Saving Maggy Grace

Three

The Child Services agent cocked her head, "I'm sorry?"

"I'll adopt her." I said again, more sure of myself this time.

"You realize that that is a very long and complicated process, right?"

"Yes, but Maggy needs to stay here in Matoka."

The agent looked at me suspiciously, "And why is that?"

"This is her home, all of her friends are here, she was raised here - you can't just rip a child away from her home."

The agent stared at me for a few more seconds. "Do you have a phone?"

I nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"Do you mind if I use it?"

"No, ma'am,"

She let Maggy out of the car and they both made their way up the hill. I ushered them into my home and pointed the Child Services agent in the direction of my telephone.

She was on the phone for a very long time. What she was talking about or who she was talking to, I had no idea. But when she came back into the room she had an aggravated look on her face.

"Sir, you have just made my life very complicated."

I looked at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"If you're serious about adopting this child," she pointed to Maggy, who was fast asleep on my living room couch, "It's going to be a long, stressful process and I'm in charge of making sure that this precious baby is going to be taken care of."

I looked at Maggy. Her stringy hair covered most of her small face but if you watched her closely you could see her eyes flutter while she had adventures in dreamland. Never in my life had I ever had the urge to do something so spontaneous, demanding, and life changing. I knew that taking in a child was going to cause suspicion among the citizens of this small town and I knew that taking on a child was going to be a lot of work, and I had no experience whatsoever, but I had to do it - I felt it in my bones that it was the right thing to do. I looked the Child Services agent in the eye and I told her that I was one hundred percent certain that this was what I wanted to do. I told her that I had never been so sure about anything in my entire life.

She held out her hand for me to shake. "Sir, my name is Rose Calvery; let me personally welcome you to the most stressful time of your life."

I shook her hand, "I'm David Worley, and I accept your challenge."

When Rose told me that this was going to be the most stressful time of my life, I didn't believe her. That is, until I was so stressed out that I was ready to pull my hair out.

Maggy had to stay in a home with other orphaned children while the court decided if I would be a good enough guardian for her.

There was so much paper work.

There were so many sleepless nights.

There were so many court dates.

So many lawyer bills.

So many arguments.

So many background checks.

So many new grey hairs.

It took almost two months before the judge made a final agreement. In order to gain full custody over Maggy, I was going to be watched very closely. Maggy would live with me, but for the first month, Rose would be at my house every day from six in the morning to six at night observing how I treated Maggy and whether or not I was going to be a responsible guardian. After that first month, she would come over unannounced every once in a while for a year. When the year was over, if Rose thought that I did a good enough job, I would get full custody over Maggy. If at the end of the year Rose thought that I wasn't good enough, or at any time before then if she suspected that I was treating Maggy abusively, she would take her away from me and Maggy would go into the system. The other catch was that Maggy had to attend therapy weekly for at least the first year.