Ten Reasons to Have Hope

Home Cooked Meals

Friday, December 21st

"Pick up the living room, girls, Grandma and Grandpa are on the way." Alan had on his apron and Samuel was helping Samantha set the table. It was 11:30 in the morning and guests for the annual Howland Christmas were to arrive for lunch at noon. The doorbell rang and Samuel answered it."Hey man!" A man in his late thirties greeted Samuel with a hug.Samuel said hello, even though he had never met this man in his life.This must be Mike, Alan's brother. Next to Mike was a tall woman with red hair, holding a baby."Who's at the door, babe?"Mike's face shifted and suddenly Samuel felt a bit embarassed. "Come in, come in," He held the door open for the couple. "It's your brother, his wife, and a little one," He shouted towards the kitchen."Hey, everybody!" Alan came out of the kitchen and hugged his brother and his sister in law.He kissed little Jasper, his year old nephew, on the forhead."A new face since last time we were here, huh, Leah?" Mike said. "Yes," Alan said. "This is Samuel, my, um-" Alan paused and searched for a word to describe thier relationship."Is Samuel your... boyfriend?" Leah asked.Alan put his hand on Samuel's back. "We made it official yesterday... In a blanket fort." They smiled at each other."Oh my god Alan," Leah said. "That is the cutest thing I've seen in weeks."She stepped forward and shook Samuel's hand. "My name is Leah. I've heard a lot about you. It's so great to finally meet you!"Samuel smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you too, Leah."Alan smiled and noticed the lack of people in his kitchen. His parents still weren't there, his nephew was no where to be seen, and his girls were probably upstairs. He was unsure."Where's Elliot?" Alan asked Mike."I'm actually not sure." He looked at his wife and she shrugged her shoulders.Jasper mimmicked his mother by shrugging his little shouldersIt was later found that he was sitting in the back of the van on his phoneThat was found by Samantha and Jackie when they went outside to help Leah carry in gifts from her and MikeMeanwhile, Mike, Samuel, and Alan were talking. "So, the little blondie," Mike said. "That's Jackie?""Yeah," Alan said, "That's the girl.""And on the phone yesterday you said you were," Michael paused and glanced at Samuel, "Adopting her?"Alan nodded and continued cutting the peppers. "Yes, I'm going to tell her this afternoon, I think."Alan looked at Samuel. "Well," he smiled at him. "We're."Mike smiled. "Wow, you two just started dating and you're already acting like you've been married for 50 years.""I want Samuel apart of those girls' lives." Mike nodded.The kitchen they were in was medium sized and decorated with the theme of blue. Blue everything.It always reminded Alan of his biological grandmother's country home that he used to go to every weekend begore, well, you know. "I see your house hasn't changed since Mom decorated it when you moved in," Mike said, looking around at the antique blue dishes lining the ceiling on the wallAlan smiled and nodded. "I can't bring myself to change it. Mom has a beautiful sence of decoration and I adore it."Mike agreed. "Speaking of the devil, when are the old folks coming?" Alan shrugged his shoulders. "I was just about to ask youIt always felt small when he was a kid, but now that it was his own kitchen and he had three kids, well, sort of. It was the perfect size now. The stove went off and Samuel grabbed the oven mit that was hanging on the wall, pulling out a nice, plump, ham."Wow, Samuel," Mike said. "You're one hell of a cook!"Samuel smiled and thanked him.The doorbell rang and Samantha stood up to answer the door. Adeline shouted "I'll get it, don't worry!" and quickly made her way to the door, Samantha following.She reached up to the doorknob and pulled it open, revealing an elderly couple that greeted Adeline with big hugs.Alan and Mike's father, Joel, lifted Adeline up, with the usual "You're getting so big!"Their mother, Carol, greeted Samantha with the same hug, minus picking her up off the ground. "Hey, baby!" Carol held Samantha's face and smiled at her. "Is that new hair?" Carol ran her fingers through Samantha's new red and green hair for the Christmas season."Yeah, it is, grandma, thanks for noticing.""Stylish!""Thank you," Samantha smiled and pushed her hair off her shoulder onto her back. "Samuel and dad got it for me for my early gift.""Oh yeah?" Carol looked at her husband and their youngest granddaughter. "And what did you get this year, little lady?"Adeline looked at them and beamed."Daddy and Samuel got me a whole My Little Pony set." She squirmed out of Joel's grip. "You wanna see?""Sure, baby." Adeline ran up the stairs."So," Carol looked at Samantha. "I heard you're getting a new little sister.""What?" Samantha raised an eyebrow."Mom, Dad," Alan walked into the room and greeted them with a hug.Samuel learned today that the Howland family always hugs to greet guests."Hi everyone," Leah said, hugging her in-laws as everyone else had done.Samuel wandered into the living room to greet the rest of Alan's family."You must be Samuel," Joel said, shaking his hand. "I'm Joel, Alan and Michael's father." He looked at Carol. "And this is my wife, Carolyn.""Also known, fondly, as Grandma Carol." She added with a smile. "It's wonderful to finally get to meet you, Samuel."Samuel smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you two as well. You seem like wonderful people."Carol laughed and touched Joel on the shoulder. "I think there's one more person we still need to meet."She looked at Samantha. "Where's Jackeline? I have been so excited to say hello to her."Samantha told her grandmother that she would go get her.Left in the front room was Samuel, Mike, Leah, and Carol and Joel. Alan had gone back into the kitchen to check on the baked mashed potatoes."So, Samuel, what do you do for a living?" Joel asked."Oh, Alan didn't tell you how we met?" Samuel asked.Carol nodded her head. "Yes, he told us he met you on a bridge last week ago and you fell in love instantly.""Yeah," Samuel said. "I guess that's some of the story." He rubbed the back of his neck."That's all the story that I need." Carol winked at him and smiled. "Now where's that little girl?" She asked. "I'm dying to meet her.""Kids!" Alan shouted up the stairs. "It's time for lunch! Come downstairs!"He turned around and walked back to the kitchen to help serve, three girls and a twelve year old boy flew down the stairs.Leah had sat Jasper in his high-chair and she was helping bring in food. There was just enough seats for everyone, five down each side of the table. Jasper was at the end.The kids took thier seats and they were followed by all of the adults aside from Samuel, who was finishing up the deviled eggs"Hey, Samantha?" Samuel called from the kitchen. "Could you give me a hand?""Sure thing." She said and stood up from the table.When she walked into the room, he was not, in fact, doing anything with the deviled eggs. "Do I, uh, look okay?""What do you mean?" Samantha laughed."Like... Do you thing your grandparents like me?""Yes, Samuel, they love you."Samuel sighed. "I sure hope so," he looked down at his feet and smirked. "Anyway, lets grab the food.""Got it.""Oh my!" Carol said when Samantha and Samuel entered the room with their hands full of delicous smelling food"Wow, that looks incredible, Samuel." Joel said. "Do you kids need a hand?""Sure," Samuel said. Joel stood and walked into the kitchen to help out and Samantha followed. "So, Jackie," Leah said. "How are you liking our crazy family so far?""Oh," Jackie smiled. "It's great. A lot better than what it is at home, that's for sure.""Oh..." Leah looked at Alan and Alan pressed his finger to his lips, telling her to stay quiet. Leah nodded at him and looked back at Jackie, who didn't notice anything.Carol could barely contain her excitement about the situation.Carol hadn't wiped the smile off of her face since she first saw the little blonde girl that she couldn't wait to call her granddaughterShe looked over at Joel and put her hand on his leg and smiled at himAlan had called his parents and his brother last night to remind them about christmas dinner and to announce to them that he was going to adopt another girl.His family was as excited as he and Samuel were, and he decided to keep Adeline and Samantha in the dark to make it more of a surprise to Jackie.Jackie, obviously, was completely in the dark"Everyone ready to dig in?" Alan asked. And everyone, especially the children, who looked like they hadn't eaten in yearsonly judging by thier dialated pupils and how they hadn't taken thier eyes off the massive chicken that Samuel had prepared. "Of course," Joel said, reaching for Carol's hand, and she reached for Samantha's, and so on.Alan sat down finally and took Samuel and Mike's hands. Joel, as he did every year, lead the ever-growing family in prayer. Everyone bowed their heads, even little Jasper, and Papa Joel began"With joy we pray, Dear Heavanly Father, love brought Jesus to the earth, and love gave us Christmas.Today as we share this holiday feast, may we also share with one another a joyful heart and a warm smile as we fully welcome Samuel Westlake and Jackie Jacobs to the family.We ask you, Lord, that you bless this meal that Samuel graciously gave us.We remember those who are no longer here and let them know we're thinking of them during the holliday season.With grateful hearts, we thank you for all the blessings you have given us this yearand we pray for families around the world to have safe travels, good food, and happy memories.Thank you for all you've done, Lord, and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen."Lunch was served to everyone and conversation began after Samuel being drowned in compliments about his wonderful, moist chicken he prepared."So, Samantha," Joel said, pointing at her with the edge of his fork. "How did semester finals go?""They went well. I think I did the best in English, I may have screwed up my math test, though.""Of course you did good in English, sweetheart." Laura said, guiding a spoon full of mashed potatoes into Jasper's mouth. "You're so good with writing. You always have been.""Thanks." Samantha said, cutting into her chicken."What major are you going into for college next fall, kiddo?"Samantha shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure yet. Probably something English related.""Deffintley not math," Adeline added, shaking her head. "One time, I asked her to help me with my math homework, and I got back to school the next day, and they were wrong.""Hey, kindergarten math is hard."The room was filled with laughter once again."So, Jackie," Leah said. "How is school for you?""It's alright. Being in eighth grade is much different than being in kindergarten or being a senior, that's for sure.""How are you doing in school?""I'm good at math, ironically." She looked at Samantha and smiled. "I'm pretty lousy in English, thank God for Samantha or I'd be failing."Samantha smiled at her from across the table. "I'm glad I could help.""Are we ready to open up presents?" Papa Joel asked the group of grandkids sat around him.The family made their way into the living room. In the corner was the christmas tree, which was surrounded by gifts of many shapes and sizes.Papa Joel and Grandma Carol sat on the loveseat and Alan, Mike, and Samuel sat on the couch. Leah was sitting in the chair with Jasper.Elliot, Addie, Samantha, and Jackie were sitting on the floor."Addie," Alan said. "Could you pass out the presents?"Once everybody got thier stack of gifts, one for each other person, starting with Adeline, everyone went in a circle opening gifts. At the very end of everyone's stacks of presents, Jackie noticed that she got a gift from everyone except for Alan.Even if she wasn't going to get one from him, she was happy to be included in this amount. She was so grateful to have a family that truly cared about her. She loved these people, and having them around her made her so happy.Alan left the room for a moment, returning with a small box and a smileEveryone's eyes were on Jackie. He handed her the gift and she thanked him. She looked down at the small box that was in her hand.It was wrapped in a maroon wrapping paper and a silver bow was tied around it in a small bowShe looked up at Alan."Go on," He smiled. Looking at Alan, she pulled the ribbon and unwrapped the paper.Underneath the paper was a little white box with an index card inside."Read it out loud, Jack.""Dear Jackeline," She read aloud. "When we first met you, we were all shocked to hear your story. You are such a sweet girl with a bright future and I hope, if anything, we get to be a major part of it.I know this is probably very sudden, but I also know about what it's like with your parents. I talked to your mother yesterday and discussed a few things.Things like you sticking around here for a little longer than any of us expected." She looked up. "What does that mean?"Alan and Samuel looked at each other and Alan pulled another box out from behind his back.He walked up to Jackie and kneeled down on one knee and opened up the box."Jackie," Alan said. "I know we've only known each other for a few days, but I can't let you go back to your parents. So, will you do the honors of letting Samuel and I legally adopt you?"Jackie's jaw dropped. She looked down at the bracelet in the box. It had her name on it and it was made of gorgeous yellow stones."Alan," She said. "I... You want to adopt me?"Alan nodded. Her face bunched up and tears started falling and she threw her arms around him. Everyone in the room was quietly sobbing."Jackie, will you be Samantha and Adeline's sister?"Jackie pressed her face into Alan's shoulder and nodded her head. She pulled her face away. "How long does it take?""Two to six years. But that's just more time to love you." Alan said.Adeline jumped up and hugged Alan and his new sister, and Samantha followed, and finally, Samuel.Everyone in the room was in tearsAt around five o'clock, it was time for everyone to leave. Carol gave Jackie a hug while Joel gathered up thier things."It's a joy to have you in the family, sweetheart.""It's a joy to call you my grandma."Carol hugged her again. "I'm sorry about your parents, baby. Alan, er, your dad told me about everything.""It's okay." She said. "It's going to be weird getting into the habbit of calling him 'dad'." She smiled. "I can't wait until it becomes natural."Carol smiled and touched her face. "I love you, dear.""I love you too, Grandma."One more hug later, and the house was empty from guests. It was just the five of them, sitting quietly in the living room."Well, Jackie," Alan said. "How was Christmas with the Howlands." "It was wonderful," she said."I'm glad you had fun.""Jackie Howland." She said out loud. "It has a ring to it." She looked at him and smiled. "I wish the system would let it come faster," Alan said. "I've been doing research lately and talking to your parents, they said you can move in as soon as you want.""Well, I'm already here." She joked."Yes, you are." Alan said. "Like I said, it can take two to six years which sounds unbearable, but it'll be okay.""Thank you so much." She said."For what?""For saving my life, Alan."He smiled. "I'm glad Samantha got you to come along when she came home.""Me too. I don't know what would've happened to me if you didn't take me in the other night.""You never have to go back there now. I'm very happy to be able to take you in.""You're not just taking me in," she said, "you're literally saving my life. I don't know how much longer I could take it there."