Long Time Coming (22 page)

T
he first thing Deidre did when she got to work that morning was call her mother and cancel their Christmas plans."I was so looking forward to seeing you and Johnson," Loretta said.

"I know, Mom, I wanted to see you too. But I don't think we should leave Kenisha right now."

"That poor girl. My heart breaks for her every time I think about this situation," Loretta said.

"Mine too, Mom. We've all been trying to hold on the best way we know how."

"I've got an idea." Loretta sounded excited."Why don't I come down there and spend Christmas with you? I would love to see Johnson and the kids. And I think I'd like to meet Kenisha before it's too late."

"But what about Michelle? Will she be upset that you aren't there with her family?"

"I spend Christmas with them all the time. I want to meet my new grandchildren. And anyway, I only live an hour away. I can speed up the highway and give my other grandchildren their presents too."

"Thanks, Mom, I'd really like for you to be here." They hung up, and then Deidre got to work. She didn't know how she was going to handle her position at the school and motherhood— because she'd been doing a lousy job so far. She'd missed more days of work this year than she had in the past ten years. Deidre just hoped she would get a handle on things quickly.

Stacks of files were on her desk. Teachers were waiting on her to approve numerous requests. So she put her nose to the grindstone and got busy. As she was halfway through her stack of files, Ms. Burn, the third-grade teacher came into her office with tears in her eyes and an angry set to her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Deidre asked, hoping that it was something simple, because she didn't have time for interruptions.

"I need to report a parent for child abuse."

Putting her pen down, Deidre asked, "Which child?"

"Ronny Nickels. This is the third time this year that his mother has beaten him black and blue, and then sent him on to school like it's nothing. I think Ronny's arm is broken this time, though. He kept wincing every time I touched his arm. So I asked him to stay in when everyone else went out for lunch."

"Did you have the nurse check his arm?"

"I sure did. She has called for an ambulance. Ronny has several welt marks on his back that are still bleeding."

Deidre closed her eyes and screamed inside. She had known that Shameka Nickels was abusive, but she had done nothing to stop the woman. Deidre remembered thinking that Ronny was so bad, he probably needed a good beating every now and then. But no kid deserved broken bones and bleeding welts. Deidre got up and went to the nurse's office with Ms. Burn. When she walked in, the paramedics were already there, looking over Ronny.

Ronny was sitting in a chair letting the paramedics look at his arm and his back. This was the first time that Deidre had looked at Ronny without seeing a kid on the fast track to prison. She saw a scared little kid who needed help.

"I don't want to go to the hospital, Mrs. Morris. My mom will get mad," Ronny said to her as soon as she walked into the room.

"Everything's going to turn out all right, Ronny. Your mom won't be able to hurt you again, okay?"

He nodded, but the fear was still in his eyes.

Deidre wanted to pull him into her arms and hug him. But she was afraid that she'd just cause him more pain. She didn't understand how a mother could victimize her own child like this. Jamal was only a year younger than Ronny. Kenisha was worried that her kids would be abused in other ways if they lived with Martha. But wasn't it all the same? Didn't it all leave scars?

Deidre was determined that nothing like this would ever happen to Jamal. Somehow, she would get around the stubbornness of Jamal's father. Those children would not go to Martha if Deidre had anything to say about it. They had a meeting scheduled with an attorney that evening. Deidre prayed he would have good news for them.

On the ride home, Deidre's heart was heavy. She thought that she would shout the victory once Shameka was arrested, but it had only made her sad for the breakup of another family— although, if any family needed to be broken up, it was definitely Shameka's. Hopefully, her five children could all be kept together, as Deidre was trying to do for Kenisha's children.

"What's wrong with you?" Jamal asked.

Jamal was in the front passenger seat, and Diamond was in the back. They had been riding home with Deidre the last few weeks."Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about something that happened at school today."

"Oh, I thought you were worried because you have to talk to that lawyer tonight," Jamal said.

She pulled up at a red light and stopped. She then looked at Jamal and asked, "Why would I be worried about that?"

He shrugged his shoulders."Maybe you don't want us anymore."

The light turned green, but Deidre didn't notice. She was too busy looking at Jamal trying to gauge his mood. Deidre hadn't forgotten that when Jamal found out his mother was dying, he'd asked to stay with his grandmother. Maybe he was hoping that she would allow him to do that now. The car behind her honked its horn. Deidre drove off as she asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Shrugging his shoulders again, he said, "I don't know. You said that you wanted us. I just wondered if you had changed your mind."

"I haven't changed my mind, Jamal. Johnson and I are here to stay. You don't have to worry about that."

"I wasn't worried."

"Okay, then," Deidre said, letting him off the hook. When they got home, the kids sat with Kenisha while Deidre fixed dinner. Johnson would be home by 5:30 p. m. , and their attorney was expected at 6:00 p. m. She wanted the kids fed and upstairs doing their homework so they wouldn't be eavesdropping on their conversation.

She was making burgers and fries for the kids, something quick and easy. But dinner wasn't as easy to make as Deidre had thought. The smell of the burgers turned her stomach just as it had when she'd visited Kenisha's father. She sat down at the kitchen table trying to get as far away from those burgers as possible. No way was she going to eat one of those. And that was strange for her, because she had never been one of those oh-no-red-meat-for-me kind of people. Maybe age was changing her taste buds.

"I see we're having our grand old American classic," Johnson said as he walked into the kitchen.

Deidre looked at her watch."You're early."

"I was too excited. All I could think about was our meeting with the attorney tonight, so I knocked off a half hour early."

Deidre got up and said, "Good. Can you do me a favor and finish cooking those burgers? They're making my stomach turn."

"I can handle that."

"Thanks. The fries are in the oven."

Deidre went into the family room. Kenisha was watching
Judge Judy,
so Deidre sat quietly and let the girl enjoy the program."You really like this show, don't you?"

"Judge Judy is my girl. She tells it like it is," Kenisha said with a smile on her face.

After the kids ate, Deidre sent them upstairs to do their homework. Not long after, the doorbell rang. Johnson opened the door and showed Daniel Walker into the family room.

"Thank you so much for meeting with us tonight," Deidre said.

"I'm just doing my job, so don't worry about it," Daniel told her. He walked over to Kenisha, and extended his hand."You must be Kenisha. I'm Daniel."

Kenisha shook his hand."Deidre told me that you are a good lawyer."

"I like to think I am."

"Well, we need you to be, because we have a problem," Kenisha told him.

Daniel sat down, opened his briefcase, and took out a notepad and pen."I'm all ears."

Kenisha and Deidre took turns telling Daniel about the daddy problem they had with Chico and James.

When they finished with their story, Daniel asked, "Does Chico visit his child regularly?"

"He comes by once a month. But that's only because he likes to hit me up when he thinks I have some extra money."

"Has he paid child support in the last year?" Daniel wanted to know.

"He hasn't had a job since she was born. Chico is on drugs, so he's not trying to give me any money."

"That's all I need to tell the courts, then. He signed the release form, but even though he claims he wants to change his mind, he doesn't provide any support for the child. So the judge will revoke his rights, anyway."

"It's that easy?" Deidre asked, with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"If we were filing the adoption petition in Juvenile Court, it would be a lot harder. They tend to give the biological parent a lot more chances than the Probate Court judges do. Usually in Probate Court, all you have to prove is that the biological father or mother hasn't visited with the child in the last year, or that they haven't paid child support."

"So the same thing would go for James also, right?" Kenisha asked."I mean, if he wasn't in jail, I know he would see Jamal all the time, and he would pay his child support. But he can't do either, because he's locked up and will be for at least another eight years."

"Same thing goes. We'll let the judge know that James refuses to sign the release form, but that he can't possibly take care of the child, nor has he been able to provide support."Daniel looked around the room at his clients and said, "Don't worry, we've got this petition locked up."

"What if I'm dead before the adoption goes through?" Kenisha asked as if she were saying that she might be on vacation on their court date.

Silence fell over the room as Deidre and Johnson turned toward Daniel. That was a subject that no one wanted to address but was nonetheless on everyone's mind.

Daniel cleared his throat before speaking."Since the Morrises have already filed the application for legal custody, we shouldn't have a problem gaining the adoption. But I would like you to write a letter detailing why you feel that the Morrises would be the best people to parent your children. Can you do that for me?"

"Not a problem," Kenisha told him.

But no matter how much Kenisha tried to pretend that this meeting wasn't bothering her, Deidre knew that it was. If Deidre had been lying in that bed giving away her children, she would have a tough time with the process also. She wished that she could say or do something for Kenisha that would make her feel better. But Deidre couldn't think of a single thing that could take this kind of pain away.

Johnson walked Daniel out, and the two women were left alone for a while. Kenisha looked at Deidre, and with a voice full of sadness, she said, "Well, it's done. My kids will soon be your kids."

Deidre took Kenisha's hand in hers and gently squeezed it."I'll never let them forget you. I will tell them how you helped Kevin and Angelina turn their lives around. I'll let them know about that meeting you caused my relationship with God to grow. And I will especially tell them how you wanted nothing but the best for them."

"Will you tell Kennedy that I taught her to read and spell at the age of two? She's my only child that could do something like that so early. And I'd like her to know that I had something to do with her smarts."

"I will."

"And tell Jamal and Diamond that their mother loved them so much that she wouldn't rest until she found them a home that was filled with love."

"I'll tell them every chance I get."

A tear ran down Kenisha's face as she said, "Thank you."

Deidre patted her hand as she stood up."Get some rest, Kenisha, we'll talk some more in the morning. And I'll send the kids down so they can spend the evening with you. Okay?"

Deidre went upstairs. She opened Jamal's door. All three children were in his room. They were sitting on the floor, watching television."Did you finish your homework?"

Both Diamond and Jamal nodded.

"Well, if you're done with your homework, your mom would like to hang out with you. So head on downstairs, okay?"

Jamal stood up and grabbed Kennedy's hand. The three began to walk out of the room, and then Diamond stopped in front of Deidre and asked, "If you're going to be our new mommy, what are we supposed to call you?"

Deidre hadn't given any thought to what the children would call her. She was sure that Kennedy would begin calling her Mom pretty soon, but Diamond and Jamal were used to calling Kenisha Mom, and she didn't know how they would handle saying those words to another woman, so she said, "You can call me whatever you like. Okay? Whatever feels comfortable."

"Okay, thanks, Deidre," Diamond said as they walked away.

Deidre smiled as she walked into her bedroom. Life had certainly changed for her and Johnson. A few months ago she had been praying for just one child, and now she was adopting three at one time. She didn't care what they called her, because Deidre had made up her mind that she would love and protect her children as if she'd given birth to them; in her heart, it didn't matter that these weren't her birth children.

Deidre heard Johnson yell, "Stop running down those stairs. And don't carry your sister on your back down those stairs, either."

He opened the bedroom door, rolled his eyes, and closed the door behind him."Is this what being a parent is all about? Am I going to be forever saying the same thing? Or are they going to learn to obey?"

"I don't know, baby." Deidre laughed at him."My dad said that my sister and I didn't listen to a word he said, either. He was always repeating this and that rule. He said we drove him crazy."

Johnson fell on the bed, looking exhausted."I guess I'm going to go crazy then, because I love those hard-headed kids."

"Are you sure this isn't too much change, too soon?" Deidre asked, worried that Johnson wasn't feeling as good about this arrangement as she was.

"No, baby, this is the way it is. And I'm fine with what we decided."

Deidre leaned over and kissed her husband. When they pulled apart, she said, "Have I told you how wonderful you are?"

He sat up and scooted Deidre closer to him."Oh, so I'm wonderful now, am I?"

"Yes, I should have listened to you when you first brought up the idea of adoption, but I was being so bullheaded that I couldn't believe I could love children that I didn't birth."