Page 36 of The Facilitator, Part 3

Chapter Nineteen

It was two months later when Rebecca’s adoption was finalized.

We left the courthouse with a document and change of surname for Rebecca.

Mimicking the day she came to us after Sally’s fall, we were shell-shocked.

We didn’t speak as our car was driven to the curbside and Lauren settled Rebecca into her car seat.

In fact, we were silent, but with huge smiles on our faces, the whole journey home.

Darren, our driver, was frowning at me in the rearview mirror and eventually, as we pulled onto the drive, I chuckled.

“She’s officially ours, Darren,” I said. His smile matched ours.

He nodded just the once. “Congratulations, both of you,” he said, and then resumed the professional driver he was by rushing to open our doors .

Lauren carried Rebecca to the front door and I fished my cell from my pocket on its first ring.

“When can we visit?” I heard before I’d even spoken into my cell. I laughed.

“Give us at least enough time to get in the front door, will you?” I replied. Gabriella was as impatient as ever. “Seriously, come on over when you want, although we’re doing the official ‘you’re home’ tomorrow.”

I smiled at Lauren as she held Rebecca in her arms. Rebecca had snuggled into her neck and sucked on her thumb, she gave me a smile when she caught my eye and reached out for me. Lauren and I traded. I handed her the cell and took our daughter from her.

“Hey, baby, how are you?” I asked quietly.

Rebecca didn’t talk, she was speech delayed, but we believed she understood a lot.

My heart swelled to the bursting point when she smiled at me.

I honestly didn’t think I could love anyone more fiercely than Lauren, but I did.

I loved her so much that I often felt a physical pain and it overwhelmed me sometimes.

I dreaded the day she brought a boyfriend home, or she left for college, or a job.

Lauren was forever telling me quit with the future misery and concentrate on the present joy.

“Dada?” she whispered, and both Lauren and I fell silent.

“Yes, Dada,” Lauren repeated.

“Oh my God, Lauren, she spoke, I heard her. Alex…” Even I heard Gabriella screaming down the phone, calling Alex to listen with her.

“Dada?” Rebecca said, reaching out with her hand to touch Lauren’s face.

“Yes, Dada,” I said, and laughed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lauren said into my cell. For a moment we stood in silence until Rebecca wriggled in my arms. I set her down and she crawled across the hall.

“Ah, young lady, come to Nana,” we heard. Lauren’s mum walked from the kitchen with a tea towel in her hand. She scooped Rebecca up, who opened her mouth and laughed. “Dinner is nearly ready.”

“Did you tell her she could cook?” Lauren asked, turning to me.

I shook my head. “No, did you?”

We both chuckled and followed them into the kitchen. The table was set and Rebecca turned to her nana. “Dada?” she said, and Elaine countered with, “Nana.” Rebecca laughed and it was like music to my heart.

The following day was Rebecca’s official adoption party.

We had invited May, Sally, and her partner, Greg, a few parents from the Down Syndrome support group we were members of as well.

Of course, Gabriella and Alex, with Dominic in his arms, were the first to arrive.

Dominic and Rebecca had met many times and it was pure joy to watch them play together.

Rebecca was most certainly the dominant one.

We often laughed when she demanded a toy back from Dominic and then patted him when he looked sad at losing it.

She was the most empathic child I’d ever met.

I had to chuckle at that, I hadn’t met many kids before to make that comparison.

Gabriella had brought balloons and cake, more presents, and flowers for both Lauren and Elaine.

Elaine had been a godsend. For those first few days we were fine.

We had it all under control. Rebecca was our priority, but that also meant other things went by the wayside.

Sex for one, and that upset Lauren. We were always exhausted.

Rebecca was unsettled at night, and we expected that.

It had taken about a month before she went back to sleeping through the night.

Elaine had come for a visit and insisted that both Lauren and I had a date night .

We were reluctant to leave, but knowing Elaine’s capability at looking after Sebastian, we had no doubts at her ability to care for Rebecca, we just didn’t want to miss a second of being with her.

That date night was magical, though. We got dressed up, headed to the club for a meal and a couple of hours of pure raw sex. We fucked until we had no energy left .

“What are you smiling at?” Lauren asked.

“Just remembering our date night,” I whispered, and watched her cheeks color.

“Well, we have to make a point of not leaving it so long next time.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Gabriella asked, handing Lauren a glass of wine.

“Sex, actually,” Lauren replied, as brazen as anything.

“Mmm, not that I want to know the details, but we all need a night out, I think.” She patted my cheek, as she did often, and she and Lauren laughed, linked arms, and headed into the living room where the kids were climbing all over Alex.

I stood at the door and watched. Sally and May were chatting with Elaine. Greg was bouncing their newest foster child on his lap, and I left to answer the buzzing of the gate.

“Will you open this bloody thing?” I heard. I laughed as I pressed to allow Mary in. She’d become like family, albeit one who bossed me around unmercifully.

“Mary’s on her way up,” I shouted.

“Fuck, do I look clean and tidy?” Alex said. I laughed and shook my head. His hair was standing on end where the kids had rolled over him, and his polo shirt was crumpled.

May frowned at us. “May, you are about to meet a whirlwind that swears like a naval deckhand and rules our lives with an iron rod,” Alex said.

I opened the door to see a bustling Mary with her nephew on her arm. “What fecking eejit has electric gates closed at a party, huh?” she said, slapping a gift bag into my chest. “Where’s the baby?”

She walked straight past me and into the living room, removing her coat as she did. She held that coat out for the young man to take. He had me chuckling as he rolled his eyes and bowed to her.

“Ah, here she is,” Mary said, and Rebecca, having met Mary a couple of times, crawled over to her.

She giggled as Mary picked her and swung her onto her hip.

“Look at you, my lovely. You’re gonna have the boys on their knees, my girl,” she added.

“Alex, tuck your shirt in, you look like a tramp,” she finished with.

She introduced herself to May and Sally, ignored Greg, and hugged Elaine.

They were like peas in a pod. They grew up in the same area as children, they had sat in the past talking as if they were old school friends.

They knew the same pharmacist and gossiped about his many affairs.

She sat on the sofa next to Elaine and played with Rebecca while she spoke.

Soon enough, Rebecca wanted to be put on the floor with Dominic.

I had placed the gift bag on a table with other gifts, not that we had asked for them, of course. It was nice of Mary, though .

The afternoon rolled on and more friends arrived.

Jerry brought his friend as he introduced her, and I was pleasantly surprised.

She wasn’t his usual fling but a nice woman; a barrister that I just knew was likely to keep Jerry on the straight and narrow.

I fetched drinks, I opened dishes of snacks, and I cleaned up Rebecca’s chocolate-covered face.

Lauren and I passed in the hall, the kitchen, or the living room, and we’d smile or brush hands, but other than that, we were surrounded by our friends.

The one I was waiting on, the surprise guest, was yet to arrive but, as I anxiously checked my watch, I knew she wouldn’t be far away.

When I heard a car pull up outside, I snuck away. I opened the front door and beat Darren to the rear passenger door. I open it and waited for my sister to climb out. She bounced on her toes and reached out for a hug.

“Hey, you,” she said, kissing my cheek.

“Hey, you,” I replied. It had become our usual greeting.

“I’m so excited to meet Rebecca,” Kelsey said, and I took her hand to lead her to the house.

Darren opened the trunk to fetch Kelsey’s luggage and followed us.

“Lauren, we have a guest,” I said.

Lauren had been standing at the back of the room and Kelsey and me by the door.

Lauren turned and squealed with delight.

She rushed over and wrapped Kelsey in her arms, both women laughed and rocked from side to side.

When they finally parted, Kelsey spotted Rebecca.

She walked toward her, sat on the floor, and crossed her legs.

Rebecca was enthralled with new people and she immediately crawled into her lap. Kelsey held her and smiled.

Rebecca did something that probably wasn’t intentional but it silenced the room. She reached up and touched Kelsey’s eyes. It wasn’t immediately obvious to us all that she’d wiped a tear until she did it again.

I needed to step back. I felt overwhelmed with emotion. My sister, someone I hadn’t known all her life, was sitting with my daughter, someone I hadn’t known all her life, either.

Now, my family was totally complete. I had my friends, my wife, my child, my sibling, and in-laws. I had Gabriella and her family; even Veronica had become a close friend to us.

From being a solitary and fairly lonely individual, I was surrounded by love.

I felt a hand snake into mine and I looked down. Lauren stood beside me.

“It’s all a bit overwhelming, isn’t it?” she whispered.

I nodded and swallowed hard. “Sometimes, I just love you both so much right now.”

She smirked. “Only right now ?” she asked .