Speak Quietly

Chapter Fifteen - Perfect

“Where are we going now?” I grabbed Joseph’s free hand.

“Well, I have no idea why we didn’t try this before we came all the way to Texas but we’re going back home to Oklahoma and only a few counties over.”

“A few counties?” I questioned with surprise.

“Allyson, will you be my girlfriend?” Joseph blurted out, taking me off guard. I didn’t know what to say but Joseph just sat there silent until I gave him an answer. It was absolutely random but it made me feel cared for. He took the time to form those words in his mind and voice them.

“Of course I will.” I tightened my grip on his hand, smiling like a complete idiot.

“You just made me the happiest guy around.” he laughed, almost sounding taken back.

Within hours we were back home and started to clean up.

“I have a good feeling about this. They are so close.” Elizabeth said. Once we were all ready, we hopped back into the car and took off, Joseph driving once again. These people may have only been several miles away but it seemed longer to get there than to Texas. Elizabeth grabbed my hand and patted it.

“If these are your parents, then they will love you. They will see what they did wrong and that they want you back. You are such a bright soul and lovely person. God has blessed me with you and now He is blessing you with your parents, again.” She was so gleeful, yet we didn’t even know anything about these people. Sure, they could end up being my parents but they could be addicted to meth or drug dealers or criminals or something that could harm us. We made it to a small little town filled with large houses and gated communities.

“According to my GPS, we should be there in a couple of minutes.”  I squeezed Elizabeth’s hand, I was so anxious. We rounded to a house with a black iron fence around it. It was such an extravagant home, a two story with lovely large windows and a giant Victorian door. We parked right in front of the home and didn’t waste any time. Joseph helped me out of the car; it just seems more and more difficult getting up by myself. The walk to the front door seemed to take centuries but once we got there I was ready to turn and run. Joseph must have seen that I was hesitant so he took the liberty of knocking on the door. Each second felt like an hour waiting… Thump, thump, thump, thump… Footsteps, one after the other, casually strode to the door to greet us complete strangers. One lock unhinged, then another and another. I stared at the doorknob as it turned left and then right and the giant door gradually opened.

“Hello, can I help you three?” a fair skinned, dirty blonde haired, short statured woman greeted us with a smile. Her hazel eyes shimmered and her lips were popping with bright red lipstick. She wore black skinny jeans and a nice button shirt. She was absolutely beautiful.

“Hi, my name is Joseph.” he shook her hand.

“I’m Elizabeth.” she did the same. I just stood there is complete shock. She looked exactly like me, she had all of my traits and I, hers. Her eyes met mine and nothing. She started to look concerned.

“Well,” she drew out, “I’m Rachel and, um, who might you be?” I was tongue tied, I couldn’t speak to save my life. I searched for the strength to speak and once I found some it only came out as a whisper.

“Allyson.”

“Allyson? Well, it’s nice to meet all of you, now how can I help?” She seemed uneasy.

“Well, Rachel, we are here becau-”

I cut Joseph off as I had found confidence, “Did you give birth to a child seventeen years ago and give her up for adoption?” As I finished my sentence, I then realized how blunt I must have sounded.