Tyler and Jenna had called shortly after Samantha had been brought home from her ordeal in Nebraska. With everything she'd been through, they wondered if we'd be willing to take Samantha for her Senior year of high school. They said she needed a break from Ohio. The kid who'd assaulted her was out of jail and even though he'd been expelled from her school, and there was a protection order in place to keep him off school grounds, it didn't stop him from hanging with his friends. Tyler told us he was still bragging apparently about what he'd done.
We agreed immediately. Samantha was one of our favourite people. She was so easy to love. I couldn't believe her birth... sigh... father... hadn't seen what an amazing young woman she would become.
"Will you be okay?" I asked Sarah as we started setting up Jess's old room for Sam to use. Some of Jess's clothes were still in her closet. I don't know why we never got rid of any of it. But over the next week, we packed all the clothes into boxes. Sarah put them in the attic. She wasn't ready to let go of Jess. Neither was I. But Samantha would be a welcome distraction from the emptiness Jess's passing had left behind.
"I'll be okay. It'll be nice to have Samantha here. But you can't spoil her. She still has to go to school," she said.
"I know, I know," I said, already planning to take her out of school one day just to hang out. Maybe.
"Should we paint the room? Let Samantha decorate it?" Sarah asked me.
"Tyler said she was adamant that we not change anything. She respects that even though it's a spare room, it was Jess's. She doesn't want it changed."
I nodded. Samantha was amazing that way. She'd never had the opportunity to meet our daughter before Jess passed. But she asked about her and knew what had happened.
We'd adopted Jess from the LA Children's Home about nine years ago. She lived with us for four years before she died. Jessica had AIDS from blood transfusions when she was young. She'd been in a car accident with her birth parents and had been the sole survivor. She had been living in the Home since she had been released from the hospital. She had been there five years when we met her. She was very sweet and quiet.
We'd given her four wonderful years before her illness caught up with her. She had given us a lifetime of love.
Tyler and Jenna had adopted Samantha the November after Jess had passed. We had gone out to Columbus to celebrate their new family when Josh had set up a get together for a bunch of us to meet Tyler's new kid. I'd fallen in love with her immediately.
She was so skittish and scared back then. Patrick had scared her when he said he was a friend of her dad's and she thought he meant her birth father.
I remembered the poor kid had a black eye and broken ribs from a kid kicking the shit out of her for some dumb reason. It had brought up memories of when Jess had been assaulted at school. She'd been in a coma for a few days and sustained some pretty gnarly injuries. We'd sued the family, the kid had been charged and his younger brother, who had been in Jess's class, had been pulled from the school. We'd met him after Jess's funeral and he'd explained that he'd liked Jess and was sorry about everything. His parents hadn't wanted him associating with Jess, so they'd moved him to a different school.
"Bren?" Sarah got my attention.
"Sorry, what?" I said.
"Are you going to be okay?" She asked, her arms cross across her chest.
"Yes. I definitely am. I was just thinking about Jess," I said.
Sarah came over and wrapped her arms around me.
"Me too. Sam and Jess would have gotten along really well, I think," Sarah said.
"Agreed," I said. "They're more similar, I think, than we might have realized."
Sarah lay her head on my shoulder.
"Obviously, I miss Jess. But Sam's going to be so welcome here. She needs this. We need this. It's going to be great," she smiled as she lifted her head and kissed me. I smiled as I kissed her back.
The room was ready for Sam's arrival. We just had to deal with getting her registered at the high school and figuring out what to do with an 18 year old when she arrived.
A couple of days before she was due to arrive, we did a big grocery shop, making sure we had sugar free and diabetic friendly foods, as well as stuff for a barbecue. The day she was arriving we were having friends over to welcome her to California. Pete and his family, Joe and his family, Linda and Spencer, Zack and Kala, if they'd come. Zack would. I wasn't so sure about Kala. Even though they'd split up, they were still friendly. But Kala was busy with her yoga business so she might not join. We'd see, I supposed.
I'd also invite Mike and his girlfriend, Dan and Nicole and their respective partners, along with some other friends who I think would be impressed by and had wanted to meet Sam after we'd talked so much about her.
I was excited about having Samantha here.
The day she was due to arrive, Sarah and I were all over the place. We wanted everything to be perfect for her.
We drove to the airport and Sarah went into the terminal to find Sam. A short while later, the two of them came out followed by a porter with a trolly full of Sam's luggage. Three suitcases. Not too bad, I didn't think. I packed more for tour. I had stayed in the car to surprise her, as I'd done the first time she'd come out to California.
I smiled as I watched my wife and Samantha walk towards the car. Sam looked so good! After her ordeal I wasn't sure entirely what to expect. She'd been so damaged after her birth father had kidnapped her after the adoption had been finalized. She hadn't spoken for three weeks and had been terrified of everything.
But here was Samantha, smiling, laughing and talking with Sarah as they approached the car. Sarah directed her to put her backpack in the back seat and when she opened the door, I smiled at her.
"Hey there, Darlin'," I said, as soon as she opened the door. She wrapped me in a tight hug. I returned her hug, holding her close. I had missed her so much.
"Hey, what's this?" I asked her, wiping a tear off her cheek.
"Just my eyes leaking because I'm so happy to be here," she said, wiping another tear away.
I helped Sarah put Sam's luggage in the back of the car, and moved into the driver's seat as Sarah stowed Sam's crutches in the back with her.
We chatted the whole way back to the house. Samantha was so talkative and bubbly. It was nice to see and hear.
I smiled as I drove towards home.
Sam mentioned that she was hungry, so we stopped for burgers at In N' Out. I knew she'd like it because they didn't have it in Ohio and she'd enjoyed it before. She was happy with the suggestion and so the three of us went and had lunch.
Sam was all smiles and we had a really great time.
We'd noticed Samantha had her prosthetic so Sarah asked if they'd managed to find it, knowing she'd lost it somewhere along the way during her ordeal with her birth mother's brother.
"No," she said. "The company expedited making me a new one. And they also made sure I have the contact for a rep out here, if I have any problems."
"Oh. Did you ever find out what happened to your old one?"
She shrugged.
"Mark hasn't been very forthcoming. He's not saying much. Carol thinks he's going to try for an insanity plea."
That didn't surprise us for. What we'd learned over the time Sam had been missing.
I watched Samantha as I saw her eyes glaze over. At first I was worried she was about to have a seizure. She had them occasionally. But then I could see she was thinking.
"Earth to Samantha," I said.
"Sorry. What?" She said.
"I asked if you want to go to Disneyland this weekend before school starts."
"Oh. Yeah. Sure," she smiled.
"Mind if we have some tag-alongs?" I asked.
"Who?" She asked.
"I was thinking maybe Pete and his kids and of course Zack."
"What about Kala?" She asked. Sarah and I shared a look.
"They split up," Sarah said. "They're both still friends, but they don't do a lot together."
"Oh. That sucks," she said.
"We still see both of them. Sometimes together, sometimes not. I promise," Sarah said. "You'll see both of them a lot. Well, while Kala's in the country. She travels a lot now. She's building her yoga business and she plans retreats in different countries."
"Oh. Cool. Good for her," Sam said, smiling.
I asked her how her sisters were going to handle her being away. Rosie and Samantha have a very special connection. And Sam is fiercely protective of both her sisters.
"Well, I'll be going back for the trial, obviously. And Christmas. At least part of the school break. And Dad said he's going to fly me home on weekends whenever. But they aren't thrilled I'm not going to be home much," she said. "Rosie wouldn't let go of me when we got to the airport and Junie tried to climb into my suitcase last night."
That made us laugh. The Joseph's kids. Full of all sorts of antics.
We finished our lunches and headed to the house.
When I opened the door to the house, Sam was accosted by Penny Lane and Bogart. Their dogs.
"Hi Puppies!" She said to the two barking and bouncing dogs.
"They've been so confused since we started cleaning Jess's room," Sarah said. "Your room."
"I hope you didn't change it," she said.
"We didn't. Not really. I just moved a few things out of the closet and dresser so you'd have space to unpack. Otherwise, it's the same. If you want to make any changes, we can."
"No way!" She said. "I'm not changing Jess's room!"
Sarah smiled. I did too. They'd never met and yet there was a connection between the Sam and Jess.
Sam had told me after she'd visited us the first time, when she'd almost drowned in the ocean, that she thought she felt Jess in her room. She was afraid we'd think she sounded dumb. But the truth was, I sometimes felt our daughter's presence.
We gave Samantha some time to unpack before she came down and joined us in the living room.
I explained I had planned a barbecue because I wanted everyone to come hang out with Sam and welcome her to California. She seemed happy with the idea and was all smiles as she helped Sarah bring things out to the back yard when it was time.
The whole evening I watched in awe as Samantha navigated her way through the guests. She was all smiles, very conversant and engaged.
I smiled. This had been a good idea. Samantha was going to have a great year here.