On Sunday, I was so excited that the adoption day had finally arrived! But I could feel my hand starting to bother me and it was tough to ignore that pain.
"You can skip church today. We'll come back for you after mass before we go out for lunch," said Dad.
"Alright. I'll just take Aleve and ice it for now," I said.
"Mary Anne, do you know what time they have lunch?" asked Sharon.
"I'm not sure to be honest with you," I replied.
"We can have lunch after mass before we head over to the orphanage," said Sharon.
"Okay," said Dawn.
I didn't like missing mass, but I didn't had a choice. After mass, they came back for me. I had just put stuff away at the time. It was less sore by that time thankfully. Then, we went out for lunch.
"Do you feel alright to come with us, sweetie?" asked Dad.
"I'll be okay," I said. "It's just sore from that blister."
"I'm sure," said Dad.
After that, we went to the orphanage.
"Hi, Mary Anne," said Linda.
"Hi," I said.
"Did we came at a bad time?" asked Sharon.
"No, we just had lunch," said Linda.
"I wasn't sure what time you serve lunch," I said.
"That's okay," 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.
"I think so, too," I said.
"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 left to go see him. I was on my way when Lily saw me.
"Hi, Mary Anne," said Lily.
"Hi, Lily," I said.
"Did you just got here?" asked Lily.
"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's still a little sore from when I had the blister. It has been bothering me ever since. Hate to say this, but 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.
"Good," I said. "Can I ask you something before I go see him?"
"Sure," said Lily. "Let's sit down and talk."
"How is his depression holding up?" I asked.
"He's still suffering from it," said Lily.
"I didn't want to ask you in front of him," I said.
"Understandable," said Lily.
"Is he still seeing Dr. Reece?" I asked.
"Yes," said Lily. "She helps him."
"That's a good thing. I told him I knew what he was going through since Amelia died the same way," I said.
"He was glad you knew how that felt to lose someone like that," said Lily.
Then, we went out there and saw him right away.
"There he is," said Lily. "Carlos, we have a visitor."
That was when he spotted me.
"Hi," said Carlos.
"Hi," I said. "Linda asked me to bring you to the office. We have a surprise for you."
"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 didn't want me to do anything for at least a couple of weeks."
"I told Mary Anne I'd take over to help you 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 she 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. "They are fine with you to remain at your current school."
"Good," said Carlos.