"Love in the Great Pine Woods" by Gratiana Lovelace (2015-2016) (Completed)

Ch. 34 (PG-13, D): Becoming a Real Family

"Love in the Great Pine Woods", Ch. 34 (PG-13, D): Becoming a Real Family,

May 02, 2016 by Gratiana Lovelace (Post #905)

(An original story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace; all rights reserved) [(1) story cover, left]

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story characters with: Richard Armitage as Sam Wakeforest, Marcia Gay Harden as Sam's older sister Tessa Wakeforest Shoop Delaney, and Emily Deschanel as Tessa's sister-in-law Olivia Delaney Wakeforest, Viola Davis as Pauletta Perkins, Cicely Tyson as Nellie Newton, Anna Sophia Robb as Alice Trent, Kevin Spacey as Roger Delaney, Sam Heughan as Todd Wakeforest, Idris Elba as Dominic Perkins, the late Polly Holliday as the Waitress Madge, Donald Sutherland as Aldus Warren, Teri Polo as Lillian Warren, and Ewan McGregor as David Warren, and others as noted.]

Author's Content Note: "Love in the Great Pine Woods" is a mature love story with dramatic themes of love and relationships. It will mostly be at the PG and PG-13 movie levels. Specific chapters or passages may have a further rating of: L for language, D for dramatic emotions, and S for sensual themes. And I will rate the chapters accordingly. If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide for a chapter, then please do not read that chapter. This is my disclaimer. And as is my habit, I will summarize the previous chapter's events at the beginning of the next chapter.

Author's Recap from the Previous Chapter: Celebrating their foster son Bobby's two year old birthday last Saturday was just a precursor to the main event for Roger and Tessa Delaney—adopting both Bobby Trent and his now fifteen year old sister Alice Trent.

"Love in the Great Pine Woods", Ch. 34 (PG-13, D): Becoming a Real Family

Monday, May 30th, 1956 will be a very full day for the extended Delaney and Wakeforest Families. The first part will be to extend their family even more—with Roger and Tessa Delaney adopting their foster children fifteen year old Alice Trent and her two year old brother Bobby Trent at the Wakeforest County Courthouse—before going on to celebrate the adoptions and today being Decoration Day [(2)].

Tessa is a little bit nervous today. Not at the prospect of becoming Alice's and Bobby's real mother, but because this is a legal proceeding where others are involved. It is not cut and dried. And when the Wakeforest County Orphanage Director and Social Worker Pauletta Perkins warmly greets Roger and Tessa Delaney and the children at the courthouse, Tessa can tell that Mrs. Perkins is keeping something back while they wait in the reception area for their adoption case to be called into court.

But it is not until Sam and Olivia arrive as family support, that Mrs. Perkins can take Roger and Tessa aside in a quiet corner of the reception area to speak to them privately while Sam and Olivia stay with the children.

Tessa: "What's wrong? Won't the adoption happen today?" Tessa asks Pauletta Perkins worriedly.

Mrs. Perkins: "I hope that everything will go according to plan. It is just that there has been a ... complication." Mrs. Perkins looks hesitantly at both Tessa and Roger.

Roger: "Oh? And what is that? We have passed all of our home and parenting tests. Surely we are an exemplary couple as adoptive parents." Roger states a bit arrogantly.

Tessa: "Roger! Don't go all high handed. The judge doesn't care that you're a prominent businessman."

Mrs. Perkins: "Actually, the issue is not with the judge, but with a deposition that was entered into the record regarding the family custody rights of Alice and Bobby."