Bluejays

Three

Smith looked at the calendar. He had, a while ago, circled the correct date. And there it was. Lydia's 15th B-day, circled in red. Today, he would get her back. He was ecstatic about finally getting to meet his daughter, but also incredibly nervous. He was terrified, in fact. 

He knew a bit about her. In the past year, she'd apparently picked up playing the piano, and was very good at it. She was businesslike, very focused on things, and determined. She was a good decision-maker. She liked pretty flowers, and sweets. She apparently liked flowers because she barely ever saw things in nature. She was kept inside most of the time for safety reasons.

But, other than that, he didn't know much about her. He really wanted to get to know her. He wondered what she would think of him.

Then, he heard someone walking up beside him. "Happy birthday to Lydia," Jackson said. "Do we get her today?"

Smith had told Jackson about Lydia about a month ago. He wanted him to be used to the idea of having a sister.

"Yes, we do," Smith said, smiling. "I'm excited."

Jackson shrugged. "I hope she's cool," he said.

"She sounds like everything you aren't," Smith said. "So, she's probably cool."

Jackson rolled his eyes and walked away.

_

Later that day, Smith, his wife Leah, and Jackson reached the house. They knocked on the door, and a man opened it. He smiled at them. 

"Are you Lydia's family?" he asked.

"Yes," Smith replied.

"Come in, then," the man invited them. "My name's Asher. You two know me, but your son doesn't. I've taken care of Lydia and the others since they were babies."

"Cool," Jackson said. "So, if they've all been here for all that time, how will they deal with her absence?"

"The same way they dealt with Phoenix's absence," Asher replied. "Badly. Only worse this time. But, they'll all get used to it, I suppose." He shrugged. "I'll go get the kids," he added, turning and heading off.

Asher returned a minute later with four people following him. There were two girls and two boys. The older of the girls looked at Smith, then turned to the younger and said,  " You can certainly see the family resemblance, can't you?"

"Yes, except for the gender, which I think is a rather big difference," the other girl replied. The older laughed.

"So," Asher said, ignoring them. "This is Elijah, Oliver, Ashlyn, and Lydia. Lydia, as you know, is the one you're here to get."

"Yes," Smith said. He looked at Lydia. She looked back. Then, she turned to her friend.

"Can you help me with my stuff?" she asked, and her friend nodded.

"Let's go," she said.

_

A few minutes later, Ashlyn was sitting with Elijah and Oliver.

"It'll be even harder without her," she said.

"We're all going to have to leave eventually," Ollie said. "But, yeah, I'm sure it will."

"We can still communicate with her," Elijah pointed out. "It's not the end of the world."

"No, it isn't," Ashlyn agreed. "But, still, it's terrible."

"You know, you're right," Elijah said. "I'm still barely dealing with losing Phoenix! How will I ever comprehend that there's only three of us now?"

"I don't know," Ashlyn said. "I don't like it."

***

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