Home Is Wherever You Are

by Rose von Barnsley

  “Matthew.” It was my mother. She was winded, because she had run in from the parking lot. Leon and Daniel were on her heels. “Daniel ran the lights, so we could get here faster, baby. What happened?”

  I closed my eyes, trying to fight back the images and failing. It was supposed to have been a romantic weekend getaway with just the two of us. It was our four-year anniversary. I couldn’t believe we had been married that long, it didn’t feel like it. Everything had been going so good for us…adopting Adam, my business, Addy pregnant with our son. Why couldn’t we catch a break?

  “Boy, look at me!” Daniel yelled, shaking my shoulder. I winced a little, when he gripped where I had been shot. He looked at my arm and frowned. “You weren’t trying to be a hero, were you?”

  I looked down at the ground, trying to figure out if I had been, but truth was, I couldn’t turn my back and walk away. Not when I heard what I had heard. Not when I had seen what I had seen. Besides, Addy would not have let us walk away, and I would have never been able to look myself in the mirror again if I had, either. No, we weren’t being heroes, we were just being parents. “The girls,” I spoke softly, trying to figure out where to begin.

  My mother looked up at me confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “We found the girls.”

  “What?” Daniel snapped. “Please tell me you didn’t go trying to kidnap them!”

  “No,” I shook my head. If only it were so simple.

  Leon pulled some chairs closer to me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it for support. “Just take your time, Son.”

  I nodded, trying to find where to begin.

  “We were leaving our hotel, when we heard crying and shouting...”

  We had been staying in a less than nice neighborhood, because we didn’t have the money to go to a fancy hotel. I had spent all my money on flowers, dinner and a trip to some art gallery. Not to mention the drive to Houston itself.

  I was glad we were there, purely by the grace of God no doubt. I didn’t know what would have happened to our babies if we hadn’t been, the horrible things that could have happened at the hands of that monster. It was everything Addy had been afraid of. I didn’t understand how it could have happened. I had thought they were keeping an eye on the girls. I had thought they were going to be checking on them. I had never expected to find them in an alley in trouble.

  My recount of our misadventure was interrupted, when I heard a few sets of footsteps come into the waiting room. “I’m looking for a Matthew Martin,” a deep voice called. An officer and a social worker had come looking for me.

  “Here,” I said, barely keeping it together. I had to hold it together for my girl…for my girls.

  “I know you’re in a very stressful situation, Mr. Martin, but I was hoping I could get a statement from you, so we can get the ball rolling.”

  I looked at the social worker in a grey pencil skirt and asked, “How long have they been lost?”

  She squirmed, not answering, and the officer went back to trying to get me to talk. I looked at my family and then the officer. I guess they would all find out what had happened at once. “My wife and I were on our way back to our hotel. We’d come to Houston for our anniversary,” I shook my head. I couldn’t wish we had stayed home, but I couldn’t wish we were here getting shot, either. I wanted it all to be different.

  “We’d just parked the car, when we heard a man’s voice. He was loud, angry that someone didn’t have money to pay him. I didn’t even bother to look, until I heard his next words. He was going to take the payment from the little girls. I heard a woman yell no and a child scream. My wife and I quickly moved to the alleyway that the fight was happening in. I told her to stay back, as I pushed forward. She didn’t listen.

  “The woman was yanking on one of the girls’ arms, and the man had the other and was kicking at her to get her to let go. I yelled at him to back off, and he started shouting at me to mind my own business. That’s when everything changed. Gabby remembered me.”

  My mother let out a gasp of shock. I noticed Daniel’s glare became more pointed at the social worker.

  “She called to me and started running to me, she cried for me, calling me daddy,” I sobbed into my hands.

  “Oh, my god,” my mother cried. “Please, tell me the girls are okay. Tell me you didn’t take them from our home just to throw them into danger,” my mother snapped at the woman. She had the good sense to shrink back, and the officer stepped between them.

  “Mr. Martin, could you please go on.”

  I nodded. “Gabby was free, and I told her to go to Addy, who had her arms open and was calling to her. They were yanking on Genny, who was getting flung around like a rag doll. I was sure her shoulders were dislocated. The guy just wouldn’t let go of her. He didn’t realize I hadn’t left when he’d told me to. I punched him, trying to get him to let go of Genny, and it worked.

  “He was surprised and let go of her arm to come after me. Genny fell back on the woman, and was screaming. God, you could tell she was in so much pain. I wanted to go to her, but that guy wouldn’t let up on me. He kicked me back, knocking me to the ground.” I lifted my scraped hands, looking down at the dried blood. “He shouted that I’d pay for interfering with taking what was his. The woman shouted that she’d get the money. He turned to her and shot her. There was blood everywhere. Genny was screaming louder. I was so scared he’d shot her.”

  “The girls are going to be fine, Mr. Martin,” the officer reassured me.

  I took a deep breath. “He didn’t like all the screaming Genny was doing and pointed the gun at her. I got up off of the ground and lunged at him, trying to wrestle the gun away. It went off, grazing my arm and then hitting my wife, who was further up the alley behind me. I didn’t know it had hit her, though. I was still trying to get him to let go. I finally got the gun twisted in his hand. He just had to let it go, but he didn’t,” I said, shaking my head. “He pulled the trigger instead.” I slumped down. “He shot himself in the neck.” I looked down at my blood-covered shoes.

  “Once he fell to the ground, I went to check on Genny, and that was when I heard Gabby screaming my wife had been shot.” I fought the tears, but it was useless, I was all-out bawling, and my mother took me into her arms. She was sobbing as well. I didn’t want to lose my wife.

  There was some sort of radio thing going off on the cop’s shoulder. He answered back okay and said to save it. “Your wife called 911 when you went down the alley. We have it all recorded. I’m sure it’ll just back up your story. It should be enough to put Mr. Trevino behind bars for good.”

  “He’s alive?” I asked.

  The cop frowned. “Barely, they were able to stop him from bleeding out, but they don’t know if he’ll be more than a vegetable when he wakes up. If we can convict him, though, we can pull the plug on him.”

  “And the girls? How is Genny? I know she was hurt.”

  The social worker answered, “Her arms were dislocated. They’ve popped them back into place, but they’re keeping them wrapped against her body for the next two months to be sure she doesn’t have any lasting tendon damage.”

  “Were they healthy?” my voice broke. I wanted to ask, but I was afraid of the answer. “Had anyone…touched them?” I asked, silently pleading that she understood what I was asking.

  “No, they’d only been missing a few months. They weren’t sexually abused during that time. They were malnourished and dehydrated, but they’ll be fine,” the woman said, doing her best to reassure me.

  I leaned back, letting out a sigh of relief. I looked over at my mother and then the woman again. “When can we take them home?” I asked.

  “What?” she asked confused.

  “I’m taking my girls home. They were mine and my wife’s, before you took them and gave them back to that woman who you mistakenly called a fit mother. When can we get them back?” I stated, a little more forcefully.

  “I…I…I…” she stuttered.

  “H
ey, you’re not supposed to use a cell phone in the hospital,” I heard the cop say, but Daniel just glared at him.

  “Hello, Ms. Jordan, Sheriff Stratton here. I’m at the hospital with Matthew and Addy, along with Genny and Gabby. The girls’ mother was shot and killed tonight by either her drug dealer or pimp, we don’t know which yet. Matthew would like to take the girls home once they’re released.”

  He nodded a couple of times, saying okay and then looked over at the social worker. “She’s right here. Let me pass the phone to her.”

  The woman paled a little, but she took the phone. She said, “Yes, Ma’am,” a lot and then looked at me. “She wants to talk to you,” she said timidly.

  “Please tell me you can help me,” I said immediately.

  “I can. Now, am I right to assume you want to keep the girls for good and want to adopt them?” she asked.

  “Yes, please, can you make that happen?” I asked hopefully.

  “You got it. What hospital are you at? I’ll be there as soon as I get the papers drawn up.”

  “Thank you, we’re at St. Joseph’s Medical Center. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

  “Alright, I’ll be there soon,” she said and hung up.

  I looked up at my mother with a sad smile. “She’s bringing the adoption papers.” I glared over at the woman, and she was staring at her shoes.

  Leon, who had been relatively quiet, finally spoke up. “I’ll call Kelly, she’s watching Adam. I’ll have her set up a room for the girls.”

  “Thank you,” I said gratefully.

  “That’s what family is for, Matthew.”

  “For Adeline Martin?” a surgeon called, grabbing our attention.

  “Yes, I’m her husband. How is she and the baby?” I asked, slightly panicked. The guy was giving away nothing with his facial expression.

  “They’re both going to be fine, but we’re going to keep her for a couple of days to monitor the baby and make sure there are no complications. We want him to stay in there and cook a while longer,” he said with a smile.

  “Can I see her?”

  He looked at his watch. “They’re just moving her, and she’s still out. I can take you back to her room to wait for her.”

  “Yes, please,” I begged, and he nodded okay.

  I followed him back to the room and watched anxiously, as they wheeled my sleeping girl in. Her left shoulder was all bandaged up, and they had cleaned up her hair, face and neck. All had been covered in blood, so much so, that I hadn’t been sure where she had been shot.

  “She won’t be able to use her arm for six weeks, and then she needs to take it easy for the next few months.” I nodded, listening to the doctor’s directions.

  Once he stepped out, I took my place at her side, holding her hand and kissing her cheek. The doctor said it would be another thirty minutes until she woke up, but I didn’t mind waiting. My wife and baby boy were going to be fine, and the girls would finally be coming home for good.

  Chapter 37 – Good Help is Hard to Find

  I must have fallen asleep, finally crashing from my adrenalin rush, once I knew everyone would be alright. I felt a hand on my cheek and went to squeeze Addy’s, only to find my own hand empty. I jumped up in a panic, worried she wasn’t okay, only to find her looking at me quizzically.

  “Bad dream?” she asked.

  I shook my head no and took her hand in mine. “I was afraid I’d only dreamt you were okay,” I said, leaning over her, kissing her lips and then kissing her stomach. “Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do you need a nurse?” I asked.

  “I’m fine right now, Matthew. Well, I will be once you tell me about the girls.”

  I was happy to be the one giving her the good news. “They’re fine, a little dehydrated and malnourished, but no one had…hurt them, until tonight, anyway, and we stopped that before it happened.”

  She let out a sigh of relief.

  “We’re taking them home. Ms. Jordan is on her way with the adoption papers. They’re going to be ours for good. No one will ever take them or try and hurt them again,” I promised, kissing her softly. Her good arm came up around my neck, and our foreheads rested against each other.

  “They’re coming home,” she said with a sigh.

  I smiled. “Yes, Leon has Kelly getting their room ready. I’m not sure what we’ll come home to, though.”

  She laughed a little and then cringed in pain, when her body shook her wound. A throat cleared behind us, reminding me we weren’t alone. Daniel had been waiting patiently to see if his little girl was alright. I wouldn’t deny him that, especially when I knew how upsetting your daughter being hurt could be.

  “Hey, baby girl. You scared the crap out of me, when your husband called to tell me you were shot,” he kissed her head. “Don’t do that again.”

  “I didn’t plan on doing it the first time.”

  “Yeah, well, you could’ve waited for the cops.”

  “They wouldn’t have gotten there in time,” she defended. “They didn’t make it in time to stop this, either,” she said, motioning to her shoulder. “I called as soon as we looked down the alley. It took them that long to come. We couldn’t let him take the girls. We couldn’t let him hurt them,” she said, with a stronger voice. The monitors went off a little louder.

  I stepped forward, hushing her. “It’s alright, baby, we did the right thing. There was no way I wasn’t going to help our girls.”

  She sniffled a little, and I held on to her. Daniel stepped back, rubbing his face. “I was just worried, Addy. I wished it’d been me or an officer with a vest prepared to be shot, not my baby girl. I know you did what you had to. I’m glad the girls are safe and coming home.”

  My mother came forward and rested her hand on Addy’s tummy. “I’m so happy to hear you’re both alright.” My mother was fighting back tears and finally gave in, hugging my wife as she sobbed.

  The social worker stepped into the room nervously. “The girls are asking for you,” she said, looking at Addy and me.

  “You should go to them. Let them know we’re taking them home, and they won’t ever have to leave again,” Addy said with a smile.

  I nodded, and my mother wiped her tears and took my hand. “Leon and Daniel, you look after Addy now. I’m leaving her feeling fine and growing my grandson. I expect to return to find her in the same condition,” she said, in a deadly serious mom voice.

  Both men nodded yes to my mom, and she led me down the hall, following the social worker.

  We came to the pediatric wing and had only stepped in the door, when I heard both girls call to me. “Daddy!” they squealed, and Gabby was wrapped around my legs.

  I noticed she had an IV in her arm and most likely shouldn’t have been up, so I picked her up and carried her back to her bed, which was next to Genny’s. I leaned over, kissing her head, and then I kissed little Genny’s, too. She had tears in her eyes, and my mother was fawning over the girls, hugging and kissing them both.

  “You’re going to be coming home with us for good. I’m getting the judge to sign the papers saying I’m your dad and Ms. Addy is your mom forever.”

  “Really?” Gabby asked, choking up. “We get to stay this time?”

  “Forever,” my mom said.

  “There’s no way I’m ever letting them take you away again,” I promised and picked up Genny, holding her in my lap. Her little arms were strapped against her sides and chest. “Are you alright, sweet girl? The doctor says you’re going to get better and grow up healthy and strong.”

  Genny just turned her face into my shoulder, so I kissed her little head. She looked up at me with sad eyes.

  “You’re coming home with me, and you’ll get to meet your brother, Adam. I know he’ll be great at helping you out, and in another two months, you’ll get a brand new little baby brother named Abraham. We’re going to need your help with him. I hear babies are lots of work. Do you think you and Gabby could help us out by being his big sisters?”

>   Genny looked over at Gabby, who was nodding yes happily, sitting in my mom’s lap.

  “I think you girls will like Adam,” my mother added. “I’m sure he’s going to be so excited to meet you. He’s been the only little kid in the house for a while.”

  Their doctor came in and looked over their charts and then looked up at us surprised. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Matthew Martin. I’m in the process of adopting the girls. They were my foster children, before they were returned to their mother.”

  “Process?” he asked and looked at the social worker. I really should learn her name.

  “Yes, Ms. Jordan is bringing the papers down to be signed right now, actually.”

  “Well, alright then, it’s nice to see these girls get a happy ending,” he said and came over, gently examining the girls, checking their vitals. His eyes darted to my bandaged arm. “What happened?” he asked.

  “I was shot along with my wife while trying to get the girls away from the man who hurt Genny.”

  The doctor’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  “As the heart attack he almost gave me by calling me and telling me his pregnant wife had been shot, and then I get here and see he’d been shot as well,” my mother tsked at me.

  “I’m fine, Mom. Addy was the one who was really hurt.”

  “Is she alright?” the doctor asked, sounding sincere.

  “Yes, she and our baby are fine, it was in her left shoulder, so she’ll be out one arm for a while, but we’ll make do,” I said, leaning down and kissing little Genny on the head.

  “Yes, I’ll be there to help. I was just telling the girls about their brother, Adam. He was adopted while they were away.”

  “So, you’re adopting three kids and having one, too?”

  “We found out we were pregnant and then adopted our four-year-old son, Adam, and now we’ll be adopting Genny and Gabby. They were with us before Adam, they were our first babies, and I’m so grateful we found them in time and get to take them home,” I said, fighting back tears. I was feeling a bit overly emotional from all the stress. The thing that sucked was once I got home, I wouldn’t be able to take off work to be with the kids or get a break. I would have to do my best to pick up extra jobs, so I could make ends meet with four kids and a hospital bill.