2. The Office
"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice" Marie said as she got Rebeccah settled and then sat down herself. "I understand that these things are complicated, and I am so glad we could get started right away".
"Sorry about having to do this so early, but we're booked a few weeks out so the only time we could do this was before business hours" Barbara said, with only a hint of annoyance. "I’m Barbara Spalding by the way. I've seen the video, and you certainly have a special case here...I assume this is the girl you've brought with you?"
"Yes, this is my youngest daughter Rebeccah” Mom answered.
"Where is your husband?" Barbara asked.
"He had to go to the Health Clinic at Adoption Services to schedule her checkup. Rebeccah and I will be heading over there when we’re through here" Marie explained.
Barbara smirked with a half-annoyed half-amused grin “Mrs. Holt, you do know that the temporary custody assignment the Chief issued ends tomorrow, right? While I appreciate that you are taking this so seriously, after tomorrow it’s my job to see that the girl is placed in the best situation possible for her safety and development.”
“Mrs. Spalding, this is my daughter. You said that she will only be my daughter for another 24 hours, after which it will be your job to find a better place for her. Well that means that I only have 24 hours to make sure you understand that the best place in the universe for her is as part of my family.”
Barbara paused, the true pause of one really seeing something for the first time. “Well, we’ll see how it goes” was all she said.
"Now I see that you’ve filled out the request not only for Lawful Guardianship, but Permanent Adoption as well. Are you sure that you want to take that big a step right away?"
"Absolutely Mrs. Spalding. As far as we're concerned, she IS a part of our family. We're just waiting for the paperwork to catch up" she added, sharing a smile with Rebeccah.
"Ok, you certainly seem to know your mind. Now I am going to ask you to step out of the room so I can speak with the girl alone. "
"Of course, I understand. But one thing please."
"Yes?"
“Can you please use her name? Rebeccah is such a pretty name, it's a shame to waste it."
Properly chastised, Barbara replied directly to Rebeccah "I'm sorry, she's right. I apologize Rebeccah."
"No problem Mrs. Spalding" Rebeccah replied shyly, not accustomed to being treated so respectfully inside this type of building.
"Ok I'll just be out here" Marie said as she stepped out and closed the door.
As soon as the door shut, Rebeccah looked over at Mrs. Spalding and before she could ask anything, Rebeccah just said simply "Yes".
"Yes what?" Mrs. Spalding asked, looking down at the stack of papers on her desk and pulling out the questionnaire she was supposed to go over with the child, Rebeccah, she corrected herself. It was designed to help a young orphan think about their current foster home setting and decide if they wanted to stay when the parents requested adoption. She had not done this often, as the adoption of teenagers was so rare.
"Whatever you're going to ask me about staying with my family, the answer is yes."
"So you are pretty sure that this family is the place you want to stay."
"Yes"
"Do you understand that this would be permanent?"
"I'm counting on it"
"Are you sure? This is..."
"Look, Mrs. Spalding, you can keep asking me all those questions on your sheet, I know you're supposed to do that kind of stuff, and if you need to, that's fine, I don’t mind. But I can save you some time if you just put "Yes" on everything. I have spent all my 16 years in this system, and I can guarantee you that there is nowhere else in the world that I would rather be then back home with this family, MY family."
"Wow, it sounds like you are pretty sure Rebeccah, which is great. Are you absolutely sure there is nothing else we can..."
"Mrs. Spalding, if you would spend two days with this family, like I just did, you would want them to adopt you too. I'm not kidding".
Mrs. Spalding stopped writing, put her pen down, threw her head back and laughed.
"Rebeccah, I have been at this a long, long time, and I thought that I had seen it all. But that was a first. You've convinced me that you really do want to be with this family, and I am pretty sure they really want to be with you too."
"Mrs. Spalding, you can't imagine how much I hope so."
"Well if they're really as great as you say, maybe I'll just come home with you!"
Rebeccah and Mrs. Spalding both laughed, but stopped suddenly when they heard a muffled voice from the hallway "I can hear you, you know!", prompting another fit of laughter.
After the questions were asked and answers recorded and the various papers were printed and signed, mother and daughter stood to leave. “We're open for business now, so things will be a little crowded out front. Let me walk you out” Barbara said as she circled past the pair and opened the office door. She lead them down a short hallway, back to the “Employee Only” area which had been empty when they came through before.
When they rounded the corner, Barbara stopped in her tracks, causing Mom and Rebeccah to pull up suddenly to avoid running into the back of her. “Mrs. Spalding, is there something wrong?” Mom asked, trying to peek around Barbara’s shoulder to see what had caused her to stop so abruptly.
“I don’t think so” Barbara said in a quiet, slightly awed voice, full of wonder and disbelief. Mom stepped to the side so she could see…and saw.
She saw dozens and dozens of Child Protective Services employees, all standing shoulder to shoulder, forming an impromptu receiving line leading from where they stood all the way through the warren of cubicles and printer stands to the front of the large office. The silence was absolute, each person standing patiently.
Barbara slowly lead Marie and Rebeccah through the human gauntlet, Marie smiling and nodding to each person, saying quiet “thank you”s as they passed. Rebeccah walked hesitantly, in awe of all the people staring at her, even though their smiles were wide and their eyes friendly. She had never been the center of attention like this, and it made her feel self-conscious, knowing that somehow they all knew who she was and why she was here. Some of the women held out a hand to touch her or Marie gently, wanting to pass on their good wishes.
When they got to the front, all three of them turned in unison and looked back the way they had come. The staff members were active now, starting to hustle and bustle about, the hum of conversation beginning to swell to the level of barely contained chaos that was obviously the norm in the busy office.
Barbara was the first to surface and broke the spell by clearing her voice and saying with genuine astonishment "Well, you don’t see that every day" and offering Marie and Rebeccah a lopsided grin.
"I guess not" Marie agreed, laughing delightedly, full of the positive energy from so many well-wishers. The women looked at each other, really looked at each other, for the first time, and broke into a fit of giggles that sounded like two middle schoolers conspiring to plan the next round of truth or dare at a slumber party.
As their mirth subsided, Mom looked at Rebeccah, who was still staring, shell shocked, at the now thriving office behind them, asking herself if that had just really happened... "Are you ready kiddo? We gotta meet Dad at the Health Clinic so we better get going". Rebeccah tore her gaze and her thoughts away from the crowded scene behind her and nodded as she looked at the two women, trying to focus on what her Mom was saying, and thinking yet again how weird it was to think of someone as a Mom, as her Mom.
"Thank you again, Barbara, for meeting us so early and for all your help. I can only hope the rest of the process is as easy as this!" Marie said, putting her hand out to shake, then thinking better of it and enveloping her new friend in a hug.
"Good luck" Barbara said, determined to do whatever she could to right the wrongs Rebeccah had suffered. She opened the door separating the interior of the office from the public area and was immediately pushed back by a wall of sound, by the cheers and whistles and clapping of a room full of strangers, all straining to get a glimpse of her newest charge.
Marie looked out at the crowd, an incredulous smile lighting up her face. Turning to Rebeccah, she put an arm around her daughter's shoulders and bent down to whisper gently "I guess we better go...are you ok with this? Is it bothering you?"
Rebeccah continued staring out at the room full of people, unable to take her eyes off the spectacle. "Yeah, it's fine. I don’t want to be late, let's go."
As Barbara watched them snake their way through this second crowd of well-wishers, her boss came up behind her and leaned against the door jamb, "County's Best Boss" coffee cup steaming. "What do you think?" she asked.
"I think that is a very sweet Mother and Daughter, normal as apple pie, that's what I think" Barbara said, feigning ignorance.
"You've been at this a long time Barb, almost as long as me. What makes you so sure that's the best match?"
"At first I wasn't...but after watching them together, even just in the office doing paperwork, I realized that by the end of it, I wasn't thinking about them as orphan and guardian or foster parent and charge...they just seemed like any other mother and daughter working on papers for school or girl scouts or whatever. “
“But you know what really did it?" she mused, mostly to herself, "It was right here, when they were getting ready to wade through that crowd out there. I could tell Rebeccah was just floored emotionally; being around this many people after growing up so alone amped her up through the roof. She was excited, but scared and mostly just didn’t know what to do.”
“I was standing right behind them, and I see her, just a bundle of nerves, no idea what to do or how to handle this...and she instinctively reaches out her hand blindly toward the woman, her 'Mom', like kids do when they're scared, you know?"
"OK, so what happened?"
"As soon as she did, she found her Mom's hand already there, right where it needed to be. So she just grabbed it, they looked at each other, big smiles on their faces now, and off they went. That's when I really and truly knew."
"Wow" Barb's boss said..."that is probably the sweetest thing I have heard in...I don’t even know how long. And I think you're right, it sounds like they found each other just in time".
"I know...now I just gotta figure out how to convince the State of California of that in the next 24 hours".