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20
Trent
Ally and I sit on the tattered and worn couch in a decent-sized living room. Little kids dart in and out of the room, chasing each other with peals of laughter and squeals of delight. Ally and I only give them our attention in passing, our focus primarily on the little girl sitting on the couch a few inches away from Ally.
Erica picks up another picture from a folder sitting on her lap and holds it out for Ally to take. It’s cute to watch the expectant look cross Erica’s face with each picture she shows us, as if she’s hoping to gain our approval. The drawings are really good for an eight-year-old; some more so than others. Most have smooth lines and are shaded perfectly, and you can tell they were done when she was feeling well. The ones with jagged lines look like they were drawn with shaky and unsteady hands. Honestly, my favorites are the ones she drew once her leukemia took its toll on her. They show her passion and dedication to not let her illness take away something she enjoys doing so much.
“These are all so beautiful, Erica.” Ally gushes over another picture Erica hands her. She looks up and grins at the girl. “You keep this up and you’ll be able to sell your drawings one day.”
Erica’s face lights up. “You really think so?”
“Absolutely.”
We’ve been here an hour, and I have no doubt if given the choice, Ally would have us spending the rest of the day. Hell, if it were up to Ally, we’d take Erica home with us today.
Erica still doesn’t know we’re looking into adopting her. She believes our visit today was done purely by accident. With the help of Kate, who told us when she would have the kids outside, we happened to be taking a walk when we saw them. After talking for a few minutes, pretending it was a coincidence we happened to be in the same neighborhood the home is in, Kate invited us inside to have lunch with her and the kids. It was all a ploy to allow us to get to know Erica better without giving anything away.
Ally and I both hate that we’re withholding the truth from Erica, but until we know for sure we can proceed with the adoption, we still feel it’s best. The last thing either of us want is to let the girl down if something happens and we can’t adopt her. At least we have one step out of the way. Our background check came back clean, just as we knew it would. The adoption agency frowned when we told them we wanted to wait to tell Erica, feeling that deception was not the way to go, but after we explained our reasoning, they agreed and gave us permission to visit with her.
Yesterday was Ally’s last treatment. In a week, she’ll go in for testing to make sure all of the diseased cells are gone. Her doctor can’t guarantee the results, but he’s reassured us that he’s confident in his belief the leukemia will be in remission. I know Ally’s confidence in her doctor is strong, and I hope he’s right, but I’ll always be worried it’ll show its ugly face again. Only time will alleviate my concern. Of course, I keep the worry to myself.
With her treatments over and her test results looming, Ally and I decided to go ahead and move forward with the adoption process. We have an appointment next week with the adoption agency that represents Erica. Kate explained that it can typically take anywhere from three months to over a year for the process to be complete. However, time is in our favor since we’ve already chosen Erica to adopt. We also look better on paper because Ally’s been through the same type of illness Erica has and will know how to care for a child with leukemia. We never expected her illness would work in our favor. Silver linings and all that.
Another way to speed up the process is having connections. Ashlyn’s family happens to have those connections and they’ve offered to help in any way they can.
Erica finishes her last round of chemo soon. After that, she’ll have radiation for two months. Even if the adoption process was completed before her treatments were over and we were allowed to take her home to Jaded Hollow, we still wouldn’t want to move her from the Nashville area yet. Her doctors know her history and the extent of her illness. We would wait until after her radiation is over.
All of this means we’ll be staying in Murfreesboro for at least another two months. Our family is going to kill us for staying away so long, but they’ll have to deal with it. There’s no way Ally will leave Erica behind, and I’m not leaving either of them. Luckily, Ally and I have a very comfortable nest egg in our bank account. Working for Nick pays extremely well and Ally’s job as a nurse’s assistant is very lucrative. I’ve already spoken with Nick about taking more time off work and he’s given the go-ahead. Ally has a call scheduled with the doctor’s office she works for in Jaded Hollow tomorrow.
We’re hoping by the time Erica is given the all clear, we’ll be given the same to take her home.
A little boy comes running up to Erica and plops on the cushion beside her. He looks to be about five years old. He grins at Erica, revealing one of his bottom teeth missing.
“Whatcha doin’, Rica?”
“Showing Ally and Trent my drawings,” she answers, reaching up to ruffle the little boy’s hair.
He looks at Ally and me, his eyes filled with curiosity as he bumps the heels of his feet against the couch. “Who are they?”
“Some nice people I met at the hospital.”
“Oh.” His eyes slide up to the cloth on Ally’s head. “Are you sick like Rica is?” he asks her.
Ally smiles kindly at the boy. “I am.”
“So you don’t have any hair either?”
“Benny, you don’t ask people that,” Erica gently scolds the boy.
Ally laughs, reaching over and patting Benny’s hand. “It’s okay. And to answer your question, no, I don’t have any hair.”
“Do you wear a wig? Mrs. Miller got Rica a wig, but she never wears it.”
Erica’s nose wrinkles and she scratches the top of her head through the cloth covering it. “I don’t like it. It hurt my skin and it itches.”
Ally nods. “I was about your age the second time I had leukemia and I lost my hair again. I tried a wig once and hated it too.” She grins, turning her head this way and that while patting the bottom of the cloth like she’s patting the bottom of her hair. “Besides, I think I look so much better with my lovely hair scarf. Don’t you, Benny?”
His head bobs up and down with his giggle. “Uh-huh. I like all the colors.”
