“That’s amazing.”
“I know. I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.”
“No not that. It’s, well, it’s amazing to me that you’re raising your dead husband’s child.”
She shook her head again. “No, I’m raising my child.”
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t a very polite thing to say, was it?”
She turned to the lagoon. “Its okay, Kevin. The very first time I met Grace, she climbed right into my heart. I didn’t stand a chance. I started the adoption procedure the same day we got married.”
“What about the other two?”
“I adopted Hope from a little village in southeast Asia when she was three and a half years old. I had gone on a church mission trip with some friends, and I spent a week at this orphanage that had seen better days. Hope had been there since birth. Her parents had given her up simply because she was a girl and they wanted a boy.”
“Incredible.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I adopted Faith about a year later from an orphanage in Santiago when she was only a few months old. Her mother was just a kid herself when she was born, and nobody knows who her father is.”
“You must have been pretty young yourself. What made you want to adopt?”
She laughed softly. “Thank you, but I’m older than I look. I don’t know, really. I knew it was right for me. Haven’t you ever just known when something was right?”
He thought about the last couple of days. Dancing with Angel and her girls, sitting down with the whole family for dinner at Antonio’s, seeing Angel swim with the dolphins in the lagoon, tucking the girls into bed, even getting checked out by the doctor for Angel’s mission work—all of it felt like a puzzle coming together. Everything seemed to fall into place.
Suddenly it was as if he’d been hit with a ton of bricks. They belonged together. He was falling in love with this crazy, honest, down-to-earth woman. Now the only question left for him was what to do about it. Do I want love and all the craziness that goes with it? “Angel, You are one amazing woman. Do you know that?”
She looked confused but then shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“Can I ask you one more question?”
“Sure.”
“I heard you talking to Dr. Lopez before he left.”
“Yeah?”
“What is Angel’s House?”
Angel practically glowed. “It’s a local orphanage on the outskirts of town. It’s another project with Angel’s Foundation. I’m going to spend the day there tomorrow after the others leave for Tomás’s village. Would you like to come?”
“Sure, but what do you do there?”
“You help.”
He looked at her suspiciously. “Help do what?”
“Whatever needs doing. You’ll see. Bring Brandi if she wants to come. They can always use an extra hand.”
The patio door opened, and Grace stumbled outside, rubbing her eyes and crying. “Mommy, where are you?”
“Right here, sweetie. What’s the matter?”
Kevin let go of Angel’s hand and sat his glass down on the floor as Grace ran over and climbed into his lap. “I had a bad dream,” she muttered into his chest.
Angel stroked her daughter’s cheek. “I’m sorry sweetie,” she said. Kevin wrapped his arms around the girl and kissed her blonde hair. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now, little Grace.”
6
It was another beautiful day, and the sun had started to rise on the horizon when Kevin, Angel, Miguel, and Brandi all stood together at the edge of the driveway, waving goodbye as the car containing Tomás, Miranda, and the girls disappeared from view.
Angel looked somewhat lost for a moment. “I miss them already,” she said.
Miguel turned to the others. “Well, I’m off to work. I’ve got an early tour this morning. Will I see you tonight, Brandi?”
Brandi practically glowed. “Sure, I’d like that.” Miguel gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he hopped up into his Jeep and took off to meet his clients.
Brandi started for the guesthouse. Watching the ground as she walked, she looked somewhat lost. Angel nudged Kevin’s side with her elbow and whispered, “Ask her.”
He gave her a frustrated look and shook his head. Angel gave him a look of disapproval. “Come on, Kevin,” she whispered.
Reluctantly, he called, “Hey, Brandi,”
“Yeah?” Brandi turned half-heartedly around.
“Angel and I thought you might like to go with us today.”
Brandi beamed. “Great! I’m ready. Where are we going and when do we leave?”
“We’re going to do some volunteer work as soon as I get some things from the garage,” answered Angel. “You guys want to help me load them into the truck?”
Thirty minutes later, after they had loaded and secured all fifteen boxes into the back of Arthur’s customized, extended-cab tan Lincoln Navigator, Kevin wiped the sweat from his forehead on the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Whew, what the hell is in those boxes?”
Angel shrugged and wiped the sweat away from her forehead too. “Clothes, diapers, baby bottles, formula, school supplies, toys—stuff like that. They delivered it yesterday while we were out.”
“It’s too bad they didn’t go ahead and put it into the back of the truck,” Kevin said.
“Oh no, I just had a terrible thought,” said Brandi.
“What’s that?” asked Angel.
“Are we going to have to take it all out when we get there?” asked Brandi.
“Yep,” replied Angel. “That’s why they call it volunteer work.”
Kevin groaned, and Angel giggled. “Come on, tough guy, let’s get going.”
“Okay.” Kevin headed for the cab of the truck. “But I’m driving. I don’t want to have to be picking this stuff back up through the whole trip.”
Angel tried to look offended but relented and handed Kevin the keys. “Okay, point taken. Let’s go.” She went around to the other side of the truck where, surprisingly, Brandi was waiting patiently for her to climb in next to Kevin.
After thirty minutes’ driving through the green hills and valleys of rural Mexico, Angel pointed to an ancient-looking dirt path. “Turn there.”
Kevin stopped the truck. “You’re kidding. There?”
“Yeah, there. What’s the problem?”
“There’s no road.”
“No, that’s the road.” Angel pointed to the small dirt path surrounded by trees and vines.
“That’s not a road. That’s a ditch!”
Angel’s eyes looked pained. “It’s the only road they have.” Still Kevin didn’t budge. Angel sounded somewhat exasperated when she finally spoke again. “Would you like to build them a road, Kevin?”
He sighed heavily and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” He gave Angel a grim look and reluctantly turned the truck onto the narrow dirt path and headed into the jungle through the mass of vine-covered trees. Suddenly they came into a huge clearing. He stopped the truck, put it in park, and took it all in.
There, straight ahead of them, was an enormous dilapidated white farmhouse with a small pond to one side. Over beyond the pond, several cows milled around, chewing their cud sedately behind a rickety old fence. A massive and equally old barn stood behind the fence, all of it having seen better days. The side yard had an old-fashioned water pump with a metal wash tub under the spout. Several lines of clothes were strung between the trees and loaded to capacity.
He looked at Angel in disbelief.
“It’s all they have.”
He heaved another sigh as he put the truck back in gear and pulled up to the door. He was still trying to take it all in when Angel broke the silence. “Home, sweet home,” she said, patently trying to lift their spirits. She failed miserably. “Well, for the orphans anyway.”
“My God. How do they live like this?” Brandi looked disgusted.
“What’s their alternative?” Angel’s tone was serious.
She sighed and looked around her one more time. “I’m trying to find them something closer to town.”
The front door opened, and Dr. Lopez came walking out onto the porch. “Angel, you made it.”
Angel ran to hug the old man. “Hi, Doc. Where’s Sister Mary Francis?”
“Right behind the old coot,” came a shrill voice from behind the doctor.
The old nun who walked out had bright red hair, deep green eyes, and pale skin. She was several inches shorter than Angel, and her tongue still held the lilt of an Irish accent.
Angel hugged the old woman affectionately. “Sister, it’s so good to see you.”
“You too, Angel. I’m glad you’re here. See how hard we’ve been working?” Sister Mary Francis waved her hand towards the house.
“I see. The kids have done a wonderful job with the painting.” Angel looked the house over. “It’s looking better already, Sister.”
“You are too kind.” Sister Mary Francis smiled warmly at Angel. “Who have we got here?”
“Let me introduce you.” Angel linked arms with the nun and walked her over to the two standing in front the truck. “Sister Mary Francis, this is Kevin and Brandi. They volunteered to help us today.”
“Good. We can use all the help we can get.”
“Amen to that, Sister,” Kevin said under his breath.
Sister Mary Francis glared at Kevin while Angel did her best to suppress a grin. “You can start with those boxes, young man. Bring them into the foyer.”
Kevin immediately stood a little straighter. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Angel, bring your other friend into the nursery, please.”
Angel winked at Kevin. “Yes, ma’am. Come on in, Brandi.”
* * *
Angel and Brandi followed the sister down the hall to the back of the house and into the nursery. “Excuse me for a moment, please,” Sister Mary Francis said, leaving the two women in the doorway to speak to a nun.
Brandi looked around the room and gasped. There, in front of her, were two rows of howling infants. Each row had seven brand-new cribs, and each held at least one infant, with all the babies different ages. Several teenage girls were trying to take care of them, but it was obvious they were overwhelmed. Brandi’s eyes grew large, and she looked as if she might run.
Angel understood how disturbing it felt. “Yeah, I know. Its okay, Brandi. I had the same reaction the first time I came here too.”
“You did? What did you do?”
Angel shrugged. “I picked up a baby and changed a diaper.”
Brandi looked at her in disbelief. “What?”
Angel took Brandi by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “Brandi, listen to me. You have the power in your hands right now to make a difference in the world. It’s all up to you. You can ignore what you see, walk away, and pretend the world is perfect, or you can choose to make it better.”
Brandi took a moment to look around the room, a flood of emotions passing through her. “I…I think maybe I’ll change some diapers. That is… Would you show me how?”
Angel felt as if she had won the lottery. “I thought you’d never ask. Come on.”
* * *
Kevin finished unloading the last of the boxes into the foyer, muttering to himself. “I can’t believe I let her talk me into this. What does she think I am anyway, some hired servant?” He dropped the last box on top of the others, wiped the sweat from his brow on his shirtsleeve, and looked around him. Where is she anyway? He heard voices from the back of the house and went storming down the hall to find Angel.
Seconds later, Kevin marched his way right into a large dining room filled with roughly thirty to forty children of various ages. He froze. Every face in the room had turned to see who had come in, and they were all looking up expectantly, hopefully at him. They each had a hot breakfast placed in front of them, and when Kevin didn’t say anything, they returned to eating hungrily. The little boy next to him who looked to be slightly younger than Faith smiled up at Kevin. “Hola.”
“Hola.” Kevin backed out of the room. Deciding he didn’t want to make that mistake again, he cautiously went farther down the hallway to the next doorway. This time he peeked into the room first.
There sat Angel and Brandi in rocking chairs, each with an infant and a bottle in their hands.
Brandi looked up when Kevin entered. “Grab a baby, Kevin. There’s plenty to go around.”
He scratched his head. Has Brandi lost her mind? “Uh, whatcha doing there, Brandi?”
It was Brandi’s turn to look at Kevin as if he had lost it. “I’m feeding one of the babies.”
An infant on the other side of the room began to howl, and Angel got up out of her rocker. “Could you come here, Kevin? I need a hand.” She nodded toward the chair she had that minute vacated. “You can sit there.”
He sat in the rocker, and Angel handed him the baby. “What am I supposed to do with that?”
“That is a little girl, and you’re supposed to feed her this bottle.” Angel’s look said he couldn’t possibly be that dense.
He felt a moment of panic when she handed him the bottle while the infant’s face puckered into a hungry scowl. “I don’t know how to feed a baby.”
She grinned down at his distraught face and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, then you can change the other baby’s diaper.” She bit the corner of her bottom lip, waiting for an answer.
He looked down at the squirming infant in his arms and back up at Angel. “That’s okay. I’ll figure it out.”
She smiled cockily and walked to the other side of the room, calling over her shoulder, “The rubber nipple goes into the baby’s mouth.”
“Ha, ha, you’re funny,” he retorted, checking to make sure he put the right end of the bottle to the little girl’s pursed lips. He looked up to see Sister Mary Francis watching him from the doorway. For a moment he thought she might be about to give him something else to unload, but she smiled and walked on down the hall.
Later that day, Angel and Kevin sat with two high chairs each in front of them, both of them trying to spoon baby food into two hungry mouths. Brandi was still serving the children their dinner from the kitchen along with Sister Mary Francis, one of the other nuns, and a couple of the older children. Doctor Lopez was nowhere to be seen. Kevin felt decidedly outnumbered.
He looked around the vast dining room. This space alone was disturbing. It was in total disrepair with a number of holes in the walls and part of the ceiling had fallen away. It was very crowded and unbelievably loud. Who knew kids could make that much noise? The broken window next to him had been repaired with cardboard and duct tape. He remembered what Brandi had said this morning when they arrived, and he couldn’t help but agree with her. How can anybody live this way?
He hadn’t realized how distracted he was until Angel spoke, pulling him back to the task. “The food is supposed to go in her mouth, Kevin, not on her face.”
The spoon he had been trying to put in the little girl’s mouth was on her chin instead. The baby’s mouth was open like a baby bird’s, trying to find the worm from its mother’s beak. “Oh, sorry.” He shoveled another bite into the infant’s mouth. She swallowed her food and grinned at Kevin, proudly showing off her new front tooth. He looked at Angel. “Do you come here every time you do your mission work?”
“Yep, ever since I found out about it a few months ago.”
He shook his head in amazement. “How do you keep doing this?”
Angel stopped feeding the toddlers long enough to look at him. “How do I live with myself if I don’t?”
He thought about that for a moment and then turned back to spoon more food into the two toddlers’ mouths. “Miguel is having a runway paved at the airstrip. Maybe I could convince some of the workers to help build them a new road.”
Angel was impressed. “That’s a great idea. But what they really need is a new home, something closer to town with lots of land to play on, a pond to swim
in…and indoor plumbing. Indoor plumbing would be great.” She sighed. “There is a place about ten kilometers from Miguel’s business that would be perfect, but the owners want way too much money for it.”
The little boy who had spoken to Kevin in the dining room that morning came over to one of the toddlers. “Hola, Lucia.” He kissed her cheek and rubbed her on the head. The little girl smiled and reached out to touch his face. The boy smiled broadly, then turned to Kevin, holding a book out to him as he asked him something.
Kevin understood what the boy wanted—he understood Spanish perfectly—but he had never read to a child before. Everything he had done today was foreign territory to him. When Kevin didn’t respond, the little boy turned hopefully to Angel.
“At bedtime, Pedro,” she told him in Spanish.
“I guess he likes her, huh?” Kevin asked, watching Pedro walk away.
Angel couldn’t help but laugh. “I hope so. That’s his sister.”
When dinner was over, and everybody was bathed and ready for bed, all the children came into the front parlor and sat on the floor. Brandi looked tired, but she appeared to be content. It was one of the few times Kevin had ever seen her look genuinely happy. He caught her eye, and she smiled.
She and Sister Mary Francis sat on an old, tattered couch on the other side of the room. They had a number of infants and children sitting on their laps and beside them, filling the couch to more that its usual capacity. Pedro handed Angel a book and climbed onto Kevin’s lap.
Angel opened the book and began to read the story aloud. All the children, especially Pedro, listened intently to the story about a young boy who wanted a dog of his own. Kevin thought fondly of the old Golden Retriever he’d had as a child. Then sadly, he thought of the boy in his lap. Every boy should have a dog. Just like every boy should have a father. Pedro leaned on Kevin’s chest, reaching up with one hand to feel the stubble on his chin. Kevin smiled in spite of himself.
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