Home Is Where The Heart Is

Part III

        Jamie remained mute as he observed me scrub the pillowcase clean. Meanwhile, I was babbling non-stop, trying to fill in the silence. The topics I prattled on about ranged from cartoons to anime to Japan to sushi and ultimately, to my old goldfish, Charlie, may he rest in peace. Jamie kept peeking at me warily, I didn’t blame him; I could be quite impulsive at times. By the time I was done, he seemed to have accepted me, for he seized my hand and wordlessly steered me to the living room.

        We found Maddie at the doorway preparing to leave. She was shaking Mr. Richie’s hand, as we stepped into the hallway. “… Yes, the adoption will be legally finalized in six months time. I’ll be visiting from time to time to check on Allyson.” I cleared my throat, gaining her attention. “Oh there you are dear, I was just preparing to leave.” “Without saying goodbye! How could you?!” I exclaimed feigning hurt, although I really was a little upset. “Of course not!” she said, looking a tad offended. “I was just about to call for you!” She said as she marched towards me. I felt Jamie let go of my hand as I was engulfed in a stiff embrace. “I could never forget about you… even if I wanted to. You’re a diamond in the rough Ally… only a special few have had the privilege of witnessing your true value. And once they’ve seen your shine, its simply too hard to look away. So tell me how I could’ve possibly forgotten about you, when you’re impossible to forget.” She whispered, squeezing me tighter.

        I couldn’t respond, how could I? I was speechless. I never thought she’d take what I said so seriously. I buried my head in her shoulder, letting slip a few silent tears. She pulled away slowly, giving me one of her rare beaming smiles. “I’ll be back in three days. Think you can you hold up without me for that long?” She teased. “Are you kidding? Of course I can! I’m a big girl now.” I grinned at her while crossing my arms. “You call if you need anything.” She said looking at me sternly. “Yeah, yeah” I waved her away. “Alright I’ll be going then.” She announced turning away from me. “It was a pleasure seeing you both again, say goodbye to Jamie for me” she said to Kate and Mr. Richie as she headed towards the door.

        Huh? Where did he go? I looked around the room, but he was nowhere in sight. I heard the front door close as I turned to look for him in the kitchen. “Well Ally, how about we show you your new room?” Kate asked. “Yeah sure” I faced her smiling brightly. She led us up the stairs to the first room on the right. I stood at the doorway staring in wonder, just taking it all in. The first thing that caught my attention was the en suite bathroom on the right side of the room (obligatory fist bump). Its door was to the right of a medium sized bed, draped in a milky white bed sheet. Two bedside tables flanked it, both topped by a curvy crystal lamp.

        A state of the art laptop was placed on a dark wooden desk that stood across the room from the bed. Honestly, I didn’t deserve something that looked so pricey. It was wasted on someone like me; I’d probably just use it to goof off on YouTube. The table was covered in stationary products that I’ll probably need in the upcoming school year, along with an empty picture frame; I guess I’m supposed to put something in there. A matching bookshelf stood alongside the desk; the top row was filled with worn-out books. I could make out a few classic novels among them. The bottom rows were empty, waiting for me to fill them with my junk. A large window stood across from me, it was draped in pale yellow curtains covered in flowers. The room itself was painted in a light turquoise color.

        As I stepped into the room I noticed a large cupboard to my right near the bathroom… convenient. I was so engrossed in my surrounding that I nearly tripped on my bags that were lying in the middle of the room. “Sorry about that, I should of put them by the wall” said Mr. Richie sheepishly. “So…what do you think of the room?” asked Kate, watching me carefully. “It’s incredible,” I breathed. “But don’t you think the computer’s a little too much?” I said furrowing my eyebrows as I turned to look at them. “Don’t worry about it. It was a gift from work, and I don’t need another one. Besides you’ll need it for your school work” Mr. Richie explained. “That makes sense,” I said, feeling at ease in regards to the laptop. “The room’s awesome, thank you both so much” I said giving them a hug each.

        “You’re most welcome sweetie. I hope you noticed the books in the shelf. I heard that you liked to read. So we both put in some of our old favorites for you to enjoy.” Kate smiled, her eyes twinkling. “Yes I did actually, its amazing how much thought you put into decorating the room. I really can’t thank you enough, and I can’t wait to start reading them.” I gushed happily. Mr. Richie chuckled at my excitement, “well we’ll let you rest and unpack then,” he said walking out of the room. “Feel free to come down whenever you like. Oh, and dinners at eight” Kate winked as she followed Mr. Richie out the room, closing the door behind her.

        I sat on the bed, gazing at the bookshelf; my thoughts went back to the tall fence, wondering if I could climb over it without getting hurt, when a buzzing sound brought me back to reality. I got up and trudged to the middle of the room, crouching down before zipping one of the bags open. I pulled out my phone, and smiled as I read the latest message. It was one of my friends asking when we could all meet up to hear about my new family. I slid the phone into my back pocket, telling myself not to forget to ask permission from Kate before replying. A small object nestled within my clothes caught my attention, I grinned as I grabbed it before getting up and swinging the door open.

“OH JAMIE! TIME TO PLAY BALL!”