Leave The City (Book 8 of Adopted by the Josephs)

3. Samantha

"Let's go, Joseph! Get the lead out!" Uncle Pete cried from the back of the line for Space Mountain.

"Hey! That's not fair! It's not my fault I have to use a wheelchair here!" I called out. It made things easier to use the wheelchair rather than walk on my leg all day. It's not easy walking on a prosthetic all day. And especially not in a place like Disneyland. So, Uncle Brendon, Aunt Sarah and I had agreed I'd use my wheelchair. I did have my leg on. I could walk whenever I wanted to, but getting from one ride to the other was just so much easier in the chair. And with the last couple of years of playing wheelchair basketball, I was able to manoeuvre myself pretty skillfully. Plus, Mom and Dad had made sure to get a lightweight chair.

"Excuses, excuses," Uncle Pete winked at me as I rolled up to him.

"If you have two legs, and can walk, why do you use a wheelchair?" Pete's daughter, Marvel, asked.

"Because one leg is a prosthetic and while I can walk on it, walking all day on it, like here, gets painful and tiring. Plus, the wheelchair gives me an advantage when we use the Fast Pass lane," I smiled, as our group went in through the exit. Between my diabetes and not being able to have my pump out in the heat for long - really bad for insulin - and using my wheelchair and having Uncle B and Uncle Pete along, we got advantages most other people don't. I don't love using those all the time. I do feel bad for people who have to stand in line, but I can't deny having some of the perks that come with being with Uncle B are pretty cool.

We rolled up (okay, I rolled up. The rest walked) to the exit and the cast member in charge of the ride let us on. I saw some people rolling their eyes and frowning. They'd been waiting a while and here we were just walking right on.

I whooped and screamed as the roller coaster sped through the dark. I loved this ride.

I wanted to go again, but I felt guilty about asking to stay on, so I didn't say anything. I figured I'd ask later. We were here all day. And even though it's always dark inside, it's kinda cool to ride it at night and come outside into the darkness. Not that it's ever really dark at Disney.

We spent the day running all over the park, going on as many rides as we could, wandering through the shops on Main Street, and we ate in really nice restaurants.

All in all, it really was a perfect day. I couldn't have asked for a better one.

On the way back to our cars, Uncle Pete was pushing my chair, Marvel was in my lap, fast asleep, and Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah were talking about all the things we could do now that I was living in California with them this year.

Uncle Pete kept interjecting with "and you can come to my place all the time."  I felt so... loved. Wanted. Everything I'd been wanting to feel before Mom and Dad adopted me. I smiled to myself that despite everything, I had a family.

There's a saying that people misquote all the time. Most people only say "blood is thicker than water," implying that family bonds are the strongest.

I am definitely proof that the true quote is true. It goes like this;

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

The saying means that chosen bonds are more significant than the bonds with family. And I got lucky enough that I have a family, none of whom are related to me by blood, but who have been the best family I could ever have asked for.

Mom and Dad literally took in a sopping wet kid who just sort of appeared in their back yard one rainy night, and have been by my side ever since.

They didn't have to do anything. They could have just called the police or an ambulance when I passed out, and left me to be their problem. But they didn't. Dad came out in the pouring rain to see what had set off the motion lights in the back yard. And when he found me, he didn't yell at me. He asked if I was okay. He caught me when I passed out, brought me into their house, called an ambulance, made sure I was taken care of and stayed with me. Even when Stanley showed up, they didn't turn me over to him. They listened to what was happening. They cared.