Better Off Alone (Adopted by Brendon and Sarah Urie)

33. Brendon

"She really is beautiful, Brendon," my mom smiled. "And so polite."

"She's a really wonderful kid," I said. "Smart, too. But, she's had a hard life since her mom died. A lot of abuse and moving around until she got dumped in the Children's Home."

"Have you decided on school for her?" My dad asked. 

"We have. There's a great school we toured called the Merton School. It's a school for the Deaf. We liked it right away. So did Callie. So, we've registered her there."

"Are you sure you're up for raising a disabled child?" My mom asked.

"Yes, Mom," I said, trying to control my anger. "Callie is very special. We fell in love with her immediately and we've been working really hard at learning sign language and immersing ourselves in her language and culture."

"Won't people say things about the singer who adopted a deaf child?" She asked.

"So what if they do? Callie has a way of listening to music that is unique. She isn't stupid and she isn't blind."

That seemed to satisfy my parents. My mom sat back and looked at me.

"She couldn't have asked for better parents," she smiled, looking at Sarah, too.

"She really is very special," Sarah said.

"I will admit," my mom said. "I'm a little worried how Dad and I will communicate with her. We're a bit old to learn a whole new language."

"She's good with texting. And she'll appreciate any effort you make to learn sign language. I don't think she'll expect you to get fluent. Especially not over the course of a weekend."

We chatted with my parents a bit more, then we all went up to bed. I looked in on Callie and saw her curled up, Mr. Tibbles in her arms, a slight frown on her face. I checked the monitor was on beside her bed, in case a nightmare was starting.

I kissed her forehead and saw her face soften a bit, then pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and left her room.

"Callie okay?" Sarah asked as I came into our room.

"She's asleep. Make sure the monitor is on? She was frowning a bit and I want to catch any nightmare she might have." 

Sarah looked on the night table and made sure the monitor was on. I could hear Callie turn over in bed.

"Your parents seem to like her," Sarah smiled.

"I know. I just hope Callie sees that," I said. "She's still convinced my mother is going to make us send her away."

"I wish I could take all the bad things that have happened to her away from her."

"Me too," I said, crawling into bed bedside my wife.

I was awoken by a scream and a shout and then the sound of a door slamming shut. I jumped out of bed and out the bedroom door to find out what was happening. Sarah followed behind.

My dad was in the hallway, breathing hard, staring at the closed bathroom door.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I got up to go to the bathroom, and I didn't realize Callie was in there. Obviously she didn't hear me coming. I scared the poor girl, though I admit, I scared myself, too."

Sarah knocked on Callie's bedroom door and went in, closing the door behind her.

She came out through the bathroom and let my dad know he could use the bathroom.

"She's okay," Sarah said as we went back to bed. "She was startled, but she's okay."

We went back to sleep, although I don't think I slept very well after that.

In the morning, Callie's bedroom door was still closed but my parents' door was open. I knew they were downstairs. I didn't know if Callie was still sleeping or not, but I decided to leave her for a bit.

Downstairs my dad was making himself some breakfast. I turned on the coffee maker and said good morning to my parents. Sarah was still upstairs, showering and getting dressed.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked them.

"Not too bad," my dad said. "After all the excitement. Is Callie awake?  I want to apologize for walking in and scaring her."

I sighed. I hadn't wanted to tell my parents about her past but I supposed I should.

"I think she's still asleep. There's something about her past I think you should know," I said.

I told them what her father and some of her foster families had done to her. Tears filled their eyes as I told them.

"How could anyone do that to a child? And specifically a child like Callie. She's so innocent. So beautiful and so, little," my mom said.

"Please don't let on that you know," I said. "But just know, she tried to hide what's happened to her. She thinks you're going to force us to send her away."

"What? That beautiful child? I'm not letting you even entertain such an idea," my dad said. I smiled.

"I've been telling her pretty much that," I said.

Sarah came down a few minutes later and said good morning. Callie still hadn't surfaced.

"Did you look in on Callie?" I asked Sarah.

"No. Her door is closed and I assumed she was asleep. Why?"

"No reason. I thought the same thing. I figured we'll let her sleep in a bit but not too long," I said.

We sat around talking when we heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. A very tired looking Callie came downstairs.

"Good morning," I smiled at her. She looked around the dining room and tentatively waved. She looked at my dad and her face went red, then white. She started backing up the stairs. I got up and put my arm around her.

"Hey," I said.  "It's okay. PopPop feels bad he scared you last night. It's okay."

She came into the kitchen with me, but kept close to me and kept looking at my dad. She was embarrassed I think, a little. And possibly a bit scared that my dad had gone into the bathroom to do what so many men had done already to her.

My dad smiled at her. He took out his phone and texted Callie, who's phone vibrated in her pocket.

"I'm sorry if I scared you last night. We'll have to come up with a system so we know if someone is in the bathroom."

Callie looked up at him and smiled. My dad's warm smile mirrored hers.

This might turn out to be a great weekend.