Chapter 22

We drove Laurel to her apartment, where she packed enough for a weekend stay. We'd get the rest of her things later. Her roommates didn't say much, more or less just stayed out of her way. Both had guilty looks, as if they'd been in on what had been done to her, or at least known about it and had not stood up for her, and were now ashamed of it. She didn't bother explaining to them just what she had planned for the near future.

Then, even though Laurel had given her statement to the police counselor at the hospital, we all went to the police station to see Mitch, and make sure what was going on, and to let him know we'd be out of town for a day or two.

Mitch was there, and he updated us on the status of the three lowlifes they were still keeping in custody. "We've got orders of protection ready for all three of you to sign, so that in case they get out on bail, they'll be under court order to stay away from all of you." He was pleased that we were taking Laurel in to live with us for the time being, and wished us a pleasant drive to see my folks. "I hope we'll have more good news for you when you get back. I've got your cell numbers, so if there's anything I need to contact you for I can do that." He looked at me in particular, "And I suspect that George won't be too far from you either. You might not see him; he's good at that. But he'll be around. He's like a bulldog, and this has really got his attention. Mine, too."

I thanked him for his help, and asked, "Do you think all that will be necessary? You've got the idiots locked up, and all."

"Well," he said, "Todd's old man is already pulling all the strings he can pull, from what we hear, and God only knows where the other ends of some of those strings lead to. Best to be safe. And remember what I told you about that piece of yours; don't be afraid to use it!" Then he smiled wryly, "But you didn't hear that here."

Both girls were alarmed at that, but I told them we'd talk about it later, as we had to get going. We signed the orders, shook hands with Mitch again, and headed on out.

The tension wore off a little as we drove, and Kay soon had us in stitches again, as she recounted my little foredeck jig – the one that ended in my own trip to the hospital. She said, "If it hadn't been that he hit that boom so hard, it actually would have been funny! Looked like he was auditioning for a spot in Riverdance!" Even Laurel loosened up at that, and the trip, not a real long one to begin with, went well.

We soon pulled into a familiar lane, and parked at the end of the front porch I'd "camped out" on, when I was a kid. Looked the same, actually, and the coat of paint I'd applied a couple of years ago was still holding up well. They must have been watching out for us, because Mom and Dad came right out to greet us.

"Wait a minute! You said "A" special friend. Not two pretty gals!" Dad was in rare form as he picked on me. "They come in pairs down there?" Mom tried to shush him, but Dad was Dad, and that's all there was to it. Kaitlyn blushed, but Laurel lit up like a signal beacon!

"Mom and Dad, meet your soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Kaitlyn Sanderson." I had my arm around Kay, and almost got squashed as Mom grabbed her and squealed in delight. "And this is our friend Laurel Lee." I had an arm around her too, just not the same way I did Kay.

Dad just looked from one to the other, and repeated his earlier, "Two pretty gals!" And he welcomed Laurel, gave her a hug, then turned her over to Mom, and grabbed Kaitlyn's hand. She was already blushing when he said, "Son, it looks like the Lord's been good to you again. If she can cook as pretty as she looks, well..." He ran out of words, I guess, because his impromptu comedy routine failed him and, with a catch in his voice, he looked back to her and said, "I hope you understand you're an answer to prayer!"

So on that note, we retrieved our bags from the back of the car. I had to help Kay a little – she said something had got in her eye, and she couldn't see very well.

We went on into the house, and Mom took the girls to their room. I just headed upstairs to my own old attic bedroom. Looked the same, even had all the old boat and airplane pictures pinned to the walls and the sloping ceiling. Even the old water mark was still there just above the window, where the roof had leaked when I was a kid. I stowed my stuff, and went back down the stairs to the kitchen, just in time to meet Lynette coming through the back door.

"Hi Bro!" I got a perfunctory hug, "Where is she?"

"Well, I love you too, Lynnie! And I'm fine, thanks for asking!"

Sis just swatted me out of the way and headed for the stairs, where we could both hear someone descending. "Hi! I'm Lyne- Rob! Did you send us the wrong, she doesn't look like her pic- Oh!" She looked at Laurel, then back at me, then up behind Laurel, at Kaitlyn. "Then who? I'm confused."

I looked up at Kaitlyn, "Meet my sister Lynette, sweetie! Sometimes she sounds a little distracted."

"Hi, Lynette! I'm Kay, and this is Laurel -- our foster kid. We're thinking of adopting her – do you think she'll make a difference in our tax bracket?"

Lynette's head swiveled again, looked like a busted bobblehead doll as she turned toward me, then up at Kay, then back to me again. "Where did you find this one, Robby, the Comedy Channel?" She turned back to Kay and said, "I think we're gonna get along just fine!" Then, "Hi, Lauren! How long've you been standing there? How'd you get mixed up with these two?"

"It's LaureL, Lynnie," I said, "with an L – LaureL!"

"Ooops! Sorry, Laurel," said Lynette, "my bad. But who are you most attached to here, Kaitlyn, or Rob?"

"Well," said Laurel, "I've known her longer than I've known him, but guess what?" She giggled, "I love 'em both! 'Specially since they decided to adopt me!"

You know, that whole exchange sounded suspiciously normal, for our house. I just turned to Dad, and he said "Don't look at me, Rob. You brought 'em!"

Then my brother-in-law came in. "Hon? Where'd you put the diaper bag? Seth is –" He stopped and looked around, "What? Why's everybody laughing?"

"Kaitlyn, Laurel, this is our surprise, Seth, and the guy who's carrying him is my hubby, Andy. Hon, this is your soon-to-be sister-in-law Kaitlyn, and their soon-to-be-adopted daughter Laurel, with an 'L'." Lynnie came over and retrieved my nephew, and said, "It's right where you left it, honey, on the end of the porch." She turned again to Kay with a grin, "Not sure if it's a training issue, or a man issue, but you need to be sure you get a good jump on it before he falls into a pattern!"

Meanwhile, Laurel just stood there looking bemused and amazed, then shocked everyone by sitting down on the stairs and bursting into tears. Kay immediately sat next to her on the step, and Lynette moved as close as she could get and asked, "What'd I say?" She was panicked at the thought she'd made this poor girl cry.

Laurel reached out and grabbed her hand, "No, Lynette, nothing you said," she managed to get her breath and choked out between sobs, "It just hit me how wonderful it must be to have a family like this, with people who love you and can actually joke with you."

"She never had that," said Kay, "until now. And that's why I was more serious than not about adopting her."

So, off to a good start with the folks! Mom and Dad fell in love with Kaitlyn, and the feeling was mutual. Lynette thought she was a blast, and they all really took to Laurel as well. She was okay, after her initial reaction at seeing our family interplay. Who knew? We were simply being our normal, okay, maybe weird, selves, but it was something she'd never experienced. But if she thinks our family was special, wait until she meets the Sandersons! Belinda and Harland (after she gets over his size) are gonna blow her away! And anyone who doesn't totally adore Krista, well, there's just something not normal at all about them.

After a very nice supper, (yes, Mom did break out the best china, and no, Dad didn't wear a tie) we all went out and sat on the porch, just like we used to do when I was a kid. Kay and I sat on the one porch swing that I'd helped Dad rebuild, and Laurel sat next to Mom. I think she just wanted to be loved, like a puppy or something. Lynette and Andy just tucked in here and there, and Laurel got to hold little Seth.

We chatted until well after dark, mostly about wedding details, and how Kay and I had met. Didn't go into too much detail about that, dunno if we ever will, really. The folks wanted to know all about Hector, and his little church, and we just told them he was a special friend. Then they asked about the business, and the apartments. Andy and Lynette were interested in how I'd bought out the other owners, and I gave them the name of the lawyer I'd had handle that.

It finally got cool enough so that everyone decided to call it a night. I followed Kay and Laurel up to their door, and got goodnight kisses from both of them. One on my cheek, and the other on my lips. Both were very sweet, but the second one had a lot more "hmmmmm!" behind it.

Then I climbed up to my own hideaway at the top of the attic stairs, and got ready for bed. Looked the same as when I was a kid, growing up. The old Philco console radio I'd hauled home from the landfill when I was twelve still worked, but the stations had all changed formats, so there was really nothing to listen to on it. Was glad I'd got a small CD player/FM radio to set on top of it. I rummaged through the little CD collection I kept there for just such an occasion, and fired up an old Ann-Margret album I'd ripped from vinyl to CD. Was a little scratchy, but I still loved it. It was actually the same album that'd got me through two years in Germany, in the Army Signal Corps. That made me think of a Django Reinhardt album that I wanted to do the same thing with, so I dug that out of the box in the closet, and put it with my "take to my place" pile. Maybe I'll get to it in a day or so. Right. At least it'll be at the apartment if I ever do get around to ripping it!

Turned out the light and laid down; rolled over, and it was morning!

Kay's thoughts:

What are we going to do with this girl? I mean, the thought of anyone going without a family to love them and hold them up, well, that's just so totally alien to me! We turned down the covers on the old double bed and climbed in, and she just cuddled up to me like she never wanted to let me go! Nothing even remotely erotic or sensual in it at all, just a hunger to be held by someone who cared.

She'd caught us all off guard there on the stairs when we were riffing on names and such. That Lynette is a real clown! Loving her already, and of course Mom and Dad Lister too! They'd insisted right off that I call them Mom and Dad. Felt a little funny at first, but my own parents will always be Mom and Dad too, just with a little different meaning to the words. And that, I realized, was the thing that Laurel had never ever felt or even imagined. She never had a sister like Lynette, and wait 'til she meets Krista! I think we're doing a good thing, moving her up there to be with my family for a while. They'll show her even more of what real love is. The kind I know I'm sharing with Rob.

Laurel just kind of cried herself to sleep on my shoulder, hugging me tight. Not a bad kind of crying either, I think. She's so peaceful and relaxed now, and I'm hoping we can help her stay that way. Definitely adding her to my "God Bless" list, Lord! Just take care of her, please. Amen.

Back to Rob:

Got up early (why do I always do that here?) and went down to start breakfast. Mom was already there. I knew she would be. Gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Well, Mom? What do you think?"

"Rob, it's not what I think that matters. It's what your heart tells you, and I know that if you listen to that, you won't go far astray." She smiled at me, "But do I think that Kaitlyn's a very sweet girl? Yes!, and from what I can see, she loves you very much. Your Dad and I have been praying for just such a girl for a long time now, and it looks like the Good Lord has seen fit to give us a wonderful answer!"