Two years passed and there was still no sign of Henry. The only person that occasionally came by was Shawn. He only came by in during Juliet's first year of being at the adoption center. Then, he stopped. Juliet and Shawn did go to the same school but he was in 4th grade and Juliet was in 3rd. Ginger was trying to adopt Juliet and was only a few months away from adopting her.
Juliet went to a school called St. Francis Elementary School. Her teacher was very nice and always gave Juliet candy. The school year had just started and Juliet had a friend named Ellie. She was the only person that knew that Juliet didn't have parents. Ellie often came over to the adoption center and hung out on the playground with Juliet.
One day, in early October, Ginger approached Juliet on the playground. Her expression was hard to avoid. "Juliet!" She called to her, her voice full of joy.
"What?" Juliet hopped off of the swing that she was on and ran to Ginger. Ginger sat down on a bench and patted her lap, signaling for Juliet to sit on her lap.
"You wouldn't mind if I gave you an early birthday gift, would you?" Ginger asked, trying to contain her excitement. Juliet's birthday was next week and she'd been looking forward to it for a while.
Juliet shook her head, "What is it?" she asked, smiling.
"Okay, so, by this time next year, you will be settled into a new home with me!" Ginger announced. Juliet gasped.
"Really?" she asked, feeling excitement course through her veins. Ginger nodded. "You're gonna adopt me?" Juliet felt tears of joy fill her eyes. Ginger nodded.
"I planned it. On your birthday, we will go down to that courthouse and adopt you!" Ginger explained, getting choked up herself. Juliet hugged Ginger tightly, letting tears fall onto Ginger's shoulder.
"This is gonna be the best birthday ever." Juliet smiled.
Juliet woke to Ginger shaking her. Her eyes slowly opened then widened when she realized what today was. "Happy Birthday nine-year-old!" Ginger whispered, being sure not to wake anyone else. Juliet smiled and pushed the covers off of herself. "I got you a special outfit to wear to the courthouse." Ginger was practically bouncing up and down. She held out her arms and helped Juliet off of the top bunk. They walked over to Juliet's dresser that she shared with Harold. There was a pink silk dress with a white bow in the middle. Juliet gasped.
"Wow." She whispered, grabbing it and holding it up against her.
Ginger smiled, "You like it?" she asked. Juliet nodded vigorously. "Alright, you can change in the bathroom, then meet me at the front desk." Ginger directed, leaving the room.
Juliet pulled off her night gown and slipped the pink dress over herself. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were no longer dark and depressing, her bruises had disappeared, and the only thing that was left was her scar. She cover it with a lock of hair. Today would be the last day that she was and orphan.
Juliet strode out of the bathroom and walked over to the front desk. Ginger awaited her holding a present. It was wrapped in red wrapping paper with a silver bow on the top. "Happy Birthday!" Ginger handed her the gift. "This is your first present, with many more to come." Ginger nodded towards the present. "Go ahead, open it." She smiled.
Juliet tore open the paper and opened the box. Inside was a picture frame, laying on top of a teddy bear. The bear was blue and the frame was a bright white with "Juliet" engraved into it and the word "Family" painted all around it. Juliet thanked Ginger, giving her a hug.
Ginger grabbed Juliet's hand and crouched to her level. "Juliet, I got you that teddy bear for a very specific reason." Ginger started, "When I first met you, you had this tiny kitty cat stuffed animal and it was the only thing you brought with you. You seemed so attached to it, and I wanted you to have the same connection with this as you did with the cat, except this came from me. Does that make sense?" Ginger asked. Juliet nodded. "I got you that picture frame because, today I want to take a picture of us together when I am officially your mommy." Ginger explained. Juliet nodded again and placed the gifts back in their box.
"Alright," Ginger stood up, "Let's go get some special 'birthday breakfast'!" she grabbed Juliet's hand and walked her out of the adoption center. They got into Gingers car (which smelt like Christmas to Juliet) and drove to a Bob Evan's. Ginger walked Juliet in and told her that she could get what ever she wanted. Juliet sat at a table and ordered a plate of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and a biscuit. Ginger giggled at Juliet and ordered a plate of blueberry pancakes. They colored on the kids menu while they waited for their orders to arrive.
"Ginger?" Juliet asked, breaking the silence around them.
"Yes, Juliet?" Ginger asked.
"Will you ever hurt me?" Juliet inquired. Ginger seemed taken aback by the question.
"Juliet, I would never have a thought in my mind to." Ginger assured Juliet. Juliet nodded as a waiter brought their food to them.
Juliet ate her entire meal, as it was the first restaurant food she'd had since she was six. They left a tip and walked back out to the parking lot. Ginger crouched to her level.
"Alright," she looked at her watch, "We go to the courthouse at ten, and it's nine thirty so let's go become a family!" Ginger smiled, giving Juliet a tight hug. Juliet's heart filled with joy as they climbed back into the car and drove to the courthouse. Ginger parked in a parking spot and got out of the car, waiting for Juliet on the other side of the car. They walked inside and went into the courtroom assigned to them. A judge and witness waited for them in the front of the room.
"Is this Juliet O'Hara and Ginger Clark?" the judge asked. They both nodded in unison. Ginger squeezed Juliet's hand.
Juliet stared ahead at the judge who looked down at the papers in front of him. "Alright." The judge sighed.
They went through the normal rituals of the adoption and then they moved onto the vows that each of them had prepared. Juliet hadn't prepared any, but Ginger had an entire speech written out. She turned to Juliet and grabbed one of her hands.
"Juliet, I take you to be my new daughter and the beginning of my family. I promise to love you like my own and never, ever treat you like your dad did. I promise to protect you and provide you with food, shelter and clothing." Ginger's voice was choked with tears. "This adventure might get bumpy but, I promise that those will be bandaged with the laughs and fun times that we will have together. I promise to be there for you when you need me and I promise to hug you and kiss you whenever you're feeling down." Ginger wiped the tears from her face. "Most of all, I promise to love you." She concluded. Juliet smiled and wrapped her arms around Ginger.
The judge had Ginger and Juliet sign the adoption papers and then the judge signed them, signaling that the adoption was final. Ginger squealed and spun Juliet around in her arms. Juliet giggled.
"Thank you ma'am." Ginger thanked the judge.
Juliet scooped out a spoonful of ice cream from her sundae. She and Ginger sat on the side of a fountain eating their treats. "Ginger, can I call you mom?" Juliet blurted out.
"Of course you can, but you don' have to." Ginger replied.
Juliet nodded thoughtfully. "Will I be Juliet Clark now?" Juliet asked.
Ginger smiled, "Juliet, you can stay Juliet O'Hara if you want to." She explained. Juliet nodded again. A silence engulfed them. "Do you want your next gift?" Ginger suggested. Juliet nodded and watched Ginger walk over to her car. She brought out a small box and walked back over to Juliet. Ginger placed the small box in Juliet's hand.
Juliet pulled the top off of the box to reveal a thin silver chain with a flat heart on it. There was an engraving on the heart that read, For Juliet: The strongest and kindest little girl I've ever met. Juliet looked up at Ginger and smiled. "Thank you." She said. Ginger smiled back.
"Alright." Ginger clapped her hands together and stood up. "How about we go look at present number three?" she suggested. Juliet's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.
Ginger and Juliet got back into their car and drove back to Ginger's house. Juliet looked around, confused, but followed Ginger inside. Ginger led Juliet to a door that was closed. "This is where your room will be." She explained. Ginger twisted the doorknob to reveal a completely decorated bedroom. A bed was pushed against the window with a few stuffed animals on the bed. There was a white desk on the other side of the room with a few empty picture frames on it. On the ground was a round rug with polka dots on it. Juliet gasped and covered her mouth. She looked up at Ginger. "Wow!" Juliet ran to her bed and sat down. She looked at the stuffed animals and wrapped her arms around all of them. "This is wonderful!" Juliet exclaimed. Ginger watched her frolic around the decorated room, a smile erupting on her face. Juliet crashed into Ginger for a hug.
"This is amazing! I love it!" Juliet thanked.
"You deserve it." Ginger replied, hugging her tightly.
In that very moment, Juliet felt all of the pain of before disappear into the air and the only thing that mattered was the fact that she was Ginger, her new mom's, arms. Her old life was over.
Or was it?
Alright guys, the long awaited Chapter 5! What do you think? Let me know with a review!
I just wanna let you know that it gets kinda dark soon but please keep reading.
I miiiight have a new chapter up by the end of tomorrow but knowing my luck...
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LOVE YA ALL!