Bringing the Light

23. Not Stephen

"Arlene!?" I said incredulously.

"Hello, Stephen," Arlene smiled at me. Beside her stood whom I presumed to be her husband and two kids, holding a huge bowl of fruit salad.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "I'm sorry. That was rude. Come in!"

I moved out of the doorway and let Arlene bring her family inside. Mom came out from the kitchen, hugged Arlene hello, and accepted a hug from Arlene's husband. She said hi to the kids before turning to me with a huge smile and putting the bowl of fruit into my arms.

"Surprise," she said.

"Surprise? Mom!" I followed her into the kitchen with the bowl of fruit while Toby and Erin helped Arlene and her family with their coats. "Mom!"

She turned to me as she leaned against the counter.

"I ran into her in the grocery store just after your father died. We talked, caught up over coffee, and we became friends. Her family didn't have plans this Thanksgiving, so I invited them to join us, knowing you all would be home. I've told her pretty much everything about you since we adopted you," Mom said.

My jaw was somewhere between my ankles and the basement.

"Pretty much. And since Dad died? Mom! All this time and you never told me you were friends with my social worker?!"

"First, she hasn't been your social worker for over ten years. Second, I don't know who all your friends are. I don't have to tell you who my friends are. And third, I didn't tell her about your name. I thought you should."

I held my mom by her shoulders and stared her in the eyes.

"Thank you," I said and gave her a hug. "Cool surprise."

I went into the living room where Toby and Erin were offering Arlene and her husband drinks.

"Hey, Arlene," I said, going over to her and giving her a hug. "Sorry about that. I was caught off guard. It's really great to see you."

"Stephen," she smiled. I saw Erin and Toby exchange a look and threw them a 'move on' sign so they wouldn't say anything. "It's so good to see you, too. I wish I'd kept up with you after the Fosters adopted you. Oh, you remember my husband, Chris. Well, you remember I have a husband named Chris."

"Hi," I said, offering him my hand to shake.

"Hey there. I feel like I should know you, even though Arlene never went into any detail about your case. I just remember how much she worried about you."

I didn't say anything. My relationship with Arlene was a little rocky in my mid-teens.

"And you remember when I had my daughter, Annie. She's eleven already!"

"Wow!" I said. "I'm not going to say 'I remember you when' because I never did meet you. But your mom told me when you were born so I always asked how you were. So hi, how are you?"

"Hi," she said quietly. "I'm good."

"And this is my son Andrew. Andy."

"Hi," I said, offering my hand to shake.

"Hi," he said quietly, too.

"So, Stephen," Arlene said. "Your mom told me you're a doctor?"

"I am. I'm doing my internship at Nationwide. But, Arlene, it's not Stephen, anymore," I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Foster," she laughed.

"Still not quite," I laughed with her.

"I don't understand," she said.

"I changed my name, but I kept my last name," I said.

"So, what name did you change?" She asked, clearly confused.

"My first name," I said.

"Your... what? I'm missing something. I don't understand."

"After Dad died, and my birth mother had been gone a long time already, I talked with Mom and I told her I wanted to change my name to David. In honor of my dad. Cassidy was never a parent and I didn't want to have the name she gave me."

"She gave you the last name Freud, too," Arlene said.

"I know. I like it. It's kinda cool. A good conversation starter," I laughed. "So I wanted to drop Stephen. David, Dad helped get me where I am today. He took a really pissed off teenager who was probably heading for trouble and turned me into a kid who cared. He made me talk. He would drag me out to the backyard, give me a baseball glove and throw the ball at me. He got me into baseball. He helped me get to UCLA on a full-ride scholarship for baseball. He helped get me back on a good path. Cassidy only gave me names that meant nothing to her."

"That is so incredibly sweet, Ste- I mean, David. He couldn't have gotten a better honor," Arlene said, wiping a tear away. "David would be so proud of you."

Mom smiled as her hands lay on my shoulders. She was sitting on the arm of the couch, beside me.

"He is," Mom said. "I like to think he is."

"So, Ste-, sorry, again. David. Tell us. Medical school. What are you planning on practicing?"

"I'm doing my internship in adolescent and youth psychology. I want to work with abused kids like me. Kids who maybe have or haven't found their forever families, and need someone they can talk to who will listen, and who understands where they're coming from."

"I am not at all surprised. I know you had a few rough years after the Thompsons, but I am so happy you landed with the Fosters."

"We are all thrilled we had a place for David. He and his father were so close. Fostering him was the best thing we did. Until we adopted him. That was the best thing we did."

I smiled up at Mom.

"Doctor David Freud," Arlene mused. "I am so very proud of you."

I smiled at Arlene. She'd seen the path I was headed down. She probably saw kids like me wind up in places that weren't nearly as fortunate as I had been.

I had a lot to be thankful for this year.