Coffin of Hope

Chapter Three

Mal ran his hands over his pants legs nervously. He didn't know what to do with himself. He'd been waiting three hours but that was his fault. He'd shown up nearly four hours early.

"Mal?!" A voice yelled out.

He turned to view who spoke. He stood when he saw Josh. With him were two five year olds. His heart stopped. They were beautiful...

Josh stopped in front of him and shook his hand vigorously. "It's great to see you again!"

Mal nodded but frowned a little as he looked at Josh. He appeared sick. Very sick. "It's great to see you, too."

Josh knelt in back of the gawking kids. "Mally, Mickey? This is your first daddy, Mal Chang."

Mickey looked between all three males before craning her neck to speak directly to Mal. "Mally looks like you."

Mal smiled. Her tiny voice was heavenly. "I see."

She paused before asking him a question. "Do I look like my mommy?"

"Just as beautiful." He knelt next to her.

"Daddy and Daddy say that she was a raving beauty. Was she?"

"Yes, she was."

"They said you were deeply in love."

"We were."

"They said she was really smart."

"She was the smartest person I know."

"Where is she now?"

Mal paled and looked at Josh.

Josh gulped. "Don't you want to show Daddy the pictures we brought with us?"

"Uh huh!" Mickey nodded and took Mal's hand.

As she led him back to the bench he'd been sitting on, Mal's heart flip-flopped. He was going to look through pictures with his little girl.

She let him go to climb on the seat then reached out for her adoptive father. "Books, Daddy!"

Mal smiled. She was as bossy as her mother.

Josh brought over the photo albums.

"Would you like to see, Mally?"

The little boy shook his head. He looked to Josh. "Daddy, can I go play with that dog?"

Josh wanted them to bond but knew he couldn't force it. Still... he only had a limited amount of time. "For a little bit. Then I want you to come over and sit with us."

Mally threw an evil look at Mal and ran off.

"I'm sorry about him." Josh apologized. "He hit his terrible twos early and never let them go."

"Have you met Marcy?" Mal smirked.

Mickey beamed at having both of them relaxed. She opened the top photo album and pointed. "This is my favoritest picture."

OF

"How are you, sweetie?" Greg poked his head around the curtain with a large smile.

Marcy looked at him.

"Remember me from yesterday?"

She blinked.

"What about the day before? When you woke up?"

She said nothing.

He tapped the nurse on the arm. "Has she spoken at all?"