Forlot: Thunder Will Come Down - Book Twenty-Seven

Chapter Eighteen

Were Tamara and I being robbed or kidnapped? Was a crook pressing the end of his gun against my back? Nope. It was much worse. I am exaggerating. Tamara doing her business is not the worst thing in the world, but it is definitely the grossest.

I felt for her diaper and sniffed. I scrunched up my face and pinched my nose. "Your diaper is heavy and stinks. You just could not hold it until we were near a restroom, could you?"

Tamara wrapped her little arms around my neck and said, "Me love you, Mommy."

I released my nose and kissed her little one. "I love you too. And I know that you could not help it. You are a baby who deserves lots of love." I glanced at the baby who was now an orphan, and then back at my daughter. "You know who else deserves lots of love?"

"Brother?"

"You are not wrong. Cal needs as much love as he can get. I had another person in mind. Or should I say, baby." I looked at the orphan again. Tamara studied me and faced the direction of the baby. "I was thinking that we could adopt her, Tamara. I..." My voice trailed off, for I did not want to admit to her yet that I could not have a baby. She would not understand. "Remember that baby brother or sister that I mentioned to you and Cal last night?"

Tears formed in her eyes, and she rested the bottoms of her little feet on my chest. "Mommy getting rid of me?!"

I was taken aback by what she said and kissed her cheeks. "I am not getting rid of you. Your daddy and I would be crushed if you were no longer a part of our family. Cal will always be our son, and you will always be our daughter. I just believe that you and Cal will love a younger sibling. This orphan has had a rough life and needs to be surrounded by people who will love her and protect her. Why, if she and you switched lives, there would be no doubt in my mind that she would be your sister."

She shoved her hand in her mouth and turned to stare at the baby. She waved with her other hand, and the baby waved back.

"What do you say, Tamara? Should we adopt her?"

"Yes!"

I showered her with kisses. "You are going to grow up beautiful and intelligent one day."

I was a bit nervous how this would go exactly. Neither Caleb nor I adopted a child before. And before you say that Tamara was an orphan at one point, Caleb and I never went through the process of adopting her. Nora the Wise was raising her ever since that the Lubriem died. She planned on giving her to the family who was the most worthy. There was something special about Caleb that Tamara loves, which is why she calls him Daddy. After he and I got married, Tamara started calling me Mommy. Tamara loved us with all her heart and still does, and Nora decided that we would be the best influence for her.

I knew that adoption processes took months and prayed it was not the same here in the town of Forlot. The baby girl needed protection. I pushed open the front door and stepped into the orphanage. I closed the door behind me and saw something scurrying towards me and my daughter. Not something. Someone.

It was the poor baby who had been abused by that horrible mother. She was eager to see me and jumped up and down. I said hi and got on my knees and set Tamara next to her. The orphan was curious about Tamara and crawled to her. Tamara covered her eyes and cooed. She is shy around people whom she does not know. The orphan did not see it that way and thought that Tamara did not like her and cried.

I held out an open hand. "Please do not cry. My daughter is just shy. That is all."

She stopped sobbing and grabbed my finger.

"Hey. That is my finger." I giggled.

She giggled as well and attempted to stand.

"Do you want to stand?"

She nodded and pouted.

"Want me to help you?"

She loosened her grip on my finger. "Yes."

I scooted until I was behind her and gently grabbed her waist. I slowly and carefully hoisted her off the floor until the only things that were on there were her adorable feet. She was amazed by how tall she was.

"You are doing it," I said. "I am so proud of you."

Tamara uncovered her eyes and admired the orphan standing up and said, "Ooh."

A worker who was watching over all the orphans strolled over to us and asked if she could assist me with anything. I looked up at her and put on a smile. The worker was in her twenties or thirties. Her long, blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore a white, long-sleeved shirt, dark grey pants, and blue shoes. A name tag was on her shirt.

"My name is Alex," she introduced herself. "Are you interested in adopting?"

I rose and cleared my throat. "Nice to meet you, Alex. My name is Cindy. And yes, I am here to adopt..." I picked up the orphan. "...this cutie. My husband and I met her earlier and love her to pieces."

Alex squinted at Tamara. "Please tell me that you are babysitting her."

I became a bit confused. "I am not babysitting her. She is my daughter. My husband and I adopted her."

"I see. May I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Sure."

"Do you have other children?"

"Just a son."

"What are the skin colors of your husband and son?"

"Uh, white."

"Both of them are white?"

"Yes."

She clicked her tongue. "You cannot adopt this baby."