Chapter 11: June 28th – end of July

To say that explaining the situation to Ross Curran and then letting him handle the notification of the staff at “Global” posed no problem to Selena was an understatement because all she could think of was trying to tell her parents. They had hidden the rape and pregnancy at the time thinking it were just too heart breaking to put the Hansons through. Their emotional roller coaster, that they never accepted their daughters death only to find out 9 years later she had lived, had finally come to a stop and Joe agreed with Selena that it was a bridge that didn’t need to be crossed for some time. Now suddenly with the tragedy of the Langston family the story was going to break most everything wide open.

Betty Hansons cries of “Why didn’t you tell us sooner!!” were conveniently met with Joe and Selena’s not wanting them to ride the emotionally roller coaster anymore, they had planned to tell them in due time.

“Understand,” Joe preached, “we didn’t know for sure until a few weeks after our rescue and it seemed pointless to put you through that and it would only serve as a constant question to Selena, whose emotional state required her to compartmentalize her thoughts of lost motherhood to a back burner in order to facilitate her recovery.”

When Scott Hanson heard that explanation he comforted his wife knowing Joe was right, as he thought back to the time and Selena’s fragile state. But he questioned, “When are you going to announce to the world that she did, in fact, give birth 9 months after 911?

“Well, understand that your new granddaughter is going through losing both of her parents in the past year or so. Her Mom died in her arms and then she watched her Dad slowly wither and die from cancer. Luckily she is as strong willed as your daughter and, unless she is hiding deep grief, and has handled the fact that this is what God has dealt her and she must carry on knowing her parents are watching over her. Once she convinced herself that we were her real parents she sought us out, knowing it was the best route she could take to get on with her life. She’s extremely mature, but is quick to remind you that she is but 13 and her decisions should be questioned as such. She is very bright and analytical, just like someone ELSE we know.” He said with a snicker as he nodded toward their daughter.

“I’m leaving this afternoon to take a train to go and help her go through things she wants to bring to her new home. She realizes how emotional it will be and she asked me to be with her. You will meet her soon. I’ll just ask you not to force yourself on her and let things happen in due time. We HAVE to show her love and trust to make her feel at home and let her know we are all here for her. She is used to a structured life with her education and taking care of her father. Now that he’s gone she will have more free time to live as a normal kid, at least until she starts at Polytech in January.” Selena said not pausing to let her mother interject.

“Why don’t I drive you up?” Betty Hanson asked.

“Because I’m not going to force her on you or anyone else. Mom, let things happen. Joe is having a storage POD delivered today with a walk-in wardrobe and room for other things she may want before they turn the house over to lawyers so they can settle things and put things in trust for her. She’s going to have a difficult enough time. She and I have found some sort of bond and I didn’t want to abuse that. Please, don’t do what you want to do. No running up and hugging her when you see her. We don’t even know if she’ll accept us as anything beyond her legal guardians. Daddy, you two have to get together and come to some boundaries and agreements. Until I can establish a schedule of travel to New York she will be alone here with Joe for a few days at a time. Joe would like you two to stay here then to add a little structure to her life, just do not smother her. She has to know we can be trusted and have her best interests in mind.”

Scott Hanson had a sour look on his face and said, “Even though we have experience as parents, we will abide by your wishes. We’ll talk.”

“Remember,” Joe added, “As far as she is concerned, her parents are dead. She realizes we are her birth parents, but that means little to her right now. We were not there for the 13 formative years of her life, and she knows it was through no fault of ours. She also knows she could easily be in a court appointed foster home, instead of a house with people who know exactly what she is going through educationally, and believe me, she is focused on that over anything else. She is not a typical teenage girl. As long as Doc Stevens thinks she is mature enough, and that’s a given, she and 2 other girls 14 and 16 and another boy 14, all older than she, will work with a Charter School near Polytech to get all their High School credits by January to start part time at Polytech to be a full time Freshman in the Spring as long as they fulfill some additional reading requirements and certain math labs between classes before the Spring ... Nothing is a given, She, and the other 3 will have to pass these requirements. I, personally, think it puts too much pressure on her. We’ll all have a long talk over this, the 4 of us, Doc Stevens and Dana.”

“Why not us, you don’t want us to be involved with her otherwise.” Betty said snottily.

“Mom, you’ve misunderstood EVERYTHING we’ve told you about the relationship you might have with her. You and Dad know firsthand what a student goes through in accelerated studies and how it affected me. Remember Joe’s parents are no longer around to give their say. Who would know better than you?” Selena said hoping they understood everything in the right context.

Betty had sidled up to Scott while Selena was reprimanding her and they whispered between them, Scott explaining it all better. Betty nodded and told her daughter she understood it all and would not over step her bounds as long as roadblocks were up. Then she suddenly broke into a wide smile and asked, “Does she really look like you?”

Joe chuckled and nodded, “They look like twin sisters, 20 years apart. There is no doubt who her mother is. Luckily she got her father’s smarts.” He said as Selena poked him.

“If intelligence is inherited, she was very lucky to have you two as parents, for sure.” Scott said.

“You and Mom had a lot to do with it too Dad. Now, I have to get going to catch the train. Dana and Mary Porter will meet me in Fort Edward. Mary Porter is a friend of Dana’s Mother who has been staying with her and helping her. She’s an RN and she has a degree as a Psychological Counselor. She’s helping Dana cope and the fact she and her Mom were close helps a lot.

“Does she have a practice?” Scott asked.

“No, she works as a nurse and uses her psyche skills in dealing with patients. She got her degree in a 2 year grad school, but thinks after her kids are out of the house she’ll try going back to get a clinical psyche degree. Very goal oriented and Dana obviously respects her. If she didn’t have her boys home she might have offered to take custody of Dana, but she has her hands full now.” Selena explained.

“Alright! I’ll get you to the station and you will keep us appraised of what’s going on so we know what to expect as far as volume of things she’s moving and such. I’ll then arrange for the POD to be moved here Tuesday or Wednesday, depending when you leave. I want the POD here when she gets here.” Joe said as they moved to the car to go off to the station.

Selena was so excited, she thought her heart would explode. For the first time in the entire ordeal she began to anticipate what being a Mother was going to be like. Although she didn’t really know Dana beyond their few meetings, she began to feel the loving bond they shared. She was trying to squelch it, but it was overcoming her.

Selena ended up staying with Dana at her home until Wednesday morning. After the mover took the POD to bring to her new home, Dana and Selena rode with Mary Porter to the train station. Dana and Mary Porter said tearful goodbyes with promises to keep in touch. Merilee Langston had been Mary’s best friend and she felt Dana was her only connection to that bond. At a time when her grief was new Mary Porter was the surrogate Dana turned to for love and understanding. They had that bond that would never be forgotten.

By the Fourth of July Dana had arranged her things and been through the POD completely of her things. About a quarter of what she thought she wanted in her new home she had Joe bring to Salvation Army. Some things that seemed so important while in her old home suddenly lost their importance at the Johnsons.

When Dana came out for Breakfast on the Fourth Joe and Selena were discussing plans for the Holiday.

“Good morning Dana, Joe and I were just talking about the Fourth. Under the circumstances we were thinking of just having a cookout here at the house and we have a great view of the big fireworks just across the river from the front window or porch.”

“I guess that would be OK. I really don’t want to go out with a lot of people around. I’ve spent so much time in my room arranging and then reading to pass the time, being outside for a cookout might be nice. Can you fix ribs? My Dad always did ribs on the Fourth.”

“Sure, we’re doing ribs and chicken. I was going to invite my parents too. Would you be up for that?” Selena wondered.

“I suppose I should be. I know you’ve kept them at bay for me, and I appreciate that. I don’t want to be fawned over, questioned, or anything like that. I’ve imagined what they must think about having a new grandchild, their only grandchild and it’s pretty scary. I’m sure they are nice people. I want to be friends first, like we’re doing.” Dana said with a worried look.

“Don’t worry, we’ve all talked about everything with the same concerns and worries you have in mind.” Selena assured her.

“The fact you haven’t pretended to be my parents so far has made getting to know you both better. I’m not so stupid to have not realized already that our spiritual connection is palpable.” She proclaimed.

Joe tipped his head and had a little smile curl on the side of his mouth. “Are you SURE you’re 13? Statements like that show so much maturity.”

Dana smiled a happy smile for the first time all week and gave Joe a look saying, “You’re doting, ... Pop!”

“OK, I get it, ... Pal!” Joe said as Dana nodded to him.

Selena suddenly came to the realization that Dana might one day really think of them as her parents when she saw the two of them in that little word play of boundaries. Joe was suddenly playing proud father and Dana was marking the line while recognizing the reason why Joe felt that way. Joe’s come back clearly showed he wanted to be her friend more than anything at this juncture. She just hoped she herself hadn’t taken too much from the exchange, letting her psyche courses in college influence her thoughts.

“I would like one thing, if you can do it for me, ... Sunday morning can we get up early and go up North to the cemetery. Both of their names should be on the stone and I just want to make sure it all looks OK. My Dad and I used to go every Sunday to visit Mom. I won’t ask every Sunday, it’s just one of the last things my Dad mentioned, making sure it was all done right. (sniffs back a tear) He said I don’t need to go there to talk to them, they’re always with me.”

“Sure Dana, we can do that.” Joe said as he went and comforted her.

“I always think my Mom and Dad are near too. When I turned my Dad’s company over to the employees, like he asked me to do when I eventually retired, I thought I could really feel him next to me. My Dad died suddenly, so I didn’t have the opportunity to assure him I would take care of that.”

“Thank you Joe, I’m so glad you understand.” She said as Selena looked on and was happy with the way they all seemed to be getting along, but she was wary of her parents finally meeting Dana today. Once that bridge was crossed they had to come up with the timetable to release the information that the “miracle 911 couple” had a child during their hospitalization. She wasn’t looking forward to it and was seriously thinking of taking Ross Currans suggestion of releasing the information through a WSGG press release and handling the questions in New York away from their “home” upstate. They would wait a few days and grant an interview to a local newsman and hope that might be the end of it all. That would leave a few weeks before she started at the Charter School to let lookie-loo’s cool their jets.

That afternoon Joe had the ribs in the smoker and chicken primed for barbecue. Once Dana saw Joe loading the smoker she went out to see how it was done.

“My Dad always slow cooked them in the oven and then finished them with sauce of the grill. He always wanted a smoker.” Dana said to start a conversation with Joe

“Well, smoking is also slow cooking, but adding the smoke infuses that flavor. You’ll like them, I bet. Selena is in making salads and her own barbecue sauce to finish the ribs and glaze the chicken. We’ll have enough meat left over to snack and lunch for a couple days.” Joe added.

“Can we stop tomorrow for a picnic on the way home? We can go for a walk by the lake. I can make sandwich’s and we can bring left over salads from today.” Dana asked.

“Sure, if that would make you happy. We just have to be home for Selena to prepare for the Sunday Night Letter by video conference.” Joe told her.

“Can I watch that?”

“Sure, it’s interesting, I usually watch too. Why don’t you go in and tell Selena about your plans for tomorrow and make sure it doesn’t interfere with anything she has going. Maybe you can help her finish salads.” Joe suggested.

“That sounds like a good idea, making sure she hasn’t got other plans, and I’d love to pitch in.” Dana said as she made her way inside.

“She’s really trying,” Joe thought to himself. “She really wants to be part of everything here, and part of us, but she does miss her parents, for sure. As long as she is making an effort I’ll do whatever I can to make her happy. I’m not looking forward to next week though, Monday to Wednesday, when Selena’s in New York. I hope we find things to keep ourselves occupied without her getting weary of me.”

Inside Selena was just hanging up the phone.

“Dana, my parents are going to be here around two. You and I both want to avoid a scene so if I might suggest, I have corn to be shucked. If you’re sitting at the picnic table shucking the corn when they get here you won’t have to get up, you can just reach over the table and shake hands, make small talk. My parents are sweet and they are our biggest supporters.”

“I read where they treated this house like you were coming home for the entire time, never wanting to believe, uh...” Dana said, wiping a tear thinking of her own situation, “they must be remarkable. I’ll be as nice as I can, but I just hope they understand how things have to be. I mean, I want to love them, but...”

“I understand, honey. The adjustment is hard no matter what’s in the blood. You couldn’t have had better parents than your Mom and Dad. Just looking at you and what you’ve accomplished makes that evident. No one will ever try to take credit by bloodline, and if they do they will hear from me. I met your Dad and in the short time I spent with him, spoke with him, and now as I spend time with you it’s easy to see his influence. The record of students who went through your Mom’s daycare pre-school, including you, who simply absorbed by association is proof of what she was. Your Dad said from the time you were two you were in the room for the classes she ran. When you went to kindergarten in September after you turned 6 you were probably beyond the 3rd grade level once your brain began to develop and it progressed to your level, or as they call it IQ.”

“Having the ability to learn and deduce can flourish in someone, but if they don’t have the impetus to bring it out, it may never surface. That’s what a psychologist told me and my Mom when they were trying to decide if it would be advantageous to carry on at higher levels with kids older than me.” Dana said, filling Joe in on some of the things he should know.

“Once again, your Mom was a smart woman to seek that help and advice. I’m not sure I was ready when it was evident I was way ahead of my class. I was in the 98th percentile on some of those tests, when the next of my class were in the 70th. I was immature in many ways, except for learning, and um ... sexually.” Joe said wishing he hadn’t.

“Sexually, how was that?” She asked, her interest piqued.

“This is between you and I, and I’ll tell Selena that I told you, but I lived in an old story 3 duplex. The family on the other side was my uncles and he had passed young. So my widowed aunt and her daughter who was just a bit older than me lived there. My uncle was not the father of her daughter. My aunt was pretty promiscuous and her daughter had prying eyes and she saw how much “fun” her Mom was having and the rewards it was getting her, jewelry, money, gifts, etc. As we were cousins in word only, she and I became involved. Let me just say that from the time I was 14 or 15 I became sexually active with my cousin and you can be sure it screwed me up beyond belief, the way I thought about women, love, fidelity, and in many ways, life itself.

Some day Selena and I will tell you how we got together. I hope I haven’t shocked you at all by being so frank, but I couldn’t let my saying “sexually” hang in the air like that.”

“Your marriage seems very solid.” Dana said.

“It’s beyond that too, Dana. We are pretty convinced that God made us for each other. She changed me so much, my life, my everything.” Joe said with a tear in his eye.

Just then Joe heard people coming up the drive.

“Here come the Hanson’s. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Selena wanted me behind the picnic table shucking corn, you know, ... busy.”

“Well, have at it, I’m going to let them in the gate.”

Joe walked over and unhooked the gate to let them in. They eyeballed Dana right away, but walked with Joe over to the table as she worked. Selena saw them come in and sidled up behind them at Joe introduced her.”

“Betty and Scott, I want you to meet Dana Langston. Dana, there are the Hanson’s, Selena’s parents, Betty and Scott.”

Dana went to stand to shake hands, but Selena eyeballed her down saying, “Dana wait and wash your hands after you finish that. Mom, can you come in and help me with the dressing for the cole slaw?”

Joe piped up quickly, “And Scott, if you can give me a hand moving the ribs from the hot box into the smoke box.”

“It was nice to meet you both, we can talk later.” Dana said as she went about finishing the corn.

With the initial shock out of the way Scott and Betty were both a little miffed at the bums rush they were given, but knew of their daughters wishes and carried on without saying much. Dana eventually came into the house with the corn and went directly to the sink on the opposite side of the island where Betty was working.

“I’m very sorry to hear about your Dad, Dana. You’re very young to have lost both parents. I’m sure Selena and Joe will do a great job looking after you. Know you can always depend on Scott and I to help you out as well.” Betty said, hoping to start a conversation.

“You’re very kind and thank you for the kind thoughts. I’m sure we will all become friends.” Dana said as she took a bag Selena handed her for the shucks.

“Bring that out to Joe and he’ll show you where the trash is.” Selena said as Dana took a towel and put it hanging from her back pocket, and brought the bag out the slider to get her mess.

Outside she rolled the husks and put them in the bag and Scott came over to take them from her.

“Here, let me take those for you.”

“Well, I want to see where the trash is anyway, just show me.” Dana said holding the bag to herself and looking to follow him.

“Suit yourself. I suppose if you’re going to be living here you’ll need to know.” Scott said with a tinge of attitude.

“Well, I DO want to a part of the household.” Dana said hoping Scott might take some meaning from it.

After dumping the bag she took the towel hanging from her pocket and wiped off her hands and turned to Scott extending a hand.

“So, once again, I’m Dana Langston, pleased to meet you Scott. I understand you and your wife will be my back up sponsors, whenever Selena and Joe are out of town.”

“Yes, I’m sure we’ll get to know each other better before that ever comes around after School starts. You’re starting at Poly in September?” Scott asked.

“On no, I have to finish my high School credits first. I’m going to Holy Redeemer Christian Charter School until January. Then I’ll polish my credits at Poly to start as a Freshman in September.”

“Polish?”

“Bring me up to speed in subjects like Calculus and that. Building me from high school calc to advanced Freshman calc, and other subjects. I’ll be in advanced levels as long as I can cut the grades.”

“That sounds like what Selena did too, except she went from her 3rd year, right in and they buried her with studies and had given her tutors to catch up. Your way sounds much less stressful, which I suppose is good for you right now, considering all you’ve been through, and may I add my condolences on losing your Dad.”