[B][U]Chapter 11: Adoption
[I]“Um, how about an order of two pancakes, and for my drink I’ll have some- chocolate milk!” I said to the waitress who was taking our orders. She smiled.
“Alright then! I’ll be back soon with your breakfast!” She replied. She walked away, placing the notepad she had been writing our orders on in a small holster hanging from her belt.
“You know, I think this is the first time since you were three that we all had breakfast together at Denny’s!” My dad spoke.
“Oh my word, I remember that! Tristian spilled all of his vanilla milkshake and we had to get him a new one so he would stop crying!” She reminisced, laughing a little. I and my father chuckled along.
“Tristian, don’t spill your chocolate milk!” He warned me jokingly. I giggled.
“So, what do we have planned for today?” I asked him.
“Oh, you’ll see!” My mother teased.
“Come on, please tell me!” I begged.
“Nu-uh, not going to happen kiddo!” My dad said, wagging his finger at me. I pouted a little, but remained silent. Then something caught my eye. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see a TV monitor hanging on the wall above an uninhabited table just across the room. I turned my head to look at it. I leaned back and sunk down into my seat once I saw it. Then, of course, someone just had to go and do something I didn’t want them to.
“Hey, turn that up Hun!” I heard a women say. There was a man and a woman just to the right of the uninhabited table, whom I neglected to notice. A man, also sitting at the same table, got up, reaching for the TV; just barely reaching the volume buttons. He pressed one of the buttons, which actually made the TV’s volume decrease, so he pushed another button. The volume went up, and then when the entire diner could hear the TV, he sat back down.
My father rolled his eyes, grumbling the phrase “Some people.” My mom just looked back to her breakfast. But I was hooked on the TV. Mostly because of what was on. The news, of course! I listened intently to the hanging screen, paying close attention to every word. It was of my recent kidnapping. There hadn’t been any news reports about it since the actual day of the kidnapping, and few days following; so I never really got to see any coverage of what had happened.
“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I’m Adam Bachewsky”
“And I’m Wolf Van Dyk.”
“Today we are taking a quick look back at this past week’s top story; the kidnapping of Tristian Hawk.”
“That’s right Adam, and as it seems now, the story is still unfolding, correct?”
“Yes it is Wolf. It seems that an official court date has been announced, regarding two conspirators of this kidnapping; Nick and Terri Anella. This will be taking place roughly two month from now, on April thirteenth.”
As I heard this, I clenched my fist. Then I looked back to my parents, who were now watching the monitor as intensely as I was. The broadcast continued.
“For those of you who do not know anything about the kidnapping, here is a short overview of what happened. Last Friday, The thirteenth of February, Tristian Hawk was kidnapped from his home on the island around four or o’clock in the afternoon. He was then taken to the house of Terri and Nick Anella, whom attempted to regress the young boy mentally to the age of a toddler.”
As they said this, I began to get a little worried. How in the hell did these people know so much? The only people I had talked about this to were the police, and my parents. Now, I had seen a few camera trucks patrolling our streets, and one time they even knocked on our door, but we never talked to the press; knowing about confidentiality, made me realize that it was most likely the police who had a leak of information regarding my kidnapping. I was a bit infuriated to say the least, but I continued to watch.
“Afterwards, Tristian was taken to a small hospital located only fifty miles from his home. The small hospital was run by William Dover, a wealthy business tycoon who had a monopoly on nuclear power. There, his regression had furthered. In the end of all this though, laid a shootout, covered live by this very news channel. At this shoot out, William Dover and his son, William Dover Junior, as well as Winston Kingsly of palm bay Florida, were all shot and killed.”
I gulped a little right then and there. The news station had cut to the news feed from that day. I watched closely as I saw Kingsly fall to the ground, I just side stepping to get away from the toppling dark skinned giant of a man. I felt odd though. I didn’t feel like I was watching the news feed, I felt like I was there again.
“Currently, Tristian is back home with his family safe and sound.”
That was all that my dad could take. He walked over to the TV, and changed the channel just as our pictures came up on the news feed. At that moment, we got a few odd glares. I began to hear people talk in hushed tones. When my dad came back and sat down, our waitress returned, brining all of our food and drinks. I ate my hotcakes and drank my chocolate milk, though, I did almost spill it. My mom ate her waffles and my father his Texas style toast, as well as some sausages. When we finished, we left thirty dollars on the table, and left. We didn’t want any more attention right now. When we got into the car I hopped in the back. We had a minivan, though that never made any sense to me. Why have a big car like that, when we could have something smaller? I suppose it was just ‘suburban friendly’ is all. When I got into the back, I sat down in a child seat. It had a small, but thick bar that came around the front with a tray and a couple of buckles. My father hopped in the front, starting the car and turning on the heat. It was a bit of a colder day; and somewhat depressing. There was a thick layer of clouds in the sky, leaving not one spot untouched by their gray beauty. It was a frigid day as well. The temperature couldn’t have been over forty degrease, and with the wind chill, it felt like it was less than twenty. Though, it is needless to say that my parents and I were dressed in our winter attire. I was in my black boots and insulated jeans, as well as my sweater, which was covering my long-sleeved onesie. My mother had found it online and shipped it with the overnight delivery option. Not a bad deal either. My father was in his usual sweater vest and long sleeved shirt, with his signature dress pants and shoes; whilst my mother wore some girly purplish sort of clothes. They had white snowflakes, and too me, it seemed very tacky. After I was buckled in, and given an embarrassing kiss on the cheek, she proceeded to close the sliding door and hopped into the passenger’s side seat next to my dad. We waited there for a few minutes in silence, waiting for the car to properly warm up. I looked to my father to see if I could tell what he was thinking. The expression on his face told me that I would find out in patience, though, I had not been blessed with such an illustrious virtue.
“Dada, can you please tell me where we’re going?” I asked him, giving him my impression of the puppy dog eyes.
“Twi Twi, can you please just be patient?” He mocked, chuckling. And of course my mom had to chime in.
“Aw, is little Twi Twi upset because daddy won’t tell him where we are going? Awwww!” My mother cooed me mockingly. She had been doing that lately, a lot. Baby talking me as a joke, though, at times it felt a little malicious. That said, whenever she did it, I couldn’t help but to blush and giggle a little bit. After our little giggle fest ended, we pulled out of the parking spot. Upon leaving the parking lot, I noticed our direction. We were going left instead of right. To the right was home, but to the left, I knew, was my birthday present. I began to feel a bit of angst in my car seat. I had just had pancakes, and with pancakes, came the syrup. Syrup, as everyone knows, has sugar; and I was sugar sensitive. Not severely, or even mildly, but I was still sugar sensitive. I began to feel a bit of a twinge in my right leg. It was annoying, and restless. I tried to reach down and poke a pressure point on my leg to try and make it stop, but the tray of the seat prevented me from doing so. I squirmed a bit and whined some, before my mom shoved my paci in my mouth and told me to behave. I did so with stride, but I also pouted some. I watched out the window, reading every sign and each bumper sticker that passed. It was odd though. I didn’t really feel all that babyish, even sucking on my pacifier. I suppose something was missing, or I just wasn’t in the mood. After contemplating it for a short time though, I determined that it was anxiety and the news cast that made me feel the way I was feeling at the time.
As we continued driving down obscure roads, I knew that my dad was trying to confuse me as to where exactly we were going. Eventually though, we pulled onto a main road, and clearly in the distance, I could see a fabulous site. The mall! Ah, the mall; such a beautiful place, stores all around and people bustling. The crowded places and the food court; all of it was just gloriously chaotic. But then we got into the parking lot. There were many available spots, but we didn’t even go near them! I assumed that we were simply going to go around to the other side, since that’s where some of my favorite stores were located, but instead we pulled up to the curb.
“How long do you think you’re going to take?” My mother asked my father.
“Oh, probably around a half hour or so there.” He responded.
“Got it. Pick me back up here then when you get back.” She said. Then my mother looked back to me. “I love you sweetie, be good.” She said, blowing me a kiss; which I pretended to catch and put in my pocket. She and I giggled, as she shut the car door, walking into the mall with her purse in hand. My dad then began to drive off again, going back onto the main roads. I took my pacifier out of my mouth, putting it down on the tray in front of me. Once again, I HAD to ask my dad where we were going.
“Dad? Can you please tell me where we’re going?” I asked.
“We will be there in a little bit son, okay? Just be patient.” He said, sighing. I pouted, but sat back and waited as we drove more. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at an odd looking building. I saw a cross up on top of it, and it had big metal gates. There was no sign to indicate it to be anything more than a church. Now, I have nothing against Christians or Catholics, or anybody of any religion; but I never really cared for it. Neither did the rest of my family, which only made me ask my father the question; “why are we here of all places?” To this, he smiled.
“To pick up one of your birthday gifts.” He chuckled at me, unbuckling me from my seat. I made sure to grab my pacifier and put it in my pants’ pocket before exiting the vehicle. I held my father’s hand tightly as we approached the gates. He pushed them open with little trouble, and continued to walk down a narrow stone path. We walked up to the door and knocked. After a few moments or so an old women greeted us.
“Why hello there mister Hawk! How good it is you’ve come!” She spoke. She had a British accent, but there was just a hint of Irish in it. She was wearing what looked to be a traditional nun’s uniform; Black with white, and one of those things that covered the top of her head. I always found those to be an interesting article of clothing.
“Yes, it’s good to be here Sister O’Doyle.” He replied. She then led us inside of the place. I realized quickly though that it was not a church, but an orphanage. It was depressing to say the least. It wasn’t like what I ever imagined it to be though. The kids who passed by seemed distraught and filled with emotion, but their clothes seemed to be very modern. They didn’t have ratty sneakers or coal marks on their cheeks, but instead seemed well bathed, and nourished. It was- surprising to say the least. After a short walk, we came upon an office with the name of the nun whom had greeted us printed upon it. She opened the door, and led us in. We were made to sit down in some chairs in front of a large wooden desk. After we all sat down and got comfy, and I use the term lightly, the sister began to spoke.
“Well Mister Hawk, it seems that everything is in order, do you have the documents that needed to be filled out?” She asked. My father stood up, reached down into his back pocket, and pulled out a few folded sheets of paper. He handed them to the nun, who looked over them for a few brief moments. She nodded every few seconds, and then smiled. “Very good sir, everything seems to be in order. If you will just wait here a moment, I’ll go fetch your new family member.” She said cheerfully. When she left the room, I turned to my father with bewilderment.
“Dad? What in the heck are you doing?!” I asked.
“I’m just getting you a birthday gift is all; and I’m also saving his life.” He said simply. He sighed, and adjusted himself in the chair. I just stared at him, watching his eyes as he glared into oblivion, taking not a single note of my distraught face and emotions.
Several minutes later, the nun returned. As I heard the door knob click, I spun around in my seat. I saw her open the door, and step in. She stopped dead as soon as she stepped into the room; then immediately side stepped to the left. Who I saw standing in the doorway then was- Jacob. I looked at him, and he looked at me. I got up from my seat, and walked over to him. He didn’t seem to be doing all that bad, though; he looked a bit depressed. That’s what happens when those who are close to you die; despite your relationship with them. I poked him in his gut just a tiny bit causing him to giggle. Then he poked me back, causing me to giggle. I couldn’t believe what was happening!
“Jacob- is this a dream?” I asked him .
“Nah, I don’t think so!” He said. Then, of course; he pinched me.
“Ow! What was that for?!” I barked.
“Well, you were wondering if it was a dream silly!” He giggled. I could tell by the way he was acting now that his depression had simply vanished. It was like I was a ray of light on a cloudy day. I couldn’t help but to pinch him back, causing him to flinch, and then tackle hug me. I fell to the floor with a thud, but laughed all the same.
“Dad, can we keep him?” I asked jokingly.
“Ugh, you know, you really are a handful.” He sighed, putting the palm of his hand up to his face. The nun was smiling now, and she seemed to be having the time of her life simply watching the two of us be happy. I then stood up, and reached my hand down to where Jacob was. Jacob swung his hand towards mine, both hands locking the second they touched; as I pulled and helped him stand up. Once up, we both looked to my dad. I couldn’t help but shed a tear as I knew that Jacob was coming home with us.
“See? Told you I knew just what to do!” My dad winked at me. Jacob and I smiled back.
After a brief chat with the nun about how ‘spectacular’ it was that we had decided to adopt Jacob, and a quick spot of some jasmine tea, we were sent on our way. It seemed almost nostalgic having Jacob right next to me again. I’d only known him for a brief time, but there was something about him that just made me addicted to him, per-say. His eyes weren’t filled with hate, or doubt, or anything of the sort. They were filled with love, and caring. He truly was a human being that knew what mattered, no matter what. Once we got into the car, I decided to not sit in the toddler seat. Being that our car was a minivan, it had third row seating, which was perfect. I decided to sit right next to Jacob in the back. He was simply ecstatic about being next to me again. Once we both buckled ourselves in, my dad started up the car, and began to drive.
“Tristian! I can’t believe that I get to live at your house! Ah man, this is so super-duper cool!” He stated.
“Yeah, it is!” I replied to him. “Dad! How did you adopt Jacob so quick and stuff?” I asked my father.
“Well, you see son, the Chief of police ran the investigation on your kidnapping, and is the husband of that nun you met. The police chief and I talked it over, and sped things up a bit so that your mother and I could adopt Jacob. We wanted to do something good for somebody outside our family for a change, so we decided to adopt Jacob.” He said, calmly explaining in the simplest of manners how all of this could even begin to transpire.
I smiled back at Jacob and relaxed. He soon put his head on my shoulder and yawned. I knew he was tired, and in all honesty; I was too. I began to lay my head on the top of Jacobs head, and I shut my eyes. In what seemed to be a fraction of a second, I woke up. I wasn’t groggy, or sleepy, or even cranky. It felt as though no time had passed. When I looked around though, I saw that I was in my room. I looked to my right towards the wall, and saw Jacob lying there, asleep. I smiled contently and began to stretch. I looked at his sleeping body and couldn’t help but think that he looked cute. But, that sleeping cuteness would have to end, I realized. I heard voices coming from downstairs, and then I remembered what day it was.
“Crap, my party!” I said softly to myself.
I shook Jacob lightly, causing him to turn; so I shook him again, this time a little bit harder. Finally, he woke up. He looked over at me and smiled. “Hwi Twistan…” He said in a babyish tone. I giggled a bit.
“Hey, Jacob, Come on, we got to get up.” I told him. As I sat up, I took noticed of my diaper’s condition. Soaked. I looked at Jacob, who also sat up, and I took the liberty of putting my hand under the blanket to feel the front of his diaper. He too, was soaked. He blushed a bit. In response to this, I got up, grabbed two diapers from my drawer; and pulled the blanket off of him. I set the two on the bed. After laying him straight and making him hold his legs up, I untapped Jacob’s wet diaper. He was absolutely DRENCHED. I went back to the drawer, after placing his wet diaper in a small trash can that had been put into my room for diapers, and grabbed a few baby wipes. He gurgled cutely as I wiped him down, but smiled widely once I taped up his new diaper. This diaper was significantly thicker than the diaper he had been wearing, and had a few babyish qualities to it. He obviously enjoyed this greatly, because the smile on his face was priceless. I then took the second diaper and put it down on my bed near my pillow, but I didn’t lie down. Jacob looked at me oddly.
“Why aren’t you getting ready for your change?” He asked bluntly. I started digging through my drawers.
“’Cause I have to have my mom do it. She said that only she and my dad could change me.” I replied to him, taking out a pair of black sweat pants. Then I thought for a second about what I was about to grab. I needed to look cool for my party! So I put the pair of pants back, and pulled out much cooler looking black, baggy jeans. I slid them on over my wet diaper.
“That’s a silly rule!” He said smiling. I smiled back a bit at him. Nothing ever seemed to get to this kid! Not that I was ever trying to bring him down, but most of the time that I’ve known Jacob, he never was upset… well, mostly never.
I pulled the pants on, and then examined my shirt. It was a black T-shirt, and a little baggy, but in the cool kind of way. I opened my door and began to walk downstairs. Jacob followed close behind me. “Jacob, don’t you think you should get some pants on?” I asked him.
“Huh? Oh. I don’t know’. We’re inside, and your house is hot!” He complained. He was right. Even in a T-shirt, I did feel a little warm.
“But Jacob, we have guests! Are you sure you don’t want to put something on?”
“Well, I would but I don’t think you have anything that would fit me right anyways! Your smaller than I am!” He said.
“Only by a couple of inches though; that’s not much. Listen Jacob, just go wait in my room for a minute, and I’ll be back with my mom, okay?” I offered.
“Okay, sounds good!” Jacob said, smiling and putting his thumb up in an attempt to compliment what he had said verbally with a physical action. He ran back to my room, and I couldn’t help but notice that he really was just a big toddler. It was strange, but I didn’t mind.
I walked past a couple of rooms, and then downstairs, past the foyer and into the kitchen, where I saw my mother and father talking with the nun from before, and a police officer. Immediately I rubbed my still sleepy eyes from the bright kitchen lights. My mother noticed me first.
“Oh Tristian; you’re up! Come here and say hello to mister and Mrs. O’Doyle! Mr. O’doyle is the chief of police here in town!” She stated. After my eyes grew somewhat accustom to the light, I shook the Irishman’s hand.
“Please to meet you sir…” I said groggily. I was groggy all of a sudden. For some reason I felt super energetic around Jacob just moments before, but now all that energy was gone. It was strange to say the least.
“Well hello to you too young man! It’s good to see you home with your family again!” He said cheerfully. “I would have brought a gift, but I forgot it was your birthday! I’ll stop by tomorrow with a gift though!” He said.
“Oh no no no no sir! That’s just too generous! You’ve done so much for our boy already!” My father replied.
“Nonsense! Every lad deserves a gift on his birthday! But sadly I must be going. Me and the misses have reservations at a restaurant in the center of town tonight, and I’d hate to be late and miss it. Besides, I heard that someone’s friends will be here any minute!” He chuckled. I looked at the clock. It was just about six o’clock, and my party officially started at, six o’clock! Assuming that the first person was going to be ‘fashionably’ late, I had only about ten or so minutes.
“Mom, I kind of need your help upstairs for a second…” I asked shyly.[/I]