Status: Complete!
We'll Tell The Saddest Story Of How We Made It Through This Past Year.
Prologue: We love her already.
When I first saw her, I knew I had to have her. She was round and chubby, her little cheeks very rosy and full of baby fat. Her little arms flailed and her legs kicked and she had the perfect amount of hair, dark, dark hair. She babbled consistently, and although I barely understood a word she said, she made my heart jump. But what really got to me was her smile.
“She’s had a hard life, this little one,” said Mrs.Breatten, the owner of the orphanage where we were currently standing. “I mean, they all have, really, but this one … she shouldn’t even be alive, much less this happy. But she is. Alive and happy. She’s always smiles and she loves everyone.”
The older woman then went on to tell me more about Gabrielle’s history, and I was horrified. She had been sexually abused and almost killed, all before her second birthday. Her mother had been a whore and had died of an STD not long after Gabrielle turned one. However, no one had really been aware of her existence, so her mother’s many cracked up friends shuffled her around until finally she was rescued by a kindly doctor after she’d been brought to the ER for ‘falling out a window.’ Truth be told, she had been thrown out by a drunken whore because she’d cried.
I hadn’t realized that the tears were forming in my eyes until the kindly lady handed me a few tissues.
“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes drilling into me. “Now, tell me, Mr.Gaskarth, are you 100 percent sure that you would be able to take care of her? Have you thought about what happens if flashbacks start, if she starts to hate men, if she –“
I zoned out halfway through as I thought about the other piece of troubled past in my life. Samantha. Me and Jack’s adopted daughter. Better known as Sammie. A beautiful little girl who’d been through more, as she’d witnessed the death of her father, an evil man whom she’d loved none the less.
“Mrs. Breatten,” I said softly, “look over there.” I pointed in the direction of Jack and Sammie. I’d come to talk to Mrs.Breatten alone, before introducing the rest of my family.
Jack was crouched down by the fish tank, Sammie hugging his neck with one arm and pointing out 50 different things a second with the other hand. Jack’s eyes missed nothing that she showed him, and at the same time, his eyes were always focused on her, checking her, making sure that she was okay. Loving her.
“What do you think when you look at those two?” I asked.
The worker hesitated before answering me. Finally, she said “I think that that is a father who really loves his daughter.”
I smiled at her accuracy. “Correct. Now, let me tell you a little bit about them.”
I launched into the story of Sammie’s rescue, down to almost the exact details of what had happened that night. The worker’s eyes misted over as I talked, and she took back one of the Kleenex’s that she’d handed me.
“I’m sorry, Mr.Gaskarth, this is so very unprofessional of me, and cases don’t usually bother me, but to think of something that sweet witnessing something that tragic … I can’t even. How do you know them, by the way?”
Now was the ultimate test. Something in my eyes must have betrayed my feelings, because the kind lady sat down beside me.
“Alexander?”
The use of my first name nearly had me coming to pieces.
“I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you, Mrs.Breatten.” I mumbled, my eyes dropping to the floor.
Mrs.Breatten looked at me. “Whatever do you mean, child?” This young man reminded her something horribly of the son she’d lost too soon. He was respectable, likeable, and honest. She couldn’t imagine him being dishonest with her.
“There are two things you should know about me,” I said, taking a deep breath. “First of all …. I’m the lead singer of a very popular punk pop band. And second … I don’t have a wife or a girlfriend.”
I was met with a puzzled gaze. “Are you telling me you’re going to try doing this all on your own?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “No, that’s not what I mean.” And then I waved to Jack and Sammie, signaling them over to me. They joined me in a matter of seconds, Sammie jumping into my lap and Jack leaning into me, his arm going around me.
“No, what I mean is that I’d like for me and my family to take on Gabby’s care. I’m sure we can handle it. And we love her already.”
The elderly woman looked at the unlikely picture in front of her. Two beautiful boys, barely older than 23, holding hands and looking into each others eyes. And the beautiful little girl looking up at them with an expression of pure love on her face. There hadn’t been such a beautiful sight in here in a long, long time.
She took a deep breath. “This is highly unusual, Mr.Gaskarth, and I must say, adoption process is a lot harder for a gay couple. But then again, I’m sure you’re aware of that. But seeing as you already have one child and she is obviously happy … I will do everything in my power to make sure you get Gabby. She could use someone like you in her life.”
A huge smile crossed my face. “And we could use someone like her, couldn’t we Jack?”
Jack didn’t answer me. His gaze was across the room. Gabby was standing in a corner, alone, gazing at the fish. When she caught us looking at her, her little hand went up to her mouth and blew us a kiss. She then resumed her fish watching, her nose and hands pressed against the glass.
Jack’s eyes were wet when he looked at me.
“I love her, Alex. I love her.”
I wrapped my arms around him and Sammie and held them close as I watched Gabby.
“So do I, Jack, so do I.”
And Sammie, not able to be left out, piped in.
“Me too. I love Gabby too.”
“She’s had a hard life, this little one,” said Mrs.Breatten, the owner of the orphanage where we were currently standing. “I mean, they all have, really, but this one … she shouldn’t even be alive, much less this happy. But she is. Alive and happy. She’s always smiles and she loves everyone.”
The older woman then went on to tell me more about Gabrielle’s history, and I was horrified. She had been sexually abused and almost killed, all before her second birthday. Her mother had been a whore and had died of an STD not long after Gabrielle turned one. However, no one had really been aware of her existence, so her mother’s many cracked up friends shuffled her around until finally she was rescued by a kindly doctor after she’d been brought to the ER for ‘falling out a window.’ Truth be told, she had been thrown out by a drunken whore because she’d cried.
I hadn’t realized that the tears were forming in my eyes until the kindly lady handed me a few tissues.
“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes drilling into me. “Now, tell me, Mr.Gaskarth, are you 100 percent sure that you would be able to take care of her? Have you thought about what happens if flashbacks start, if she starts to hate men, if she –“
I zoned out halfway through as I thought about the other piece of troubled past in my life. Samantha. Me and Jack’s adopted daughter. Better known as Sammie. A beautiful little girl who’d been through more, as she’d witnessed the death of her father, an evil man whom she’d loved none the less.
“Mrs. Breatten,” I said softly, “look over there.” I pointed in the direction of Jack and Sammie. I’d come to talk to Mrs.Breatten alone, before introducing the rest of my family.
Jack was crouched down by the fish tank, Sammie hugging his neck with one arm and pointing out 50 different things a second with the other hand. Jack’s eyes missed nothing that she showed him, and at the same time, his eyes were always focused on her, checking her, making sure that she was okay. Loving her.
“What do you think when you look at those two?” I asked.
The worker hesitated before answering me. Finally, she said “I think that that is a father who really loves his daughter.”
I smiled at her accuracy. “Correct. Now, let me tell you a little bit about them.”
I launched into the story of Sammie’s rescue, down to almost the exact details of what had happened that night. The worker’s eyes misted over as I talked, and she took back one of the Kleenex’s that she’d handed me.
“I’m sorry, Mr.Gaskarth, this is so very unprofessional of me, and cases don’t usually bother me, but to think of something that sweet witnessing something that tragic … I can’t even. How do you know them, by the way?”
Now was the ultimate test. Something in my eyes must have betrayed my feelings, because the kind lady sat down beside me.
“Alexander?”
The use of my first name nearly had me coming to pieces.
“I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you, Mrs.Breatten.” I mumbled, my eyes dropping to the floor.
Mrs.Breatten looked at me. “Whatever do you mean, child?” This young man reminded her something horribly of the son she’d lost too soon. He was respectable, likeable, and honest. She couldn’t imagine him being dishonest with her.
“There are two things you should know about me,” I said, taking a deep breath. “First of all …. I’m the lead singer of a very popular punk pop band. And second … I don’t have a wife or a girlfriend.”
I was met with a puzzled gaze. “Are you telling me you’re going to try doing this all on your own?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “No, that’s not what I mean.” And then I waved to Jack and Sammie, signaling them over to me. They joined me in a matter of seconds, Sammie jumping into my lap and Jack leaning into me, his arm going around me.
“No, what I mean is that I’d like for me and my family to take on Gabby’s care. I’m sure we can handle it. And we love her already.”
The elderly woman looked at the unlikely picture in front of her. Two beautiful boys, barely older than 23, holding hands and looking into each others eyes. And the beautiful little girl looking up at them with an expression of pure love on her face. There hadn’t been such a beautiful sight in here in a long, long time.
She took a deep breath. “This is highly unusual, Mr.Gaskarth, and I must say, adoption process is a lot harder for a gay couple. But then again, I’m sure you’re aware of that. But seeing as you already have one child and she is obviously happy … I will do everything in my power to make sure you get Gabby. She could use someone like you in her life.”
A huge smile crossed my face. “And we could use someone like her, couldn’t we Jack?”
Jack didn’t answer me. His gaze was across the room. Gabby was standing in a corner, alone, gazing at the fish. When she caught us looking at her, her little hand went up to her mouth and blew us a kiss. She then resumed her fish watching, her nose and hands pressed against the glass.
Jack’s eyes were wet when he looked at me.
“I love her, Alex. I love her.”
I wrapped my arms around him and Sammie and held them close as I watched Gabby.
“So do I, Jack, so do I.”
And Sammie, not able to be left out, piped in.
“Me too. I love Gabby too.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Prologue! :DI'm going to work on the first chapter right now. Thoughts? :)