Rise Up

Diego

My sweet daughter, Natalie, sat next to me on the plane to London, propped up against the window sleeping.  The kid could always sleep anywhere.  I caught myself just staring, watching her sleep throughout the flight.  I had inadvertently put her through so much.  Her mother died when she was so small, so I'd been the only parent she'd ever known.  Then I'd gone and left her for three months.  It made me feel better than she'd been with the Mirandas.  They'd obviously taken good care of her and I was so grateful.

I wondered if this would all be too much for her.  First, she'd had to get used to the idea of me being over here for a few months, and now possibly permanently.  Now, she had to get used to the idea of having a new stepmother, stepsiblings, and half sibling.  I hoped it would go well.  Talie had always wanted siblings.

Talie stirred as the pilot came over the intercom to say we were on our final descent into London.  She stretched and rubbed at her eyes then looked out her window.  Green and brown patches of rectangular land were laid out before her.  She gazed out the little window in wonder, unable to take her eyes off the view as we descended from the sky.

We touched down and waited to taxi to the airport.  It was about mid-day.  Carol was at work and the kids were at school.  It would give Talie a chance to settle in before being bombarded with new people.

The luggage came quickly and I hailed a cab to our apartment.  I had pretty quickly moved in with Carol.  Luckily, there was also a guest room so Talie would have her own space.  We arrived and I took her big suitcase to her new room, then let her wander around.  She was hungry, so we wandered down the street to get fish and chips.  Afterwards, we wandered around the streets a little bit, taking in the sights.  Talie seemed dazzled.

"What do you think?" I asked as we wandered back to the apartment.

"Pretty cool," she smiled at me.  "Everything is so much older here."

"That's for sure," I said.  "So much history everywhere.  We'll have to take you sightseeing this weekend."

We arrived back at the apartment a bit after three.  The kids would be home from school soon.  I let Talie relax on the couch and she explored the channels on the TV.  Right around 3:30, I heard laughter in the hallway and seconds later the door burst open.  In walked my future stepchildren, Alice and Giles.

They continued to laugh as they stepped inside, in their school uniforms and dropped their backpacks on the floor.

"Hi kids," I said.  "How was your day?"

"Fine," they both said, instantly noticing the new person in the room.  Talie stood up and self-consciously adjusted her shirt and hair.  She smiled hesitantly as she walked around the couch.

"Alice, Giles, this is my daughter, Natalie," I gestured with my hand.  "She goes by Talie."

"Hi Talie," they both smiled nervously.  They were scoping each other out.

"We're about to have a snack," Alice said.  "Would you like a biscuit?"

"Umm...sure," Talie said.  Alice smiled and went to the pantry - or the larder, as they called it - and came back with two chocolate-covered biscuits for Talie. 

"Do you drink tea?" she asked.  Giles was already starting the pot.

"Not really, but I'll try some," Talie said as she sat at the kitchen table.

"I have mine with lots of sugar," she told Talie. "Don't tell Mum."

"I won't," she smiled.  The three teenagers were soon sitting around the table, dipping their biscuits into their tea.  Giles and Alice asked Talie about her flight and what New York City was like.  They'd never been.

"We have a subway system here too," Giles said.  "The Underground.  You'll have a whole new map to memorize."

"We'll help you get an Oyster Card," Alice went on.  "We ride the subway to school every day."

Talie asked about their school and they went on about how stuffy it was.  Talie seemed surprised they had to wear school uniforms, but that was commonplace over here.  Carol sent them to a fancy private school, so their uniforms were really posh and expensive.

After they'd finished their snack, the kids went to their rooms to change out of their uniforms.  Talie disappeared into her room to have some alone time.  The initial meeting between the three teenagers seemed to have gone reasonably well.  They were all very close in age, so maybe Giles and Alice would take her under their wing.

Carol arrived home around 5:15, and I was getting the dinner started.  We hugged and kissed and she asked if Talie had arrived as planned.  I filled her in about our day and about meeting her kids.  Carol was anxious to meet her, so I knocked on Talie's door and asked her to come out.

Carol immediately hugged her, which surprised Talie a little bit.  She accepted though and took it in stride.  She again politely answered questions about her flight and how she liked London so far.  After conversing a bit, she went back to her room until dinner time.

At dinner, Talie was pretty quiet; probably because she was exhausted from the jet lag.  She tried to join in on the conversation but I could tell she was exhausted.  As everyone began to clear their plates I stopped her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about helping with dishes," I told her softly.  "I'm sure you're tired.  Why don't you take a shower and head to bed?"

"That sounds really good," she agreed.  I showed her where the towels were and the rest of us cleared up dinner.  A few minutes later, I heard the shower going.  Hopefully she'd feel more rested in the morning.  I'd taken the rest of the week off work to help get her acclimated.

As I went down the hallway to grab something from my room, I nearly bumped into her.  We both laughed, a little uncomfortably.  I hated feeling like my own daughter might be uncomfortable in my home.

"Heading to bed?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she said.  "First I think I'll FaceTime with the Mirandas though.  Sebastian misses me a lot."

"Of course," I said, kissing her head.  "I'll see you in the morning.  Sleep tight."

Talie disappeared into her room, closing the door gently.  I smiled as I watched her go inside.  With Talie now here, everything was starting to feel right.  I just hoped Talie felt the same way.