Stronger

The Unbreakable Bond of Sisters

The drive to the orphanage seemed to take days, though in reality it took less than thirty minutes and we got there 15 minutes early. 

I took just a moment in the car to wrap up a present for Kinley, and Lily held the teddy bear we'd gotten for her, she wanted to be the one to give it to her.

Inside, I found a check in desk and a waiting area.

I signed both Lily and I in with a shaking hand. I put our names, who we were here to meet, our social worker, and our appointment time.

"It's a good thing you got here early! You have lots of paperwork!" A woman at the desk with an accent much like Louise's joked as she handed me a fairly thick stack of papers waiting to be filled out.

I hadn't anticipated paperwork, but I really should have

Thankfully, I had all of the legal documents I needed and was able to fill out the papers in a short ten minutes.

Lily sat quietly in a chair beside me.

I can't believe that I'm in the same building as Kinley. She could be less than 20 feet away from me. 

I'm in the same building as both of my daughters, and I can't imagine my life without either of them, even though I've had one for less than a month, and the other I haven't even seen before.

The woman at the desk had tried to talk to Lily, but of course, Lily didn't say a word. 

I apologized to the woman, but I could tell she already knew about Lily, Louise had asked me if it was alright to talk about 'Kinley's big sister' and I knew she wouldn't say anything that didn't need to be shared, so I'd given her permission.

"I figured you would get here early!" Madam Louise came out of what I assumed was the office after I'd handed in the paperwork.

"Well, I wasn't sure how long the drive would take, I thought I might have trouble finding it so I left a little early." I explain.

"Okay, sure." Louise says sarcastically, knowing my story isn't completely true. "So, are you ready to meet your daughter?" 

"I don't think you even need an answer to that question!" I say, but before I begin to follow Louise, I kneel down to Lily's level.

"Okay Lils, this is it. You're sure this is what you want babe?" I say in soft tone. I really want to be sure this is completely and entirely what Lily wants, and that I'm not getting ahead of myself.

"I want it more than anything, mama." 

Mama. She called me mama again! and this time it was purposeful! Oh how I want to hear the word over and over again.

I wrap Lily into a long hug before standing up and taking her hand.

"Would you like me to get someone to video you meeting your little girl for the first time?" Louise asks as we walk down the hallway.

"If you could that would be great!" I hadn't even thought about videoing our reaction, but I'm glad she said something because I know I'd regret not having it.

Louise stuck her head into a door and a short older woman stepped out and said she could video on my phone if she'd like.

Louise guided us into a doorway, where I just knew Kinley would be waiting.

It was a bright little room filled to the brim with toys, and had easy access to outside where there were all kinds of outdoor toys, including a large playground, all covered in snow.

But Kinley was no where in sight. Instead, we were taken into another room that contained just a desk and a few chairs.

"First we have to go over some laws and rules that we have for the entire Nation of France dealing with adoption, as well as some that we've put in place just for here, at the Versailles  Home for Children."