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It had been two years since John last took a drink. In the two years of John’s recovery, he quit smoking and began living a healthier lifestyle. He exercised and ate better and kept his mind sharp by reading and doing puzzles. John had improved over the last two years more than he ever thought he could.
John transferred from being a homicide detective to Internal Affairs. He needed to focus on his recovery and his former position was not helping. Although Captain Stevenson was not thrilled about his decision, he accepted John’s transfer. Instead of investigating murders, John was now investigating internal issues and dispute.
John continued to attend AA. He also took Mike’s help and called him when he had urges. John and Mike became closer since the day they opened to each other and went to dinner after their AA meetings to talk about the session. Mike was proud of John’s recovery and John was happy to have Mike by his side in the battle. Nancy and John also continued their Tuesday night dinners and card games. They would share memories of Ashley and talked about Nancy getting ready for her retirement, which was in a few months. Nancy was proud of John as well and the John she knew before Ashley’s death had returned.
On John’s birthday, Nancy bought him a new wallet to replace the old beat up one John had for years. As John was moving his credit cards to his new wallet, he came across a business card. It was Michelle Rodney’s card from the Department of Children and Families. He remembered her giving the card to him, clearly judging his appearance. Then he thought about Janet. He remembered Mike saying that she was a special girl and decided to call Michelle Rodney to check up on how Janet was doing. John picked up his cell phone and dialed the number. It felt like it rang for a while then the recorded voicemail picked up.
“Hello this is Michelle Rodney of the Department of Children and Families. I am unable to make it to your call. Please leave your name and number after the tone,” the voicemail said.
“Hi. This is John Remington of the Boston Police Department. I....” John could hear the phone click.
“Hi, Detective Remington. I am sorry I was just getting to my office. How are you?” Michelle said.
“I am fine. Thank you. I just wanted to check on how Janet was doing. She was the infant I found a couple of years ago,” John said hopeful.
“Yes, I remember. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose too much information due to confidentiality, but I can tell you that she is doing well in her current foster home,” Michelle said.
“That is good to hear,” John paused. He had a sudden thought. “I was wondering if I could visit her. I know it has been a couple of years, but I was hoping to see her myself,” John said.
“I can talk to her foster parents and see if we can put you on the visitors’ list,” Michelle said.
“That would be great,” John said.
“Good. I will get back to you when I hear from them and we can set up a time,” Michelle said cheerily.
“Sounds good to me. Thank you and have a wonderful day. Goodbye,” John said.
“Thank you and you as well. Bye,” Michelle said.
John hung up the phone and thought about the decision he made. He remembered in his last nightmare the images of her playing and being happy. He hoped his images were true.
A couple of days later, Michelle called to tell him that after his CORI check they could pick a time for a visit. The CORI check took a little under a week and he was approved to be a visitor for Janet. They planned the visit for a Saturday at Janet’s foster home with Michelle. The week before the visit felt like a lifetime for John.
The day of the visit came, and John felt as nervous as he did when he went on his first date with Ashley. He dressed up in a shirt and tie to look more presentable. He bought a small teddy bear to break the ice. This child would not remember him, but he will always remember her.
John met Michelle in front of the foster home about an hour drive from his home. Michelle greeted him with a handshake, and she looked the same as she did when he first met her. She complimented him on how nice he cleaned up this time and they knocked on the front door. A woman in her fifties answered the door and smiled. John noticed that she had kind eyes and looked to love her job as a foster parent.
“Hello. You must be Mr. Remington. I am Claire. Please come in. Janet is waiting for you,” she said with a smile.
“Thank you, ma’am,” John said.
As John entered the well-kept Cape style house, he could hear some children playing in the room next to them. They walked down the hallway to the kitchen. In the kitchen, he saw a small child sitting in the corner, playing with building blocks. Her hair was blonde, eyes were blue, and she looked happy like John hoped for. She had the typical look of a child with Down syndrome and John thought she was a beautiful little girl. She looked up at him and smiled and did a slight movement with her arms that resembled a wave. John waved back smiling.
“Janet, this is Mr. Remington. He came to visit you,” Claire said.
“Ja,” Janet said as she ran into John and hugged his legs. John did not know what to do and looked at Michelle and Claire, who were both smiling. John rubbed her little back as she hugged his legs.
“Janet cannot say too many words, but she seems to like you a lot,” Claire said to John.
John smiled and went down on one knee.
“Janet, I have something for you,” John said as he handed her the teddy bear.
“Te te,” Janet said as she hugged the bear.
“Now Janet, what do you say?” Claire asked Janet.
“Tank you,” Janet said gleefully. She gave John another hug and held John’s hand as she guided him to play with her blocks.
John and Janet played blocks for about a half hour, which flew by to John. As they built a small tower with the blocks, Janet would knock it down and start giggling. When she giggled, she held both fists to her mouth. John thought it was adorable when she did that. He also watched her play with the other children as he sat and drank some lemonade with Michelle and Claire. He was happy to see Janet doing so well.
“Any prospects for her?” John asked.
“Unfortunately, not,’ Claire said disappointed. “Usually with children who have special needs, people do not seem to adopt them because it can be difficult. They tend to end up in special placements once they get of age,” Claire said.
John was upset to hear that, but he knew those special places could help children with special needs develop their skills. He really hoped that loving parents would adopt her. She deserved to have a life of luxury after everything she has been through.
After the visit, John asked Claire and Michelle if he can come by every Saturday for a little while to visit with her. They both agreed that it would be nice for Janet to have some more visits to help her with positive interactions with other people. John was ecstatic. He knew he was not fit to be a parent due to his current battle with his alcoholism, but if he can see her giggle and be happy then John was happy.