On Sunday, I was excited that the adoption day arrived.
"Do you know what time they have lunch?" asked Sharon.
"I'm not sure," I replied.
"We can have lunch after mass before we head over to the orphanage," said Sharon.
"Okay," said Dawn.
At mass, it was tough for me to ignore the pain. I didn't even use the bible pages because my hand bothered me that day. After mass, we went out for lunch. Then, we went to the orphanage. I recall going there. When Lily and I do projects, we'd do them there or at my house. I always see Carlos in between.
"Hello, welcome to the Stoneybrook Orphanage," said the ruler.
"Thank you," said Dad.
"Hi, Mary Anne," said Linda.
"Hi," I said.
"Are we here at a bad time?" asked Sharon.
"No, we already had lunch," said Linda.
"She was telling us that she's good friends with Carlos," said Sharon.
"Yes. She's also friends with Lily," said Linda.
"Oh, yes, I remember seeing her when she comes over for the school projects," said Dawn.
"He had no idea we're here yet. I wanted to surprise him," I said.
"That was a great idea," said Linda. "I'll give you heads up. He might get nervous at first."
"That's normal," said Dad.
"Especially this will be a new experience for him," I said.
"But I think he'll make out fine with your family," said Linda.
"We remodeled our attic to get his new room ready for him," said Dad.
"He can come visit us anytime," said Linda.
"We're fine with it. And, he can have his friends sleep over. We added twin beds in all of the kids' room," said Dad.
"Oh, wonderful," said Linda. "Also, would you be okay if he remains at Stoneybrook Day School?"
"That's fine," said Sharon.
"He'll have his bus stop schedule with him," said Linda.
"What is your bedtime here on school nights?" asked Sharon.
"Around 9:30 pm on school nights and 10:00 pm on weekends," said Linda. "You don't have trouble with him. He's good like that. He gets up himself in the morning. He have an alarm on his watch."
"We can let him do that," said Sharon.
"Is it okay if I go see him?" I asked.
"Sure, he's playing basketball outside with his friends," said Linda. "Can you meet us back to the office?"
"Of course," I said. "Is it okay to tell him what's going on?"
"That's fine by me," said Linda.
I continued on when I spotted Lily.
"Hi, Lily," I said.
"Hi," said Lily. "Are you here to see Carlos?"
"Yes," I said. "Linda said he's outside playing basketball with his friends."
"Perfect way to get here. He has no idea on he's going home with your family," said Lily.
"Good," I said.
"How's your hand?" asked Lily.
"It got infected," I said.
"That's painful," said Lily.
"I know. The doctor said it was too soon to have the bandage removed, so I don't think I'll be able to help Carlos get ready," I said.
"Don't worry. I can help him out," said Lily. "There is something you should know about. Did Linda tell you that he have been depressed since his family died?"
"No," I said.
"Let's sit down and talk," said Lily as we sat down. "He's been like that since he came to us."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm not sure how he will be on his first night to be with you," said Lily. "But since he knows you, he'll be fine."
"I believe it, but he doesn't mention anything about depression," I said.
"Probably not right away," said Lily.
"I'll give him time," I said.
"Of course, he says you're like a best friend to him," said Lily. "He told me he's attached to you."
"I do know what he's going through Amelia died the same way," I said.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that part," said Lily.
"I wonder if I should mention that," I said. "Do you think that would help him?"
"I think so," said Lily.
"She and I have been friends since grade school. Even Barbara took it hard," I said.
"It can be tough to lose a best friend," said Lily.
"She was the only one who was killed while her family survived," I said.
Then, we went out there and saw him right away.
"There he is," said Lily. "Carlos, we have a visitor."
"Hi," said Carlos.
"Hi," I said. "I have a surprise for you. You're going to be part of my family."
"Really?" asked Carlos.
"Yes," I said. "Linda asked me to bring you to the office."
"Okay," said Carlos.
In the office, Lily and I came around with Carlos.
"Here he is," said Linda. "Carlos, this is your new family you'll be going home with."
"Nice," said Carlos.
"You can go start packing," said Linda.
"Do you mind if Mary Anne helps?" asked Carlos.
"I'd go help, but I can't right now," I said as I explained about what happened. "My doctor wants me to not do anything with it for another week or two."
"I told Mary Anne I'd go help him out," said Lily.
"No problem," said Carlos.
"Sorry I couldn't help," I said.
"Don't be silly, I totally understand," said Carlos.
They left to go pack.
"Lily and I have been talking on our way to see him," I said.
"That's okay. She likes seeing you, too," said Linda while was signing the adoption papers Dad had got from his office. "All you have to do is have the judge sign it."
"Okay. I can call him first thing we get home," said Dad.
They talked some more until Lily and Carlos finished packing.
"I'll go help load the car," said Lily.
"Want me to go unlock it?" I asked.
"Sure," said Dad as he gave me the keys to go unlock it.
"I can help you," said Dawn.
"Oh, thank you, dear," said Linda.
After they finished, Carlos said, "May I go say good bye to my other friends?"
"Of course. I told them you can come visit here and you can let them sleepover anytime you want," said Linda.
"Okay," said Carlos as he left to say his good byes to his friends.
He came back a few minutes later.
"I just want to say good bye to you, too," said Carlos.
"Bye, dear," said Linda.