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It had been three years since John first visited Janet at her foster home. John came by every Saturday to spend what started from a half hour to now three hours with Janet. He watched her grow from the little two years old to a five-year-old. Her and John had fun times together playing blocks, dolls, and tea parties.
Janet proved to be a quick learner, regardless of the assumption that all children with Down syndrome have a learning disability. Janet could read just as well as the other children, but she did have a little more of a tough time speaking her words clearly. John spent a lot of time educating himself about children with Down syndrome and learned a lot about them. He found different teaching techniques to help Janet with learning or coping with her emotions that he shared with Claire and Michelle.
One Saturday while John was visiting Janet, he was having a glass of lemonade with Claire as Janet was playing with the other children. As John was talking about a current article, he read about a young woman with Down syndrome graduating college, Claire interrupted him.
“John, you have learned a lot about children like Janet. You have been coming here for three years now. Why haven’t you considered adopting her?” Claire asked.
John had not given thought about adopting her ever since he brushed the thought aside due to his alcoholism. He was not going to go into any details about that.
“I don’t think I am the right person for her,” John said.
“You are mistaken. She adores you,’ Claire said.
“And I adore her. There are better people to raise her,” John said in a sad tone.
“Well, if she does not get adopted, she will have to go to a special school. I keep praying that someone will adopt her. After everything she went through, she deserves to have a family,” Claire said.
“Yes, she does,” John said as he took a sip of his lemonade.
A few days went by, and John and Mike met Nancy at the coffee shop after their AA meeting. Since last Saturday, John thought a lot about his conversation with Claire regarding adopting Janet.
“What’s on your mind, John?” Mike asked.
“It is about Janet and her not getting adopted. I feel bad for her,” John said.
“I am sure she will find a family. Does this make you thirsty?” Mike joked.
“Waking up every day makes me thirsty. It is a battle I am willing to continue,” John chuckled.
“Good, good. Why don’t you look into adopting her? You talk about her all the time like she is your own daughter. Some of the newcomers in AA think you are such a wonderful dad, and they do not even know that you are just a visitor for her,” Mike said.
“There has to be someone better than me,” John said shamefully.
“You might be right, but you also could be wrong,” Mike shrugged.
“John, do you want Janet to have a happy life?” Nancy asked.
“Of course, I do. That is why there are better people than me,” John said.
“And where are they? Sounds to me that the right choice has been visiting with her these last few years. You already know,” Nancy smiled.
John, Mike, and Nancy finished their coffees and parted ways for the evening. John and Nancy continued to talk about Janet’s situation during their walk home. When they arrived in front of Nancy’s house, she opened her gate and walked up to her door. Nancy then turned about and smiled at John.
“Whatever you decide, you have people who will support you,” Nancy said as she waved goodbye.
John waved goodbye back and went into his house. John continued to think about Janet. He wanted to be a part of her life. He remembered the nightmare he had with his demon and how Janet saved him by giving him the courage to face it. With that in mind, he grabbed his phone and decided that it was time to become more than a visitor for Janet. He dialed Michelle’s number.