Mary
“Rachel, what’s wrong? I can see it all over your face. You’ve been crying. It’s red and blotchy.”
Rachel melted into a puddle of tears as she told me about Piper’s dad and his intentions.
“I need to find a good lawyer. There’s no way I can allow him to get custody of Piper. He’d destroy her.”
I put my arm around Rachel and led her into the living room where we sat on the couch. “Don’t worry. I’ll call my attorney and get him working on this right away. What’s the man’s full name? Rachel told me and I wrote it down.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I shouldn’t be saddling you with all my problems. It’s not fair.”
I patted her back. “Rachel, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve come to care so much for you and Piper in such a short time.”
Rachel sniffed and smiled. “She told me you agreed to attend Grandparents’ Day at her school. She was so excited about that this morning.”
I smiled. “I’m excited, too. Since I’ve never had children or grandchildren, I’ve never had the opportunity to do these kinds of things. Reading to Piper. Helping her with her homework. Showing her how to sew on a button.”
Rachel looked at me. “When did you teach her how to sew on a button? I don’t even know how to sew on a button.”
“Oh, my,” I said. “We do have our work cut out for us. A button popped off my blouse and I sewed it back on. Piper watched and wanted to try, so I let her. I was thinking I’d buy her a little sewing box with some spools of thread and needles and buttons and let her practice on some pieces of fabric scraps.”
“You would’ve been such a good mother,” Rachel said. “Do you ever regret not adopting?”
“Sometimes, yes. But I was so devastated after learning about James and my father that it took me a long time to rebound. I blamed myself for everything that went wrong in my life. Let’s just say my therapist bills were in the thousands before I was done.”
“I blamed myself, too,” Rachel said. “I thought if I’d been better, prettier, smarter, maybe Mom would love me enough to stop drinking. The bad foster homes didn’t help. Once I acted out and my foster parents sent me to my room and wouldn’t give me dinner that night. I was so hungry. That night, their older son came to my room and brought me food. But he’d only give it to me if I did something bad. I was only nine at the time and I knew I shouldn’t allow him to touch me in that way, but I was so hungry I didn’t care. He came to my room a lot after that.”
Listening to Rachel broke my heart into a million pieces. The poor girl had been through hell and back. No wonder she’d given up her life to care for Piper, to protect her and keep her safe.
“Rachel, I don’t know what to say. That’s awful.”
Rachel sighed. “Looking back, it’s a wonder I survived.”
“That you did, and quite well I might add.”
I wasn’t sure if I should ask Rachel about her father, but I wanted to know if he was or had ever been in the picture.
“Rachel, can I ask you something?
“Sure, Mary, anything.”
“You never mentioned your father. Is he still around?”
Rachel shrugged. “I never met the man. I have no idea who he is or even if he’s still alive. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure my mom knew, either.”
“I see. Well, whoever he was, he sure missed out on having a wonderful daughter.”
“Thanks, Mary. I wish I’d had a mother like you.”
I smiled. “Funny you say that because Piper asked me if I’d be her mother.”
“She did?”
I nodded. “We were in the grocery store checkout line and the woman in front of us thought Piper was my granddaughter. On the way home from the store, Piper brought up the woman’s comment. ‘Miss Mary,’ she said. ‘I don’t have a grandma. I don’t have a mommy, either. I have Rachel and she’s my sister. Do you think you could be my mommy?’”
Rachel smiled. “And what did you say?”
“I told her I’d be whatever she wanted me to be.”
“What was her answer?”
“She wanted me to be her mommy. All I could think about was that I had to be the oldest parent of a child in Piper’s class.”
That made Rachel laugh. It was good to see a smile return to her beautiful face.
“You have been so wonderful to me and Piper,” Rachel said. “And you don’t owe us anything.”
“Oh, but I do, sweet child. I do. For the first time in years I feel loved and wanted. Reading to Piper. Making you dinner. Seeing Piper’s face light up when I gave her the cuddly dog. Hearing a child’s laughter fill the rooms of my big old house that’s never given me any comfort until now. You’re giving me back the life I lost. You’ve made it richer, more beautiful. Thanks just doesn’t seem to be nearly enough.”
Rachel hugged me. “Thanks for being here.”
I looked at my watch. “Are you ready to go get that biopsy?”
Rachel nodded and we walked out to my car – together.