30 Days In Rehab

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Day Twenty-Seven:

I received the best news of my life today. 

Lola can come home.

Wait a minute, though. That's not the best part! She doesn't just get to come home. She gets to come home to US! The adoption finally went through. See, I know some people have to be wondering some things. How could they let a little girl go home with, in all reality, a little boy? They're really going to let a drug addict adopt her?

Former drug addict, thank you.

That's not the case though. I'm a different story. You don't get to see a lot of stories like mine. You really don't. You see people dying from this every day. Every day! Not me, though. I made it. That's why I'm allowed to adopt Lola. She loves me. I love her. Point blank. Her parents didn't want to deal with a 'sick' child, not me though. I'll deal with her any damn day of the week.

Finally, at 6 at night, Khloe and I were able to pick her up, but again, this wasn't even the best news.

I leaned in to hug Lola and she grabbed me so tight. She held me with a grip of a man. I laughed. I told her she had to let go because, if she didn't then I would pop! We laughed. She told me that there was a reason she was holding me so tight. 

What is it?

I'm cancer free, Daddy.

I grabbed her and picked her up, swinging her all around. Oh, my God! My baby girl! Cancer free! It's a miracle!

............

My wish.

It came true.

She's better now.

I let her and Khloe spend time together, before Khloe took her to our apartment. Did I mention that? We managed to get an apartment, near New Beginnings, thankfully.

I walked outside. Just to be by myself for a while. I looked around at the evening sky. I was a medium shade of blue, embedded with stars. I sat outside for a little while. Just thinking. I was thinking about the kind of father I would be. Will I be a good one? Am I going to make mistakes? I wondered if I am going to make everyone happy. Am I finally done with withdraw? Is this life past me now? Did I finally get over everything?

I think so. 

I made my way back into the room with Lola and Khloe. My girls. Soon, it will be my two girls, my boy, and I. 

We finally went back to the apartment where we had Lola's room all set up for her. Khloe's mother, Denise, is an interior decorator. She designed Lola's room to look like a farm. It's beautiful. Every night, Lola will be able to feel like she is on a ranch. She will be able to feel like she is on with horses, with the wind hitting her skin. 

I just want everyone happy. I want to be happy. Is that too hard to ask? I want a decent life my children, my wife, myself? Is that so bad?

When I got back to New Beginnings, there was a phone call waiting for me. It was my dad. He was drunk. He called me, cursing me out for no reason. He told me he didn't want me contacting him or my mother again. 

You're no good. You hear me? No one loves you. You're going to get out of rehab and go back to your same ways. You're nothing, but scum! Your mother and I hate you! We don't want you as a son!

I can hear my mother in the background.

Hank! Leave him alone! Just go to sleep!

Shut the fuck up bitch!

He turned his attention back to me.

As for you. I hope you die. You deserve to be where Pat is! You're a loser. You're going to ruin those kids lives, you know that, right? Drug addict. Disgrace. Asshole. Fuck you! Fuck off! No one wants you to fucking live anymore. NO ONE!

I just hung up the phone. Fuck it. I'm not worried about it anymore. I thought he could have changed. I thought, maybe, when he describe his happy place, he was telling the truth. Nope. All lies. Everything is a lie. My mother is even a lie. She needs to wake up. I will be surprised if I see her on my graduation day.

I may be a couple of those things that my father said I was, but I'm not a drug addict.

I'm a FORMER DRUG ADDICT.