Remnants III: Firsts

Chapter III: Firsts

The doorbell chimed, a lovely little tune that comforted Claire if only for a bit. She was beyond nervous. She looked back at Ashlee—the social worker checked her watch and smoothed her skirt down. She noticed Claire’s gaze and smiled.

“No fear. It’ll be okay, I’m right here for you, Claire.”

Comforted by Ashlee's presence, Claire nodded and turned back to the door. A short middle aged woman, black hair shot through with white, opened the door. She was well built and her somewhat bronzed skin tone suggested that she spent a lot of her time outdoors. The woman looked down at her, oval face smiling warmly and revealing slight dimples. The smile lit up her bright blue eyes—she wasn’t so scary, Claire thought. Shyly, Claire smiled back.

"Good Afternoon, Mrs. McCabe. I'm Ashlee Rodriguez, head of the SVSS. We talked on the phone earlier. It's a pleasure to meet you," Ashlee stated, shaking the woman's hand.

"Hello Ms. Rodriguez. Please, do call me Elaine. There's no need to be so formal," Elaine specified, smiling.

Laughing, Ashlee smiled. "Then you must call me Ashlee."

"Wonderful. And this lovely young lady—you're Claire, I assume?" She asked, smiling at Claire. Blushing, the young girl moved closer to Ashlee, looking at her expectantly.

"Go on, Claire,” Ashlee said. "Introduce yourself."

Claire looked up at the older lady—her great-aunt—and nodded.

"Well Claire, it's lovely to meet you. I'm your Great Aunt Elaine," she said, bending down and offering her hand. Taking it, Claire shook it, a small smile on her face.

"Please, come in you two! It's very chilly outside. Come, come! I made cake and coffee is brewing," Elaine said, opening the door wider and ushering them in.

Curiously, Claire looked around. The front door opened up right into the living room. The living room was simple, with a welcoming wood burning fireplace and soft white couches. To her right were a piano and two doors. A coffee table stood in between the couch and loveseat, a large vase of sunflowers adding a splash of colour to the room.

Elaine gestured towards the bright dining room, where a glass table was set, topped with a luscious chocolate cake. Claire admired the cake, standing by the windows—which, she noticed, just so happened to be the windows of one of the turrets. Timidly, she moved closer to the windows. Her small pointed face was pressed against the glass, admiring the view.

"It's nice to see her so excited," Ashlee told Elaine. "Did you do the gardens outside? They're lovely."

"I did, indeed." Elaine mumbled, deciding to not make a comment on how the young girl looked very scared and not at all excited.

"Claire was admiring them as we walked up the path. I think she liked them. I know I did!"

"Gardening is a pastime of mine. One of my favourite hobbies to be honest! I find it very therapeutic," Elaine said.

"I couldn't agree more. Now then, let's get down to business, shall we? Ah...Your husband is around, I believe? Because I need to conference with you both if you're going to adopt Claire," Ashlee said.

Right on cue a tall, lean man rounded the corner. His white hair was thinning, blue eyes inquisitive as he stared at the people in the room. Noticing young Claire by the window, he smiled, his eyes wrinkling at the edges.

Behind him, a younger woman with mid-length brown waves followed. Her lightly bronzed skin tone made Claire wonder if she, too, liked to stay out in the gardens. The slim brunette observed Elaine and who must've been Mr. McCabe, talk to Ashlee with a curious expression. Turning to the table, the lady saw Claire. A look of realization dawned on her face—this must be her cousin.

Her cousin smiled at her, blue eyes lighting up. Claire smiled back, watching the brunette as she made her way to her parent's side.

"This is my husband Victor and our daughter, Danica," Elaine told Ashlee, as they all sat at the table. Once more looking at Claire, Danica smiled, gesturing at the open seat next to her. Shyly, Claire plopped down in the chair, her feet a little ways off the ground.

"Want some cake? Its chocolate—my favourite," Danica asked Claire, holding a plate of cake in her hand. Claire nodded.

"Your Aunt decided to go overkill with coffee time today. I told her not to worry, but she's such a perfectionist..." Danica mumbled, looking at Elaine while giving Claire a slice.

"My name's Danica," she said, smiling at Claire.

"I'm Claire," she said shyly, accepting her slice of cake. Claire grabbed the fork and took a bite of the cake. It was delicious. The last bit of unease she had felt slowly left her, as she happily dug into the cake. Satisfied that her little cousin seemed relatively comfortable, Danica proceeded to cut a piece of cake for herself.

"So, how does this sort of thing work?" Victor asked, taking the piece of cake Danica cut for him and sipping his coffee.

"Well normally when a willing couple calls to adopt we schedule a meeting at SVSS headquarters, to learn more about the parents and why they want to adopt. We inform them of how the process works and answer any questions," she stated, taking the piece of cake from Danica's hand and adding two spoons of sugar in her coffee.

"This is usually followed by us sending you the application forms to fill out if you're still interested. You fill that out, and send it back where we schedule a few more meetings, which can be quite numerous.”

"Numerous? Exactly how many more is numerous?" Victor interrupted.

"Around five. We want to make sure that every couple is fully able to support their adoptive child, and that the child is safe. We'll check on things like marital status, supporting documentation—including police records, medical references and five character reference letters. Along with this, we check up on your financial status."

Unnoticed by the social worker, a veil of silent tension settled over the McCabe's after those words. Claire noticed—her quiet humming had ceased; now she stared at her relatives, wondering why they had gotten so quiet.

"And then what?" Danica asked, snapping Victor and Elaine out of their trance.

"Well, once you're cleared we set up a final home study—you know, someone to come in and make sure the house is suitable for a growing child. Then we bring a profile of some of the children we think best suit the couple. Finally you fill out the final forms and in a week, you can officially adopt your child," Ashlee finished, crossing her legs and sipping her coffee. She peered over her cup and looked at Claire who was happily munching on her food; barely noticing the tense stares the McCabe's shared with each other once again.

This time, Danica broke the silence. "So in a situation like this, where you contacted us, what would happen?"

Placing her coffee down, she looked thoughtfully at each of the McCabe's. "This is a rare occurrence, though I’ve seen it before. Since we contacted you, no home study is needed. We will have to look into all your files, and criminal background checks are still required, but we can begin the adopting process right away. Now, if I could just have a word with you two…your daughter is welcome to stay, of course, though I’m not quite sure Claire would enjoy this business-y portion.”

Claire giggled, finishing her chocolate cake. Danica smiled.

“Not to worry, Ashlee. I’ll hear from them later. Somebody has chocolate all over their face and needs to wash it off! Once she’s clean, we’ll take a nice walk round the house,” Danica said, grinning at Claire. The girl giggled, wiping her face and only succeeding in smearing the chocolate even more.

"Alright. Be good Claire, okay?”

Claire nodded, following Danica out of the room and into the living room. Smiling, Ashlee ate more of her cake, turning to Elaine.

“This cake is delicious, Elaine. I must have the recipe later, if that’s alright with you. For now, I think we should get down to business, shall we?” she said, placing her fork down and taking out her briefcase.

Elaine and Victor shared a look and nodded.

“Business time indeed,” Victor mumbled, pulling out his glasses. “Now what have you got for us?”

“Well, let’s start here…”

Claire skipped out of the dining room, following Danica into the living room. She opened the door towards the left of the piano.

"So, here's the downstairs bathroom," she began. “Get your body in there and let’s wash that face, come on now.”

Danica ushered her into the bathroom, lifting her up to the high porcelain sink. Claire started the water, lathering her hands and splashing her face. Rinsing, she stared at Danica in the mirror; satisfied with her cleanliness, her cousin put her down and grabbed the towel off the rack, drying her face.

“Much better. Now how about a little tour?” Danica asked.

“Yes please,” Claire said, having taken in the downstairs bathroom already.

“Then let’s go!”

Leading the way, Danica exited the bathroom, Claire close by. “That’s the living room, it’s very small and cozy…in fact, the whole house is…but it’s nice and manageable. What’re you looking at, Claire bear?” She asked. Claire’s gaze was drawn to the piano by the windows, admiring it with wide eyes.

"Do you like music?" Danica asked.

"When I lived with my Momma in Swim City, I used to hear all types of fast music. We used to dance to it all silly together," she said, smiling. Danica put her hand on the top of the piano fondly.

"Well, it's not the same as fast music, I'll admit. But the melodies Mom plays on this thing are amazing. Anywho, this door leads into the master bedroom. They like being on the main floor."

"Why?" Claire asked.

"Close to the kitchen, front door, living room, bathroom...the stairs are a bit steep, and the older they get the less they want to go up them. We're still young, though. Stairs are no problem. Shall we?"

Nodding, Claire trailed behind Danica, who led her up the steep steps and down the hall to the far right, opening the far door.

"My room. Its practical and I like it," Danica said, letting Claire walk in.

Claire walked in, admiring the neutral Earthy tones in Danica’s room. She stared out the windows, walking by Danica’s seat this morning. She stopped and stared at the sketch, smiling.

“That’s a pretty drawing,” Claire said, pointing at the book.

"Well, thanks. It's supposed to be my dad raking the leaves this morning at the side of the house. It was such a lovely moment, I just had to draw it," she said, leaning on her door frame.

Claire continued walking around, taking in the basic furniture and warm feeling of comfort the room gave off. Her cousin was very plain—and her taste in art was much better than the showy paintings of girls her father had had around the house. Shoving the thought aside, Claire walked out of her cousin's room, pausing in the tight hallway. Danica walked ahead, opening the middle door.

"Upstairs bathroom," she said, letting Claire glance in. Excitedly closing the door once Claire popped out, Danica nearly ran to the door at the end.

"And now for the grand finale!" she said, dramatically opening the door.

Claire was awestruck. The walls were a light purple with dark hardwood flooring. A small black night table stood on the left and right of the black bed frame, the smooth purple and lilac sheets accenting the wooden furnishings. The bed was positioned by the far left of the room, in front of three long windows looking out at the backyard. A dark wooden desk sat across the door, a slim vase of sunflowers on top, a cozy chair tucked neatly in.

"Your room."

Looking to the right, she saw a small table with various coloured pens and pencils in a small container. A warm, comfy looking chair identical to the one at the desk was pushed in beside it. Right behind the door was a tall dresser, and soft white throw rugs were dotted around the room. Some adorable posters were on the walls, (courtesy of Danica) and as Claire looked back at the table with the chair, she noticed the most amazing thing.

"Oh my gosh, It's one of the castle towers! My room has one of the castle towers in it! Yay!" squealing excitedly, she ran to the windows and looked out, practically hopping up and down. Her eyes were shining with excitement as she ran all around her room. Smiling, Danica plopped down on the bed, thinking of how much Claire would probably like fairy tales. Making a mental note to take the poor girl shopping, she watched Claire dash around her room.

Finally calm, Claire flopped onto the bed, a happy smile on her face.

"I can’t believe how nice this is. And my own bed! It’s so soft and cozy…” She yawned, her eyes drifting shut.

For a little bit, Danica watched her cousin. She was so happy and energetic—but looked so skinny and frail. Of course, Danica was sure that in no time at all, Elaine would make sure that Claire was a healthy size again—her cooking did that to you. Danica checker her watch; deciding that enough time had passed for the official side of things to be taken care of, she gently tapped her cousin on the shoulder.

“I think by now they're done talking. Let's go back downstairs?"

“Okay,” Claire said, sliding off the bed. Claire followed Danica down the stairs, her earlier nervous mood now one of happiness, anticipation, and especially excitement. Her own room that was warm and nice and smelt good, actual good food, people who already seemed to care about her…

For once, Claire was content.

"Anything else you need to know?" Elaine was asking when Danica peered into the dining room.

“I believe that that covers everything, for the time being. Now these aren’t the official adoption papers, but merely guardianship forms,” Ashlee replied, reaching into her bag once more and handing the forms to Victor and Elaine. “You may look them over, if you’d like.”

With Ashlee's say so, Elaine skimmed through the papers. She handed them to her husband, waiting for Victor to scan the documents more thoroughly. With a nod of approval from her husband (if her lawyer of a husband said they were alright, then they were alright), Elaine grabbed the pen and signed the papers where Ashlee pointed.

“And initial there, and finally both of you sign right there. Perfect.” Taking the forms the couple had signed and filing them away, Ashlee smiled at them. “Everything checks out perfectly to me. In fact, if it was just my opinion then I’d hand you the rest of the papers right here right now. Unfortunately there are a lot of third parties involved. I’ll have to run these by the SVPD and get those background checks in order, file these with the judge and get you a court date, run them by my colleagues and Mayor Swan as well. Peculiar, I know, but Mayor Swan takes pride in the city and wants the best for every person living in it. Especially the children.”

“Understandable,” Victor murmured, standing up before the women.

“For now, Claire is all set to stay here. As for me, I have a six o’clock meeting so I must be off. I hate to eat and run,” Ashlee said, leaving the dining room. Victor and Elaine followed behind her, walking her to the door.

“Not to worry, I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again,” Elaine said, pressing a piece of paper into the social workers hand. “The cake recipe,” she said.

“Thank you, Elaine! I’ll have to try it tonight.” Sliding the recipe in her small personal purse that sat inside her work bag, Ashlee made her way to the door, eyes searching for Claire. The young girl sat cross legged on the couch, happily looking around—a sight that did Ashlee’s heart good.

“Hey Claire dear. Your Aunt and Uncle have officially started all the paperwork needed to keep you with them safe and sound, okay? In a few more days, you’ll officially be Claire McCabe. I’m going to leave now, alright?”

“Okay. I get to stay here, right?”

“Yup! We took care of that just now, Claire.” Ashlee squeezed the girl’s shoulder. “You’re very brave, Claire. Don’t forget that, alright? I’ll see you and your family Monday, probably. I’ll call,” she added offhand, directing the last bit to the adults.

Claire nodded, hugging the social worker quickly.

“Thank you Ashlee,” she whispered.

“It’s what I do. Take care, Claire. Bye now,” Ashlee said, making her way to the door.

"Bye, Ashlee!” Said Claire, watching as Ashlee said a few words to the family at the door and left. With a cheery wave the door shut; her cousin, aunt and uncle headed back to the kitchen and dining area to tidy up.

Claire watched them leave, wondering what she should do next. She wasn’t sure if they needed her help, or where she should go if they didn’t. Reaching under her shirt she pulled out the silver locket, rubbing the faded front.

I promise...those all too familiar words rang in her head.

Her mother had promised. And for the most part, it finally seemed like things were looking up.