Michael
The Distance
Twelve days later, they finally got the call.
“The papers are ready; you can come by this afternoon to pick him up,” the matron said in a monotone, which barely disguised her mirth. Perhaps she could imagine what the Flynn couple’s faces looked like as she told them the news.
Truthfully enough, Anna gasped and David’s eyebrows shot up in glee.
Finally, finally, finally, there were going to be parents. They’ve seen in happen in movies and paperback novels and it seems so overused and cliché, to dream about taking care of a toddler whose only purpose it to kick and scream and get spoiled, but it was a wish come true.
They were going to have children!
-
Not much changed since the Flynns last visited the orphanage.
It was still full of children running around, playing, enjoying life and having fun any way they can; of children who stopped whatever they were doing when strange adults came into room.
Somehow, even at their seemingly obliviously naïve ages, they had figured out that maybe, just maybe, that lady in the nice dress or the man with the funny beard could be the people they’ve been searching for, the answers to their questions.
Their parents.
The ones who would kiss their band-aids or pick them up when they fall down while trying to learn how to bike; who would pretend to be Santa at Christmas and read them stories at bedtime. The ones who can take them away from this place, which was too full of child-like hearts yearning for love, and not enough grown-ups to give it to them.
David and Anna were immediately swarmed as they entered the playroom, whilst they tried to maintain plastered grins as they searched for the face of that one little boy who captivated them at their first encounter.
Then, David saw him, oblivious of his surroundings ad trapped in a world where all he did was color, and perhaps, in his mind, the images he drew would come to life.
“There,” David tugged at Anne’s elbow. “There he is.”
They walked towards him, lightly prying pudgy fingers from twisting in their clothes and it took all they had to not feel too cruel when the children’s faces fell, their stares downcast, and they would all resume to what they were doing, as if to forget what had just happened.
They stopped abruptly at his table, and only then did they realize that he wasn’t alone.
“Hey Gerard,” David greeted.
Gerard shook his black, messy hair from his startlingly expressive green-gold eyes, grinning up at them. He stood up from his chair, making it squeak as it scraped the floor. Behind him, a much younger version of him clung to his shirt, russet eyes peeking out from brown bangs.
“Hi!”
“Do you remember us?”
Gerard nodded. “David… and Annie?”
“That’s right,” Anna leaned down to their level. “Is this your brother?”
Gerard’s smile broadened. “Yep, it’s Mikey.”
Anna reached out for Mikey, but he ducked out of her grasp, short arms grabbing Gerard around his waist and holding on to him like a lifeline.
“Gee!” He piped. Gerard laughed and the adults shared expressions of amusement.
“Don’t be scared of them, Mikes,” Gerard reassured him, patting his arm gently. His five-year-old gaze found Anna’s.
“You’re gonna be our new mommy, aren’t you?”
His young eyes, brimming with innocence and hope, almost made her heart melt at that moment. And then, right there, she knew she loved these children. And best of all, they were going to be hers!
She was going to have little angels for her sons.
“Yes, Gerard,” she choked out in reply, going down on her knees and enveloping them both in her embrace.
Gerard giggled and happily hugged her back, and when he saw this, this time, Mikey didn’t pull away.
-
Suddenly, there came a muffled cough from behind them, obscured by a hand or a kerchief.
David whirled around, and Anne let go of Gerard and Mikey to face the newcomer.
It was Sheryl, the social worker.
An awkward silence passed before Sheryl cleared her throat again, clearly uncomfortable.
“Mr. and Mrs. Flynn? I believe there’s something we need to discuss… before you bring him home.”
“You mean them,” Anne interjected. “They’re brothers, so we have to take them both…”
“There’s only one problem,” Sheryl looked at the papers in her hands. “Your current financial status.”
David and Anna exchanged anxious glances.
“What about it?” David asked, fearing that he already knew the answer. Meanwhile, Gerard sat back down and continued coloring, with Mikey watching him silently.
“As of the moment, your files indicate that you will only be able to take of one child properly.” She emphasized the last word, putting down any argument the Flynns might have thought of to counter her.
“When your combined incomes become higher, perhaps you can come back and take the other one. For now, though, it is advisable that you take Mikey first, since he’s the younger one and he might not be able to handle not having his big brother around.” Sheryl adjusted the frame of her glasses as Mikey looked up to them at the mention of his name.
David’s hand found Anna’s, and he squeezed it comfortingly. ‘It’s gonna be all right, he told her without speaking. ‘We’ll figure this out.’
Anna struggled to not let the tears that were welling up in her eyes fall. She nodded to Sheryl.
“We’ll… we’ll just talk to them, okay?”
Sheryl, thankfully, seemed to understand. “Of course. You can pack up Mikey’s things from his room; they know where it is. You can sign the papers on your way out.” She left without saying anything else.
Now, Anna turned to the two brothers, who seemed so content and happy connected to each other; sever one from the other and they both might not survive.
‘No, don’t think like that, she urged herself. ‘We’ll find a way to bring them both home… someday.’
“Gerard, Mikey, there’s something we need to tell you…”
-
The guilt didn’t cease in tormenting her as she took out a faded red shirt from the drawer and folded it, setting it carefully in a box beside the bed.
It didn’t help that a five-year-old was watching her every move, his glare accusing and cold. She never thought a child was capable of such a thing until now.
She repeated the folding process with all of Mikey’s clothes, and she gathered some of the toys that were scattered in the bedroom.
Her fingers were just closing over a Wolverine figurine when a small, icy voice stopped her.
“Don’t take that; it’s mine,” Gerard snapped.
Anna dropped it, and, after a deep breath, let out a sob as she packaged Mikey’s box with tape.
A tear dribbled off her nose, and then Gerard was there, at her side, his demeanor strikingly different from what it was only seconds ago.
“I didn’t want you to cry,” he said softly. “Do you like Mikey better? Is that why you’re not taking me with you?”
“Oh, God, no,” Anna wept, refusing to admit, even to herself, that she loved him, loved Gerard, the older brother, first. “We’ll come back for you, okay? I promise.”
“But what if you don’t?” Gerard reasoned, and Anna was rendered speechless.
David then entered the room, with Mikey holding on to his hand.
“Ready to go?” David’s voice seemed a mixture of sadness and ecstasy. One child adopted, one more to go…
Anna wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. She hugged Gerard tightly (for the last time?).
“We’ll take care of Mikey in the meantime, sweetie,” she whispered.
Gerard’s tone quivered, and his arms remained at his sides. “Don’t call him Mikey. Only I can call him that.”
Anna drew back, her expression hurt. She found it in herself, though, to still kiss him on the cheek, her tears wetting his face.
Gerard shrugged out of her embrace to put the Wolverine figure in Mikey’s tiny hands.
“Don’t lose him, Mikey,” he told his brother in an undertone. Don’t lose me. Don’t forget me.
“I’m gonna see you soon, Gee!” Mikey chirped, throw his arms around his brother. “Bye!”
“Bye, Mikes.”
David tried to remain poker-faced while Anna cried openly as Mikey waved to his big brother, the three of them leaving the room, hand in hand, together.
Gerard darted to the window, his eyes fixed on his little brother as David buckled him to the backseat, his pudgy face pressed against the window. Mikey continued to wave at him, smiling without a care in the world.
Gerard’s eyes softened, and he waved back, but then the car sped away and became just another light shining in the distant darkness, leaving him wondering if he’ll ever see his brother again.
“The papers are ready; you can come by this afternoon to pick him up,” the matron said in a monotone, which barely disguised her mirth. Perhaps she could imagine what the Flynn couple’s faces looked like as she told them the news.
Truthfully enough, Anna gasped and David’s eyebrows shot up in glee.
Finally, finally, finally, there were going to be parents. They’ve seen in happen in movies and paperback novels and it seems so overused and cliché, to dream about taking care of a toddler whose only purpose it to kick and scream and get spoiled, but it was a wish come true.
They were going to have children!
-
Not much changed since the Flynns last visited the orphanage.
It was still full of children running around, playing, enjoying life and having fun any way they can; of children who stopped whatever they were doing when strange adults came into room.
Somehow, even at their seemingly obliviously naïve ages, they had figured out that maybe, just maybe, that lady in the nice dress or the man with the funny beard could be the people they’ve been searching for, the answers to their questions.
Their parents.
The ones who would kiss their band-aids or pick them up when they fall down while trying to learn how to bike; who would pretend to be Santa at Christmas and read them stories at bedtime. The ones who can take them away from this place, which was too full of child-like hearts yearning for love, and not enough grown-ups to give it to them.
David and Anna were immediately swarmed as they entered the playroom, whilst they tried to maintain plastered grins as they searched for the face of that one little boy who captivated them at their first encounter.
Then, David saw him, oblivious of his surroundings ad trapped in a world where all he did was color, and perhaps, in his mind, the images he drew would come to life.
“There,” David tugged at Anne’s elbow. “There he is.”
They walked towards him, lightly prying pudgy fingers from twisting in their clothes and it took all they had to not feel too cruel when the children’s faces fell, their stares downcast, and they would all resume to what they were doing, as if to forget what had just happened.
They stopped abruptly at his table, and only then did they realize that he wasn’t alone.
“Hey Gerard,” David greeted.
Gerard shook his black, messy hair from his startlingly expressive green-gold eyes, grinning up at them. He stood up from his chair, making it squeak as it scraped the floor. Behind him, a much younger version of him clung to his shirt, russet eyes peeking out from brown bangs.
“Hi!”
“Do you remember us?”
Gerard nodded. “David… and Annie?”
“That’s right,” Anna leaned down to their level. “Is this your brother?”
Gerard’s smile broadened. “Yep, it’s Mikey.”
Anna reached out for Mikey, but he ducked out of her grasp, short arms grabbing Gerard around his waist and holding on to him like a lifeline.
“Gee!” He piped. Gerard laughed and the adults shared expressions of amusement.
“Don’t be scared of them, Mikes,” Gerard reassured him, patting his arm gently. His five-year-old gaze found Anna’s.
“You’re gonna be our new mommy, aren’t you?”
His young eyes, brimming with innocence and hope, almost made her heart melt at that moment. And then, right there, she knew she loved these children. And best of all, they were going to be hers!
She was going to have little angels for her sons.
“Yes, Gerard,” she choked out in reply, going down on her knees and enveloping them both in her embrace.
Gerard giggled and happily hugged her back, and when he saw this, this time, Mikey didn’t pull away.
-
Suddenly, there came a muffled cough from behind them, obscured by a hand or a kerchief.
David whirled around, and Anne let go of Gerard and Mikey to face the newcomer.
It was Sheryl, the social worker.
An awkward silence passed before Sheryl cleared her throat again, clearly uncomfortable.
“Mr. and Mrs. Flynn? I believe there’s something we need to discuss… before you bring him home.”
“You mean them,” Anne interjected. “They’re brothers, so we have to take them both…”
“There’s only one problem,” Sheryl looked at the papers in her hands. “Your current financial status.”
David and Anna exchanged anxious glances.
“What about it?” David asked, fearing that he already knew the answer. Meanwhile, Gerard sat back down and continued coloring, with Mikey watching him silently.
“As of the moment, your files indicate that you will only be able to take of one child properly.” She emphasized the last word, putting down any argument the Flynns might have thought of to counter her.
“When your combined incomes become higher, perhaps you can come back and take the other one. For now, though, it is advisable that you take Mikey first, since he’s the younger one and he might not be able to handle not having his big brother around.” Sheryl adjusted the frame of her glasses as Mikey looked up to them at the mention of his name.
David’s hand found Anna’s, and he squeezed it comfortingly. ‘It’s gonna be all right, he told her without speaking. ‘We’ll figure this out.’
Anna struggled to not let the tears that were welling up in her eyes fall. She nodded to Sheryl.
“We’ll… we’ll just talk to them, okay?”
Sheryl, thankfully, seemed to understand. “Of course. You can pack up Mikey’s things from his room; they know where it is. You can sign the papers on your way out.” She left without saying anything else.
Now, Anna turned to the two brothers, who seemed so content and happy connected to each other; sever one from the other and they both might not survive.
‘No, don’t think like that, she urged herself. ‘We’ll find a way to bring them both home… someday.’
“Gerard, Mikey, there’s something we need to tell you…”
-
The guilt didn’t cease in tormenting her as she took out a faded red shirt from the drawer and folded it, setting it carefully in a box beside the bed.
It didn’t help that a five-year-old was watching her every move, his glare accusing and cold. She never thought a child was capable of such a thing until now.
She repeated the folding process with all of Mikey’s clothes, and she gathered some of the toys that were scattered in the bedroom.
Her fingers were just closing over a Wolverine figurine when a small, icy voice stopped her.
“Don’t take that; it’s mine,” Gerard snapped.
Anna dropped it, and, after a deep breath, let out a sob as she packaged Mikey’s box with tape.
A tear dribbled off her nose, and then Gerard was there, at her side, his demeanor strikingly different from what it was only seconds ago.
“I didn’t want you to cry,” he said softly. “Do you like Mikey better? Is that why you’re not taking me with you?”
“Oh, God, no,” Anna wept, refusing to admit, even to herself, that she loved him, loved Gerard, the older brother, first. “We’ll come back for you, okay? I promise.”
“But what if you don’t?” Gerard reasoned, and Anna was rendered speechless.
David then entered the room, with Mikey holding on to his hand.
“Ready to go?” David’s voice seemed a mixture of sadness and ecstasy. One child adopted, one more to go…
Anna wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. She hugged Gerard tightly (for the last time?).
“We’ll take care of Mikey in the meantime, sweetie,” she whispered.
Gerard’s tone quivered, and his arms remained at his sides. “Don’t call him Mikey. Only I can call him that.”
Anna drew back, her expression hurt. She found it in herself, though, to still kiss him on the cheek, her tears wetting his face.
Gerard shrugged out of her embrace to put the Wolverine figure in Mikey’s tiny hands.
“Don’t lose him, Mikey,” he told his brother in an undertone. Don’t lose me. Don’t forget me.
“I’m gonna see you soon, Gee!” Mikey chirped, throw his arms around his brother. “Bye!”
“Bye, Mikes.”
David tried to remain poker-faced while Anna cried openly as Mikey waved to his big brother, the three of them leaving the room, hand in hand, together.
Gerard darted to the window, his eyes fixed on his little brother as David buckled him to the backseat, his pudgy face pressed against the window. Mikey continued to wave at him, smiling without a care in the world.
Gerard’s eyes softened, and he waved back, but then the car sped away and became just another light shining in the distant darkness, leaving him wondering if he’ll ever see his brother again.