A Better World

Chapter 7

Sixteen Months Later

"Mom! Dad!" exulted Clementine, as she ran to them. Lee and Carley knelt down holding their arms out to her. She looked like she had happy tears running down her cheeks. She ran into their arms, while wrapping her arms around their necks, squeezing tightly. Lee and Carley greeted her back.

"Hey there, sweetie,"

"Sweet Pea, it's so good to see you, we missed you so much,"

"I missed you too," said Clem. She released the hug and her parents stood up. Today, it was official, Clem was adopted. A copy of the adoption papers was handed to Lee and Carley for safe keeping. As Lee looked at the papers, he couldn't help but smile. He looked at the line that read his adopted daughters name: Clementine Everett. He was so happy, as well as Carley.

They got into the truck, exited the parking lot, and left for home. The ride home for the first few minutes was pretty quiet, but it was a relaxing, happy type of quiet. Clementine was thinking about what she had said in the letter to her father. She thought about the question of calling Lee and Carley by mom and dad. She was nervous about asking, but decided to bring it up anyway.

"You two are okay with me calling you mom and dad, right?" asked Clem, her voice somewhat quiet. Carley looked back to her and smiled.

"Honey, of course we are. Its just that, its probably going to take me and, uh me and, dad, getting used to," said Carley, smiling at Lee, who also smiled in response. Lee had butterflies going all through his body. Being called dad was a new experience for him, but it was an exciting one. Carley was feeling the same way. She wasnt used to being called mom either, but was so happy to hear it.

"Well, I think Im used to it by now," said Clementine, excitedly. Lee looked into the rear-view mirror at her and smiled. Carley chuckled.

"That's good, Sweet Pea," said Lee. It was about a one-hour drive back to their home. Clementine had fallen asleep during that time, due to it being almost dark when her parents picked her up. They had arrived in the driveway, turned off the truck, and got out. Lee went to the back, opened the door and then unbuckled the seat belt for Clementine. He picked her up and carried her inside while Carley checked the rest of their vehicle for the last of their things. Lee looked down at the girl in his arms, smiling. She looked so peaceful and adorable. He was looking forward to being her father.

He carried her off to her room, which had nothing but a bed right now. He and Carley were going to take Clementine shopping later, so that she could pick out décor. He wasnt looking forward to the shopping itself, but he was rather excited to spend time with his daughter. He placed Clem carefully in her bed, trying not to wake her, pulling the covers over her before he left. He flipped the light switch off, and quietly closed the door.

He walked into the living room, smiling to himself. That is, until he saw Carley sitting on the couch staring at him happily. Lee looked at her lovingly, though slightly confused as to why she was looking at him that way. He walked over and sat next to her as she cuddled into him.

"What's with the staring?" said Lee, slightly chuckling as well. Carley looked over to him.

"I saw you put Clem to bed. It was really heartwarming for me, which is what we all need as the world turns back to normal. One thing that I can tell is going to happen, is that Clem is definitely going to be daddys girl. She looks up to you in so many ways, I just love that," said Carley, thinking about Clem. She was going to try her best to be the best mother she could be. Lee smiled; hugging Carley closer to him.

"She looks up to you too, you know," said Lee.

"Yeah, I know. Im just so happy right now. I cant help but think about the things were going to go through as a family," said Carley. She paused for a moment, thinking. "I just hope that we can be the best parents that we can for her,"

"I'm not worried. We are going to make mistakes, and we wont be able to control everything that comes her way, but as long as we love her and care for her the best that we can, I know things will work out, I promise," said Lee, kissing Carleys forehead. Carley hummed happily, starting to get tired. Her breathing slowed, gotten more relaxed, and helped her to fall asleep completely. Lee looked down at his wife, noticing that she had relaxed. Seeing that she was asleep, he smiled and laid back on the couch, falling asleep himself.

Lee's watch beeped, which woke him up, but slowly. He looked at the time, 8:00. He got up and stretched, yawning a bit as well. He decided to walk over to Clementines room. What he saw had just brightened his day so much. He watched lovingly as Carley and Clementine were cuddling in her bed. They both looked up at him.

"Somebody's up earlier than I thought they would be," said Lee, walking into the room. He knelt down next to Clementine, who smiled at him, reaching out for a hug. Lee happily accepted the hug, pulling Carley into the hug as well. They stayed in the embrace for a a while, before releasing each other. Clementine looked up at Lee as he stood up.

"Hey, Clem? We wanted to know if you wanted to go with us to go shopping today? We need to go get some things for the house, but if you want, we can look at decorations for your room as well. But, also the other thing, is that school is going to start up here in about a week, so we need to get your school supplies as well," said Carley, getting up from the bed. Clementine groaned as she changed into a face of absolute disgust for school. She was going to be in second grade this year.

"Do I have to, mom?" asked Clem, almost pleading with Carley to change her mind. Carley nodded.

"Yeah Clem, you do. Every child has to go to school," said Carley, softly stroking Clems hair to try to comfort her a bit.

"Honey, if we didn't put you in school, me and mom would get arrested and go to jail. You would then get put back in the adoption clinic. Im sure you dont want that to happen again, do you?" asked Lee, looking at her worriedly, since Clem had looked quite uneasy at hearing the things her father was saying about jail and adoption. She really didnt want to go back there. As for Lee, he really couldn't bear to go back to jail and be away from Clementine again. She had to go to school, otherwise, things would look really awful on his case report. Clementine shook her head.

"No, I guess not," said Clem. Lee and Carley smiled at her.

"That's a good answer, Sweet Pea. We should probably get going, we have a lot we have to get today. You ready to go, Clem?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, I'm ready, Ill go get my shoes on," said Clem, excitedly, as she ran out of the bedroom door. Lee and Carley looked at each other surprised. They didn't really expect that from her. They laughed at their daughters excitement and walked out the door to get ready to get in the truck.