Better Off Alone (Adopted by Brendon and Sarah Urie)

15. Brendon

Zack managed to convince Callie to come down for dinner. She was shyer and maybe a little more stand-off-ish than she had been the past couple of days, and she had obviously been crying. But she was here. And I smiled when she came into the dining room.

I signed 'hi Callie!' Using her sign name that she'd shown us. She smiled and signed back 'hi, Dad'.

Sarah had told me what Callie was upset about and I felt bad that she thought my parents would try to force us to send her back. Besides the fact that that is not their decision to make, it's not something we would consider, anyway. We adopted her. She is here to stay.

We sat down to dinner and Zack, Kala, Sarah and I tried to practice some of the sign language we'd learned and that Callie had taught us.

After a short while, Callie's easy smile returned and she looked more relaxed again.  She taught us a few signs and we continued to practice. We started with fingerspelling things both to practice and because we didn't know the signs. Callie was so patient.

After dinner, Callie told us she was tired and was going to bed. We said goodnight and she went upstairs.

"She's really worried about your parents, huh?" Zack said.

"I guess. I don't know how to tell her she has nothing to worry about. At least I don't know how to convince her she has nothing to worry about."

"All her foster families dumped her. And she said the one that seemed promising sent her away the day after the foster mom's mother visited. You said it yourself the other night. The foster system failed her. They didn't find homes for her that could meet her needs and then they gave up and stuck her in the children's home where she still didn't get what she needed," Zack said.

"Why was she in foster care anyway?" Kala asked. "Have you asked her?"

"Her mom died when Callie was six, and her dad couldn't take care of her. So he gave her up," Sarah said.

"That's so sad," Kala said. We nodded.

"Why couldn't he take care of her?" Zack asked.

"He never bothered to learn sign language. When her mom died she had no one to communicate with. He wasn't willing to learn."

Zack and Kala shook their heads.

"And in what, three days, you guys have learned ways to communicate, including sign?"

I shrugged.

"It's what you do for your kid," I said. It just seems natural.

Zack and Kala stayed a little longer and then we cleaned up and decided to head to bed our selves.

I poked my head into Callie's room and saw she was fast asleep, curled up, with a ratty looking object. I went in to see and saw it was a bear. Had she been hiding her bear from us? Thinking we'd think her a baby or something? I smoothed hair away from her face and she startled awake. Immediately she grabbed the bear and hid him under her covers. I shook my head, smiled and pulled him out.

"Who?" I signed.

"Mr. Tibbles," Callie spelled. Then showed me his sign name. A T that she hugged.

I nodded.

"Why?" I asked and hid him.

Callie picked up her phone.

'My last foster home and at the Children's home they always said I was too old for stuffed toys. But Mr. Tibbles my mom gave me as a baby.'

I nodded and put up a finger for her to wait one minute.

I went into our bedroom and into my closet where I kept Fluffy, my own teddy bear from my childhood. I brought him back to Callie's room and showed him to her.

"Fluffy," I spelled. "Me baby."

Callie laughed because obviously I didn't quite get that right, but I think she understood the point I was trying to get across.

I picked up her phone and typed.

'Never too old for comfort items. Fluffy comes on tour with me. I might not sleep with him but he's always around.'

Callie smiled and I pulled Mr. Tibbles out from under the covers and placed him in her arms.

'Mr. Tibbles doesn't need to hide,' I typed to her, smiled and kissed her on the forehead. She signed something at me and I tried to figure it out. I understood the 'good' but wasn't sure of the arm movement she did. She did it again and then pretended to sleep.

"Good Night?" I asked in sign. Callie nodded and smiled.

"Good Night," I said again.

"Good Night Dad," Callie smiled as she signed.

I kissed her again and tucked the covers around her. I smiled as I closed her door.

"Is she okay?" Sarah asked as I entered our bedroom.

"She's fine. She was sleeping with this old ratty teddy bear. But she was hiding it because her last foster home and the Children's home told her she was too old for stuffed toys."

"So that's why you're carrying Fluffy." Sarah smiled.

"Yep. No one's ever too old for stuffies," I smiled.

I climbed into bed and snuggled with my wife. I felt like our life was complete.