perfect bohemian in training." Maureen giggled.
"Your welcome. I hope you're happy in your new home, Cashlyn."
"Thanks."
The new family left the adoption agency eager to start their new life.
"Oh my gosh you're going to love the apartment. We even painted your room the purple that you picked out. It looks so cool! We invited our best friends over too. They'll be there when we get home I think." Maureen spewed once the doors closed behind them.
"I can't wait!" Cashlyn said still smiling.
Joanne could see that she honestly meant it. This was probably the first time someone paid this much attention to her in the three years since her parents died.
"What's your favorite food? We can go out to eat or order something in if you want." Joanne offered when they reached the apartment.
"Um, I'm not really picky, whatever."
Maureen dug her keys out of her green leopard print purse.
"We'll just get some of everything then!"
Mark, Roger and Collins were already inside when she finally got the door open.
"Guys, this is Cashlyn." She said motioning to the nervous girl standing in front of her.
"Mark is the one with the camera, he won't part with it for anything. Roger's the one with the great hair sitting on the couch- he plays the guitar, and Collins is our resident anarchist who pretends to teach college kids while really trying to draft them into bohemia." Maureen pointed to each man in turn.
"Hey." Cashlyn said with a wave.
"Come on I'll show you your room then we can get this party started!" Maureen said taking the girl's hand.
They walked through the doorway straight back to the office turned bedroom. They could hear Maureen's over enthusiastic voice and Cashlyn's murmurs of shock at all the things she now owned.
"It'll be weeks before she settles down." Joanne said sitting on the couch next to Roger.
Everyone knew she meant Maureen and laughed.
"So, what's the story on the girl? She's cute." Collins asked.
Joanne shook her head. "We don't know much yet." She lowered her voice so everyone had to lean in a little to hear. "Her parents died in a train wreck three years ago. She didn't have any relatives that could take her in. She's an artist though. She does beautiful drawings."
"Cool, she sounds like she'll fit right in."