GLEE

Saying Goodbye [Pt. 4]

(February 15th, 2005)

"Reese! Reese come down here!" Jenette called. I was tempted to just stay in bed, tuning out her voice as I continued to draw in my note pad, but Jenette had a screechy type of voice, and utilized it whenever she could.

"Reese! I got a surprise for you!" she shouted. This time, I decided to give in and stand up, throwing my book onto my bed and heading downstairs. A man and woman stood next to Jenette, smiling at me. I found it creepy. She was tall, thin, and had her hair cut so it rounded her face, and he was tall, but also a bit plump, with little to no hair on his head. He looked like he liked pizza...a lot.

"Reese, this is Ryan and Charlotte Lavek, they want to adopt you." Jenette said.

"Uh...hi." I said.

"It's nice to meet you." the woman said. I looked at Jenette, waiting for her to say something.

"We already signed you out, gave them your paperwork, Anna has they phone number. All you have to do is pack your stuff." she told me.

"In what? I don't have a suitcase." I replied.

"How about a garbage bag?" Really? Was she joking? "I'll go get you one." apparently not.

"In a garbage bag? You're such an idiot." I muttered so she wouldn't here me.

"How old are you?" the man asked.

"Eleven, you expecting a baby?" I asked them.

"No actually. You're perfect." she replied.

"Perfect how?" I asked.

"Well, Charlotte can't have kids, and I'm allergic to talcum powder so we couldn't get a baby." he replied.

"But a young girl would be totally fine." she replied.

"Fine, I'll go get my stuff, then shove it in a garbage bag." I spat out the last two words like poison, it was vile of Jenette to think that someone should carry their stuff in a garbage bag. However, there was one upside to her idiocity;

I'm finally getting adopted!

-

(April 6th, 2014)

I found myself staring into space while continuously tapping my pen against my desk. I was wondering, had I been wrong about my dad? Did he really love me? A part of me felt extremely guilty for saying all those things about him, and not getting a chance to say goodbye. I felt like I was going to throw up any minute.

"Hey." my thoughts were suddenly cut short when Charlotte poked her head into the office.

"How's it going?"

"This a bad time?"

"Not at all, take a seat...huh...never thought I'd say that to you." I told her. Charlotte smiled before pulling out the chair and sitting across from me.

"So, I sent everything to the VA." she started.

"I would've done that for you." I told her.

"I don't think so." she smirked.

"Charlotte..."

"Besides, they had some stuff for me." she said.

"You know, Charlotte. You don't have to jet off so soon. You can stay as long as you want." I told her.

"Well, New York is a beautiful city, but it's not right for a simple lady like myself. You know what I mean?" she asked.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." I replied.

"But before I go though, I want to read you this letter, it was among your father's things." she said.

"I don't really want to hear that." I said.

"Now wait a minute. This letter is to me, not to you." she replied.

"How did my dad know who you were?" I asked.

"We kept in touch, you know. Writing letter back-and-forth every now and again. He wanted to make sure his little girl was in good hands." she replied as she pulled out a piece of paper. "Now just shut your big mouth and listen."

Here goes nothing...

"I didn't write a letter to Reese, because I knew she'd rip up anything I sent her. And she should. If you can find a way, let her know I loved her. She deserved a much better father than me, a father...a father as good as your husband." she had to pause for a minute to control her tone, as it started to break up. "Thank you for raising her to be the person I could never be. Strong, brave, human." she finished, folding the letter and placing it on the desk.

"So, what do you want me to do with that?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I'm just glad you listened. Do what you want with what you heard. It's up to you." she replied. I just sat there, going over those words, over and over again. It was like a tape recorder was going off in my head, and it was stuck on repeat.

"He left something else too." she reached into her bag and pulled out a DVD.

"I don't want that." I told her.

"Watch it, or don't watch it. They told me to give it to you." she replied. "Reese, I know you wish that things were different. You wish you had closure, but life is just a lot of loose ends. You should know that better than anyone. So smile. Love those friends you have. Love that handsome boy that comes home to you every night. And love the life you're going to live." she said.

Her words stuck to me, which brought on a small but weak smile to my lips. "Thanks Charlotte."

"Alright, come here." I got up and wrapped her in a hug.

"Be happy sweetie. It's over now...you won." she said. My smile quickly disappeared as I pulled away, standing up straight and straightening out my shirt. Honestly, I didn't feel like I won.

"Well, guess I better go if I want to catch my train." she said as she stood up.

"Have a safe trip, say hello to Ryan for me." I replied.

"Of course baby. I love you." she said.

"I love you too." Charlotte nodded before slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out. A sigh blew through my lips as I sat back down at my desk, going back to what I was doing. I just didn't realize that the DVD was still sitting on my desk.