Michael and I enter the house and see Mama Nadine and Darwin sitting down talking to two pretty little redhead girls.
Mama Nadine: Ah…there you are! Alida, Michael…this is Molly and Emily Canfield.
Alida and Michael: Hi
The girls return our greeting in soft voices.
Mama Nadine: Alida…can you show them to your room and help them choose a bed?
Alida: Yes ma’am.
I begin walking and the girls get up and follow me.
I walk over to my own bed.
Alida: I sleep here. You can both choose which of the other two beds you want.
Emily and Molly look the room over. They seem to be genuinely impressed.
Emily: *quietly* It’s so big!
Molly chooses the bed in the middle and Emily chooses the one at the far end. They both sit down on Emily’s bed and end up spending a few minutes just awkwardly staring at me. Maybe they’re waiting on me to say something, but I’m not in the mood for chit chat.
Eventually, Molly makes her way over to me.
Molly: Aww…you have the saddies.
She seems to be pretty perceptive, only I would describe my mood as pensive and a little anxious…not sad.
Molly sits next to me and makes a silly face while waving her arms around in the air.
Alida: What are you doing?
Molly: That’s how you relieve stress. My daddy taught me that.
Alida: Well, this is how I relieve stress…
I pull out my bubbles and begin to blow as hard as I can.
Molly covers her mouth and begins to giggle. Her sister, Emily, who seems to be the more reserved one, walks over and stands in front of me.
Emily: *shyly* Can I try?
I place the wand back in the bottle to load it up with more solution for her…
Alida: Sure… *hands Emily the bubble wand*
I was right in guessing that Emily is the more reserved of the twins. At dinner time, she sits there quietly the whole time while her sister Molly relays to us the entire story of their journey to foster care.
Molly: Want to know why we’re here? My daddy has the saddies since my mommy died. Sometimes he’s so sad that making silly faces don’t work, so he goes to the bar and drinks. Only this time he drank too much and he fell asleep outside. Our neighbor called the cops because she said that being with daddy wasn’t safe for us. So this nice lady brought us to live here. Daddy just has to stop drinking…then he can come and get us. He promised that he would… but I don’t know if he can since we’re not there to help him chase the saddies away.
Molly stops talking to take a breath and drink some of the citrus punch that Mama Nadine pours for each of us.
Molly: Yummy…this is even better than what my nana used to make!
Molly’s story touches me deeply because there was once a time when I first arrived at Mama Nadine’s that I thought my mom would be coming for me too. That hope died a long time ago. Eventually, Molly’s will too.
Molly stops talking long enough to finish her dinner. Then Mama Nadine leads them to the couch to read them a bedtime story. I remember her bedtime stories once being the highlight of my day. I stand in the kitchen and listens as she reads, Chasing the Quadruple Rainbow…which is probably my 2nd favorite story.
After she finishes reading to the twins, Mama Nadine asks me to follow her to the bedroom. I’m thinking surely she’s about to go off on me for the part I played in leading Mr. Beasley to her, but she surprises me.
Mama Nadine: I owe you an apology.
Mama Nadine: *continues* You once asked me about the scar on my face…and I blew you off. I should have answered you.
Alida: That’s okay…I only asked back then to be mean.
Mama Nadine: Either way…you asked a question and I should have given you an answer. So here’s what happened…
I sit and listen while Mama Nadine tells me all about her previous career as a singer and stage actress. She goes on to tell me all about the accident that ended her career and a brief account of what led her to her current job as a foster mom. She even gives me a chance to apologize and explain how Raul and I came to find Mr. Beasley and how we managed to set up a meeting with him.
After it’s all said and done…Mama Nadine stands up and holds her arms out to me. I walk over and allow her to give me a big warm hug.
Mama Nadine: I forgive you sweetheart…and I hope you can forgive me too!
(Generation 1 Chapter Summaries)
