Better Off Alone (Adopted by Brendon and Sarah Urie)

32. Brendon

Callie was still unsure that we were not getting rid of her. It broke my heart how her life had been turned upside down so many times by people she should have been able to trust.

She did, however, seem open to therapy and I hoped it would be able to heal her some.

I sat with her on the couch, just holding her as if she would vanish into thin air if I let go.

My parents had called to say they were about an hour away, and were excited to meet Callie.  I told her her grandparents were close and I could feel her stiffen.

"They're going to love you," I said. "They're so excited to meet you."

She was so nervous. I felt badly that she was so scared. I didn't know how to make it better. So, I tried tell her a little about them.

"My dad's name is Boyd, but he might want you to call him PopPop. My mom's name is Grace, and she may want you to call her Granny. But that's up to you. They're very sweet people and very loving and accepting. I mean, they raised me," I laughed.

Callie smiled a little.

"I know you're nervous. And I know the last time someone's parent visited, you were sent away, but you know now that was for your protection. Not because you did anything wrong. And Callie, Mom and I love you. We're not giving you up."

I hugged her to me. She was still nervousi, I could see. But I knew once my parents had met her, they'd fall in love with her, too.

I tried to distract her with the TV, and she was watching, but she was not as relaxed as she'd been. We had years of disappointment to undo.

Callie and I sat in the living room watching TV until the doorbell rang. The light flashed and Callie sat up and stiffened again.

"It's going to be ok," I said to her, standing her up and putting my arm around her shoulders.

Sarah went to the door and I heard them greet her.

"Where is this granddaughter of ours?" I heard my dad ask. I smiled down at Callie.

"Ready?"

She shook her head.  Then nodded. I smiled.

"Mom, Dad, this is Callie," I said and signed at the same time. Our intensive lessons and practice were paying off.

"Oh, Brendon!  She's beautiful!" My mom said, coming up to us. I signed what my mom was saying. As best I could.

Callie blushed and signed "thank you".

My mom smiled at her.

My dad took one look at Callie and I could tell he was smitten.

"That is one gorgeous granddaughter," he smiled. I told Callie what he'd said. She blushed and slid ever so slightly behind me. My dad is a pretty big guy and Callie is pretty small for a 12 year old.

My mom pulled out her phone and started typing. She handed her phone to Callie who read what she'd typed and smiled.

"What did she say?" I asked Callie, who showed me.

'Brendon told us you're Deaf, and I'm sorry, we don't know sign language. We'll try to pick some up while we're here, but we might have to text more. But it is so nice to meet you. Welcome to our family, Callie.'

"Very nice, Mom," I said, smiling. Sarah was smiling, too.

Callie signed something to my mom and I interpreted.

"Can I put my phone number in your phone? That way I can text you, too."

My mom nodded and smiled and Callie went into her contacts and added her number. She texted herself. She smiled when she handed the phone back, pulled her own out and added the contact. I watched as she added 'Grandma Grace'. It was cute.

'Hi,' she texted to my mom.  My dad handed her his phone and asked for her to put her number in. She repeated the process and texted my dad from her phone. My dad texted back.

'You can call me PopPop,' my dad texted back. Callie laughed, as did I.

"What did I say?" I asked her. She smiled at me.

She changed the contact to PopPop.

'You have a beautiful laugh, Callie,' my mom texted. Callie blushed.

"Is everyone hungry?" Sarah signed and said.

"We are," my dad said. Callie nodded.

"When can I not eat?" I asked.

Callie followed Sarah into the kitchen to help bring in dinner. My parents came in, and I had them sit down in the dining room. 

Callie and Sarah brought in the food, I brought in a pitcher of water and a beer for myself. Sarah was having wine and Callie was drinking water as well.

Dinner was relatively quiet. My parents kept looking at Callie and smiling.

"So, Mom, Dad, what do you want to do this weekend?" I asked and signed. Callie watched and then looked over at my parents.

"We want to get to know our granddaughter," my mom said. I interpreted. Callie just looked on. She still wasn't convinced my mother wasn't going to try to get us to send her away.

Callie didn't eat much for dinner and picked at her ice cream at dessert. I hated how nervous she was and I hoped she'd relax and see my parents were already in love with her.

After dinner, my parents said they had a gift for Callie. She looked curious. My dad handed her a box wrapped in 'it's a girl!' paper.

"We know you're not a baby, but the paper is a bit of a joke,' he texted to Callie, who smiled and signed "thank you," before she opened the gift.

It was a Nintendo Switch and a couple of games. She smiled and said thank you.

"Was that a bad idea?" My mom asked me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, she's deaf. She can't hear the games."

"There are captions and visual aids in a lot of games. It's a great gift, Mom."

"Thank you," Callie signed again. "It's great."

She had a big smile on her face.

"Now I can teach you Fortnite," I said to her. Her eyes twinkled.

We sat for a little while then Callie said she was tired and going to bed. We all said good night to her. My parents even tried to sign, and she went up to bed.