A One-of-a-Kind Family

by Holly Jacobs

  But it wasn’t the paint that really caught her attention. It was the wicker furniture. White wicker, with overstuffed floral cushions. There was a wicker coffee table and there were end tables, and at the end of the porch, there was a porch swing.

  This was the porch of her dreams.

  “Liam, Colm—” she started.

  Liam interrupted. “I need you to hear me out. I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m asking.”

  Anna nodded.

  “It’s my fault Colm is the way he is. We’re twins. Identical twins. I was the first twin born. It took so much longer for Colm, and when he was born, his umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck and compressed. He was deprived of oxygen. That’s why he’s…”

  “Special,” Colm supplied. “I’m special different, right, Anna?”

  Anna nodded. “Right, Colm.”

  Liam continued. “Anna, I grew up knowing that it was my job to take care of him.”

  “Colm can take care of himself.”

  “I know. Well, I didn’t know until you came into our lives, but the more independent he got, the more angry I became. I knew I should have been happy for him. And I know I was a pain in your, er…butt. It’s only that I didn’t understand what his growing independence would mean for me. I’ve always looked after Colm. I knew I owed him that and so much more.”

  “Liam, it never was your fault,” Anna said.

  “I’ve been angry for so many years. Angry at the things I could do and Colm couldn’t. Angry that he had to deal with a world that was frequently unkind. Just angry. And suddenly you were here, and Colm was…well, growing up.”

  “And you were angry.”

  “Yeah, but Liam, he wasn’t mad at me or you,” Colm said, trying to reassure Anna. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “Anger is so much easier to deal with than guilt,” Liam admitted. “I’ve been angry at fate my whole life. And with Colm learning to live life on his own terms, I didn’t know what to do with all that anger. I didn’t know how to live my own life. I wasn’t simply angry anymore, I was scared and that made me more angry. But now…”

  “Now?” Anna pressed.

  “I’m not angry anymore. Colm assured me in so many words that I do not need to look after my brother. He’s capable of doing that himself. He also told me he feels bad for me because he’s the lucky brother. He has a job he loves, friends…and he still had you, while I’d pushed you away.”

  “I wasn’t planning to stay away.”

  “You weren’t?”

  She studied him, this gentle man who might not know it yet, but who was loved, too. “You should be aware by now that I’m more stubborn than that. I was hurt, but I’d have healed and I would have come back on my own.”

  “I’m glad I beat you to it this once.” He gestured at the porch. “Anna, sometimes with some work, ratty lawn chairs can become white wicker. And before you argue that people shouldn’t change for someone else, I’m not changing for you—I’m changing because of you. And because of my brother. For the first time in my life, I’m not feeling angry or guilty. I’m feeling grateful. Grateful that I have a brother who will help me when I need it, and grateful for you. I’m willing to do whatever I need to in order to win you back. I—”

  He didn’t finish the sentence because Anna had flung herself into his arms and was kissing him.

  “Oh, gross,” Colm exclaimed. “I told ya about the kissin’, Liam. Wait ’til I tell Josh and Gilly you two were kissing. They’ll say yuck, too.”

  Both Anna and Liam ignored Colm’s gagging sounds. “I love you. I don’t want you to be guilty or angry. I want you to be happy.”

  “I will be…if you’re with me.”

  “Oh, no, don’t do it. Don’t kiss again,” Colm yelled. “I painted all day and all this kissin’ is awful.”

  Anna wasn’t sure what painting all day and kissing had to do with each other, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t sure of much except for the fact she loved Liam Franklin, and, though he hadn’t said the words, she knew he loved her, too. After all, he’d given her white wicker.

  “Do you remember on our trip to Ferrante’s when you asked me what my dream was?” Liam whispered in her ear.

  Anna nodded.

  “I never dreamed because I never felt I had the right to. But I found my dream in you, Anna. I can’t think of any better dream than sitting on this front porch with you for the rest of my life.”

  EPILOGUE

  “SO, ARE WE ready?” Ceelie asked three months later.

  It was a hot October evening, but Anna knew that the last of the year’s heat had nothing to do with her sweat. She looked around City Council’s chambers and tried not to be nervous. “As ready as we’re ever going to be, I suppose. I wish I could make these folks see that having Sunrise clients as neighbors is a good thing.”

  The room was packed. Anna thought she and Ceelie were very much David versus the neighborhood Goliath. There had to be twenty or more people staring at them. She spotted her mom and Doug in the audience. They were still going strong. Anna had never seen her mother so happy, and if only for that she’d have liked Doug, but he was genuinely a very nice man.

  A genuinely nice man who was wearing the most horrendous plaid shirt she’d ever seen. Not that her mother seemed to notice or care.

  “I’m glad we didn’t ask the boys to come. Josh would be terrified facing all these people,” Anna said.

  She and Ceelie had gone round and round about whether Colm, Gilly and Josh should be here. Maybe if the neighbors saw their potential new residents they wouldn’t be so nervous. Ultimately, Anna had decided not to have them here. She didn’t want to see them hurt.

  “Still, maybe they could have swayed these people. Let them really see that they’re not monsters.”

  “They shouldn’t have to prove themselves like that,” Anna said. “It’s not fair.”

  Ceelie snorted. “You know what you’d say if a client said that? That life’s not fair and—”

  Anna was saved from hearing Ceelie throw her own words back at her as Liam walked into the Council Chambers.

  She smiled. Ever since the “kidnapping,” things had been good. Not perfect, but really, really good. Colm was thriving. He had a job he loved, and according to Zac Keller, he was great at it. And he had friends. If this house didn’t work out, Anna would find another, because Colm, Josh and Gilly deserved a home of their own.

  She spotted Colm behind Liam.

  When they reached her, she shook her head. “You’d better take Colm home, Liam. He could hear things that might upset him. A lot.”

  “He wanted to be here.” Liam kissed her cheek. And in that small gesture, she found comfort.

  “Yeah, Anna,” Colm said. “These guys ain’t mad at you, they’re mad at me and Josh and Gilly, so I thought maybe if I talked to ’em, they’d figure out we’re only a little different.”

  Anna’s heart clenched at the thought. “Colm, I don’t know if they’ll be respectful. They’re sort of mad.”

  “It’s okay, Anna. I’ll tell ’em they don’t need to be scared of us.”

  She turned to Liam for support, but rather than speaking up and telling Colm that he should sit down, Liam said, “I’ve learned that when my brother sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him. Anna, you’ve already talked to all the neighbors—countless times these last few months. You haven’t been able to make them understand, but maybe hearing Colm will help change their minds.”

  Colm nodded. “Yeah, I wanna help, Anna.”

  “How?” she asked, not sure what they could do exactly.

  Gilly came into the room, pushing Josh’s wheelchair. “Hey, Anna. Here we are,” he called loudly, focusing the entire room’s attention on them as they walked up the aisle and joined the small group. Liam moved a folding chair to make room for Josh’s wheelchair.

  “Here we are, Colm. Me and Josh. It took a while to get Josh in. His chair buzzes the machine at th
e door so they had to check him. I didn’t buzz,” Gilly said.

  Colm patted his friend on the back, then turned to Anna. “Let me talk to ’em. Me, Gilly and Josh. It’s gonna be our house, so we should help.”

  Colm was determined. And like Liam, Anna had learned to appreciate that when Colm wanted to do something, there was no dissuading him.

  “You’re sure, Colm? There are a lot of people here. Neighbors who don’t want the group home. The City Council members will be arriving any minute. You’ll have to talk to all of them.”

  The coach in her was proud that Colm was ready to take this on, but as someone who loved him, she couldn’t stand the thought of him being upset by the neighbors.

  “That’s okay, Anna. I can do this.”

  She sighed. “I know you can.”

  Colm took that as the matter being settled and started talking to Gilly about their house.

  While they were distracted, Anna turned to Liam. “I don’t want to see him hurt.”

  “A very wise person has convinced me that my brother is capable of more than I’ve ever given him credit for. Win or lose, he’ll have accomplished something big simply by attempting to sway people. Remember those boys at the store? He dealt with them. He can do this.” Liam kissed her forehead. “My brother is an amazing man.”

  “I’d say both Franklin brothers are amazing.”

  The five Council members took their seats at the long table at the front of the room. The meeting was called to order and a number of issues were discussed before they announced they’d be talking about the Trudy Street variance next.

  Miriam Mark, this year’s Council President, read the formal request for a variance, and the zoning board’s positive response. “But we have some complaints from the neighbors. Council will hear your concerns now.”

  One by one, neighbors stood, talking about lowered property values and concerns about having handicapped people in the neighborhood. One woman in particular was adamant in her protest. “I’ve lived in this neighborhood for fifty years,” Mrs. Albright said.

  Anna had tried to talk to Mrs. Albright countless times in the last few months, but the woman had remained staunch in her disapproval, and was part of the driving force that had convinced the other neighbors to reject the variance.

  “Families have come and gone in that house next door,” Mrs. Albright said. “Families. That’s the key. This is a family neighborhood. And none of us want that to change. If you give this variance, it will. And what if this group moves out of the home, will we have opened a window to something even further removed from the family ideal this neighborhood has always presented? Please, vote no to this variance. We don’t want to see our neighborhood change.”

  She sat down, and all the neighbors clapped wildly.

  Miriam banged her gavel. “And now, we’ll hear from a representative of The Sunrise Foundation.”

  Anna got up and felt wobbly-kneed as she approached the microphone. “Hi. I’m Anna Chapel, and I’m here on behalf of The Sunrise Foundation. We’re a small local organization founded to help meet the special needs of some members of our community. We’re dedicated to helping exceptional people in Whedon, Pennsylvania—in all of George County, Pennsylvania—live exceptional lives. We have two other group homes, and I have to be clear that by group homes we’re talking small groups of three or four individuals. Both of the homes receive supervision from Sunrise. But in essence, the residents are individuals who have come together to form a family. Whedon’s zoning policy reads that no more than two unrelated adults can share a premises, and that’s why when Sunrise buys a house, we need to apply for a variance. I’ve brought affidavits from the neighbors of our two other homes, testifying to the fact that our clients make great neighbors. I planned to talk about our program, but I’ve decided to turn the microphone over to someone who I think will say it better than I ever could. With your permission?” she asked the Council.

  Miriam nodded. “Please.”

  Anna turned and beckoned Colm forward. “This is Colm Franklin, one of Sunrise’s clients. He’s also one of the men who hopes to live in the Trudy Street house.” She moved over and gave him room at the mike.

  “Hi, I’m Colm,” he shouted into the microphone, practically blasting everyone from their seats.

  Anna leaned over and whispered, “Inside voice,” into his ear.

  “Hi, I’m Colm,” he said again, this time at a softer level. “And I’m a little different. It takes me longer to figure some stuff out, but I can figure it out. Anna’s my friend and she helps me. I can ride the bus and go to the grocery store. I can cook. Sometimes it’s not good, but Anna says sometimes her cookin’s not good neither. Anna says everyone makes mistakes. If you make a mistake, you clean it up. Then you gotta try again. So, I try and sometimes it’s good and sometimes not. But I got a job at Keller’s Market, and I’m real good at packing the bags. I never put the bread or the eggs on the bottom ’cause they get smooshed. I didn’t know that the first time, but Ariel at the store she told me that things that smoosh go on top. Maybe you didn’t know somethin’ the first time, too. I’m nice. And so are Gilly and Josh. They’re gonna be my roommates.” He paused and pointed to his friends in the audience.

  Both men smiled and waved to the crowd.

  “We don’t have no loud parties, and we clean up real good ’cause Mr. Keller at the store won’t let no one be messy there. We just want a house and we want to work. Anna says we’re a little different, but that’s not scary, that’s special. She says different’s not bad, it’s just different. That’s all I got to say.”

  Anna came back to the microphone and whispered in Colm’s ear, “You did great.”

  He sat down next to Liam, Gilly and Josh.

  She moved in front of the microphone again. “Colm’s right. He’s different, but he’s very, very special. When I first met him, I thought I had a lot to teach him. He’d been coddled and waited on all his life and had never even poured himself a drink. But he learned how to do that and a lot of other things. Yet, in the end, he’s taught me so much more than I’ve ever taught him. Colm and all my clients teach me on a daily basis about joy, about forgiveness, about hope. If you allow the neighbors to convince you to deny this variance, then you’ll not only be denying three very special men a chance at the home they deserve, you’ll be denying the neighborhood a chance to reap the benefits of having these three exceptional, caring men be a part of their lives. And they may never know it, but their lives will be so much the poorer for that.”

  She sat down.

  Miriam stood. “Thank you, Ms. Chapel and Mr. Franklin. If that’s it, the Council can vote now. Who says—”

  “Wait,” Mrs. Albright said, standing and taking up the microphone again. “May I say one more thing?”

  “Yes,” Miriam said, sitting back down.

  Mrs. Albright glanced back and Anna saw the older woman look directly at Colm a moment. Colm noticed as well, and rather than be disgruntled with the woman who’d spearheaded the move to keep him from moving into the Tracy Street house, he waved.

  Mrs. Albright’s expression softened, and she waved back before turning back to the microphone. “We’ve changed our minds.”

  Miriam pulled the microphone in front of her and said, “Pardon?”

  “I think I speak for the entire neighborhood when I say we’d welcome Colm and his friends.” She paused, glanced back at Colm again before continuing. “And I’m speaking strictly for myself when I stand here and apologize to the Council for taking up so much time, and to Colm, Josh and…” She hesitated.

  “Gilly,” Colm called out. “His name is Gilly. Really it’s Gilbert, but he don’t like that, so he’s Gilly.”

  “And I apologize to Gilly. I’m old. I’ll be eighty-two in a month. I used to tell myself that my body might be aging, but my mind was still sharp. Well, it may be sharp, but my mind’s obviously forgotten something important—that different isn’t something to be afraid of. Sometimes i
t’s special. I’m a different woman than I was twenty, even ten years ago. My world has gotten progressively smaller, and it’s become a scary place. Change frightens me. And I let my fear loose on my neighbors and convinced them this group home would be a detriment to the neighborhood. But after listening to Colm, I realize that this group home might be the best thing to happen to the neighborhood—to me—in a long time. So, please, may I retract what I said earlier?”

  “You’re sure, Mrs. Albright?”

  Mrs. Albright looked back at Colm for a third time, and this time, she smiled. “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Then, since there is no protest pending, it is my pleasure to grant the variance for the Trudy Street property. Colm, Josh and Gilly, it seems that you have a home.”

  Miriam adjourned the meeting, and soon Colm and his friends were surrounded by their new neighbors. Anna overheard Colm saying to Mrs. Albright, “Yeah, you’re old. I help old people with their groceries at the store. I can help with yours. And me and Gilly’ll help shovel snow and stuff, too. We’re awfully strong.”

  Rather than take offense, Mrs. Albright laughed.

  Anna cocked her head to one side and looked at Ceelie who read her mind. “You’re not going to do it here, are you?” Ceelie asked, trying to conceal her laughter.

  “You know what they say?”

  “I’m afraid to ask,” Ceelie said.

  “Sometimes you gotta dance.” And very discreetly, Anna did the slightest of all Snoopy Dances. “I’ll be doing a better one as soon as we get back to the office,” she promised.

  Ceelie laughed, then pointed behind Anna.

  Feeling her face already starting to flame, she turned and saw Liam standing behind her, grinning from ear to ear. “What was that?”

  Before Anna could reply, Ceelie said, “That, my friend, was Anna Chapel’s Snoopy Dance of Joy. Actually, it was a very watered-down version. You need to see it in full swing to get the total effect.”