“I don’t think so,” she shook her head.
“Yeah, you do. I have to be formidable just to keep up with you. You challenge and push me. I feel like I can do anything with you at my side.”
Shimmying up the cool sheet so that she was facing him across the pillow, Mia just stared into Schooner’s clear blue eyes, a smile brightening her face. “I feel like I can do anything with you at my side. I love the way you step in and create and build and take charge. You are this huge presence and sometimes I am just in awe of you.”
“You’re stealing my lines,” he laughed, leaning forward, he brushed her lips softly with his. “Last night you let me into a very painful and dark place and I thank you for letting me through that door. I know it wasn’t easy. But I’m really glad it’s not a locked door between us anymore.” Gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand, “I don’t want you to ever feel that Michael is an off-limits topic with me, honor him the way you want and need to, ok. I will always be ok with that.”
Burning tears spilled in hot splashes onto her cheeks. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Kissing her forehead softly, “No more secrets, Baby Girl.” He closed his eyes, momentarily overcome by grief. Secrets had caused him to doubt everything he knew to be true, everything that gave him life. Secrets were the only thing that could drive a wedge between them and destroy them.
“Schooner, there isn’t anything or any part of my life that I don’t want to share with you.” Pulling him on top of her, she smiled up into his handsome face, “and right now, I just want you to kiss me.”
Chapter Forty-one
With her camera trained on the smiling faces of Schooner, Berto and Sonkwe, Mia watched with pride as she shot frame after frame of handshake after handshake with officials, the cutting of the ceremonial ribbon and the groundbreaking first shovels full of dirt. Wearing a construction hardhat, Schooner Moore was in his element and Mia could not help but wonder if one of the people he was schmoozing would ultimately be the person responsible for allowing them to adopt Portia.
Earlier that afternoon, when Sonkwe apprised them of the dismally low number of children that the government had allowed foreign families to adopt, Mia’s spirit took a nose dive. She hadn’t even considered that the government wouldn’t permit them to adopt a child in need of a loving family. To hear that in a country with 1.3 million orphans that the government had permitted under twenty children to be internationally adopted, was deflating.
Although Los Angeles was ten hours behind, Schooner called Aaron Bender, waking him, “I know this might be a long shot, but who do we know with high level contacts at the State Department?” explaining the circumstances to his lawyer.
“Probably two ways to go at it,” Aaron’s voice was rough from sleep, “I know a lawyer in DC that works with USAID, his contacts report directly to the Secretary of State and I’ve got a client who is a retired Admiral in the Navy. He’s very connected throughout Washington. They can at least help us get to the right people and my buddy in DC owes me one, so let’s see what he can come up with.”
Taking her face in both hands, Schooner shook his head, “Do not lose hope. Don’t even go there, ok. We are in a very different position than most people. Very different. I’m not leaving here without her, don’t you worry.” He was so confident in his conviction that Mia clung to those words and his positive attitude.
“Ok?” he reiterated.
Mia nodded, forcing a smile.
“Say it, Mia,” he demanded.
“We will get Portia. We will bring her home.”
Smiling, he gave her a quick swat on her bottom, “Damn right we will. I have a lot of leverage. People want things from me and there’s only one way they’ll get what they want.”
“But Schooner, there’s a three month in-country foster period.”
“Yeah, well that’s nice. Give me three weeks,” and with his confident All-American boy smile, Schooner Moore strode out onto the field to break ground for the new L9 Physical Rehabilitation and Prosthetic facility and to broker the deal of his lifetime.
Chapter Forty-two
The lines in Customs at JFK International Airport were insane. Knowing that Nathaniel was outside a door at the end of the line made the wait interminable. Closing her eyes, Mia pictured his reaction upon seeing her. His beautiful smile and bright eyes both beaming, his face becoming totally animated. Every minute without him in her arms became more painful. Mia Silver needed to hold her son.
Searching the crowd as she exited Customs, she saw Seth’s arms waving. Standing next to him was her mother holding Nathaniel. Trapped behind slow moving tourists, Mia attempted to negotiate through the crowd without being rude and was finding that to be impossible as she started to weave through people, bumping them.
“Nathaniel,” she yelled out, trying to get his attention over the noise.
Turning at the sound of his mother’s voice, his arms reaching up in the air in her direction as he tried to wriggle out of Lois’ arms, his need to get to Mia as strong as hers to hold him.
And then he was in her arms and for every kiss she planted on his chubby cheeks, he mirrored it back with his open-mouthed goopy kiss, until mother and son were in their own world of laughter, neither hearing or seeing anyone around them in the crowded airline terminal.
“I missed you so much,” tears streamed down her face.
“Ma-ma,” he nestled his head into her neck.
“Did he just say Mama?” Mia looked at Seth and her mother with total surprise.
“He’s been saying it non-stop for the last four days,” Lois leaned over and gave her daughter a kiss.
“Did you miss Mama, sweet boy?” As Mia held him tighter, Nathaniel becoming more content. He had been saying Da-da for a while, and like most new mothers, although knowing that the “m” sound comes later to speech, she longed to hear her son call her Mama. “Well, that was the best homecoming present a mommy could ever ask for,” wiping her tears, “I missed him so much.”
“So what, did they detain Schooner in Customs for being gorgeous or something?” Seth was looking over the crowd for a tall blonde coming at them.
“Schooner didn’t come home,” Mia surprised them both.
“Is the project delayed?” Lois asked.
“Let’s get out of the fray here and get over to baggage claim and I will tell you all about it.”
As they coursed through the crowd, “Please don’t tell me you ran him off, BBC.” Seth was starting to go into panic mode.
“I did and now he’s all yours. But you’re going to have to go to Africa for him,” Mia laughed at the horrified look on Seth’s face. “Was Poopy Boy here good for you?”
“Don’t change the subject. Where is Schooner and why isn’t he here?” Seth was getting annoyed.
They reached the baggage claim, which was surrounded by passengers, but no luggage.
“Let’s go grab some seats,” Mia headed for a bank of chairs. Lois sat down next to her, while Seth remained standing, hands on his hips, now glaring at Mia.
“I’ve got some news,” Mia looked at Lois and Seth, a bemused grin on her face, “Breathe, you two. This isn’t bad news.” Pausing, just to torture them a little more, “Nathaniel is soon going to have a sister.”
“You’re pregnant?” Lois’ face was a portrait in shock.
“No. Oh God, no,” Mia laughed.
Seth’s hand flew to his mouth with a gasp, his eyes wide.
“One Angelina Jolie comment out of you,” Mia was pointing at him, “and I will fuck you up.”
“Mia, watch your language around Nathaniel,” Lois admonished.
Mia turned to her mother with a look saying, “That’s what you took from this?”
Lois smiled, “Well, I was thinking more Mia Farrow.”
“Eww,” Seth looked at Lois, “Schooner is so Brad Pitt and thank God not Woody Allen.”
Mia sat silently in disbelief that this was the conversation after sh
e had just dropped a bombshell. And then it hit them both.
“A sister?” Lois’ eyes filled with tears.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Seth sat down on the other side of Mia, “I’m going to be an uncle again. Don’t just sit there BBC, tell us what is going on.”
“She’s three years old, almost four. She’s absolutely precious, personality to burn. She’s like a little ray of sunshine. I miss her already,” Mia’s smile was that of a mother talking about her child. “Oh, there’s my bag,” pointing to the carousel.
Seth jumped up and grabbed it, wheeling it back to them and sitting down, “What is her name?”
“Well, they call her Msikana.”
“What does that mean?” It was all beginning to sink in for Lois that she was about to have a granddaughter.
Mia’s eyes burned with tears, “It means ‘Baby Girl’.”
Both Lois and Seth gasped and Mia could feel Seth’s fingers digging into her upper arm.
“It’s a sign,” they said in stereo.
Mia nodded, “That was the first sign.”
“There’s more?” Lois was on the edge of her seat.
“Her birthday is September 11th.”
“Michael,” Lois took a sharp intake of breath, her hand reflexively flying to her mouth.
“Oh my God,” was all Seth could repeat, his grasp on Mia’s arm becoming tighter.
“We’re going to call her Portia. Portia Msikana,” Mia kissed Nathaniel’s head as tears started to flow.
“Portia. After Michael. Portman. It’s his initials reversed.” Seth tightened his jaw, trying to control the onslaught of emotion that was surfacing. “Does Schooner know?”
She nodded, “Schooner knows. He knows everything.”
“Everything?” Seth’s voice rose an octave.
“What is everything?” Lois asked.
“Trust me, Mom, you don’t need to know everything. Schooner, on the other hand, needed to know everything.”
“And he was ok? He still wants to marry you?” Seth broke the tension with a snark.
“Fuck you, Princess, of course he still wants to marry me.”
“God Angelina, you are such a touchy BBC.”
Mia sat back in the chair, Nathaniel now fast asleep on her shoulder, laughing, “I really missed you guys.”
“Back to Portia…” Lois was not going to let them get sidetracked.
“So, from the minute I met her, we just had this bond and then there was the ‘Baby Girl’ thing and when I found out that she was born on 9/11, it just felt like Michael was giving me signs. Signs that she should be mine. Mine and Schooner’s. And that it would be a way of honoring and memorializing him. If that makes sense.” Mia noticed that all the people from her flight were gone and passengers from the next flight to claim their luggage were arriving.
“When will Schooner be back with her?” Seth had finally let go of Mia’s arm.
“Hopefully in a few weeks. Zambia is non-Hague Agreement country and it’s very difficult to do international adoptions from there. Aaron Bender has legal contacts that work for USAID, which is part of the State Department, so we’re hoping between them and the contacts that Schooner has in Lusaka that we won’t have the typical red tape.”
Shaking her head, Lois looked at her daughter with deep pride, “The two of you go off to help build a physical therapy center and come home with a daughter. You two really are perfect for one another.”
“More than anyone can ever imagine.” Smiling, clearly reminiscing, “This one is definitely going to be daddy’s girl. You should see her with him. When he’s holding her in his arms, she dips her head down and looks up at him through her eyelashes,” Mia pulled out her phone, finally remembering she had photos and there it was, the scene she had just described.
“She’s adorable,” Lois was beaming. Handing the phone to Seth, “We are going to have so much fun shopping for this one.”
Scrolling through Mia’s pictures, Seth could not contain his smile, “Oh, she is precious. She has no clue what is about to happen to her life,” looking up at Lois and Mia unable to contain his excitement, “and I finally get to shop for pink.”
Chapter Forty-three
Departing the plane with Portia in his arms, “Do you want to practice again?” He kissed her cheek.
She nodded, smiling.
“Ok, what’s my new name?”
“Daddy,” she squealed with delight.
“What’s Mia’s new name?”
“Mommy,” she was clearly very proud of herself.
“What’s your name?” his smile was contagious.
“Portia,” she grew more excited with each name.
“What’s your baby brother’s name?”
“Nathaniel,” she was all giggles.
“Do you have any more brothers and sisters?”
Nodding and ready to show her new daddy how smart she was, “Zac and Holly.”
“Very good. You are so smart,” they stood on a Customs line, “So what are you going to say when you see Mommy?”
“Mommy,” she screamed, the people in line turning around and laughing.
The long, exhausting journey had not dampened the sunshine of her mood or her hungry curiosity as she took in all the new sights and sounds. She was a brave little one, Schooner mused, definitely destined to be Mia’s mini-me. The only telltale sign of her anxiety had been her continued tight clutch on her ragdoll.
Exiting Customs, Schooner surveyed the crowd, his heart melting at the sight of Mia and Nathaniel.
“Da-da, Da-da,” Nathaniel was screeching like a pterodactyl, pointing at Schooner and trying to throw himself out of Mia’s arms to get to his father.
Coming together, they did an immediate child-swap, smothering each little one in kisses.
“Mommy,” Portia was elated to see Mia, clinging to her neck as Mia continued to cover her in kisses, tears streaming down her face.
With his free arm, Schooner pulled Mia close. When she gazed up at him, the look in her eyes matched the euphoria in his heart. They did it! And it had been just as he expected it would be. No surprises as to what it would take for him to make this happen. Yet still, it wasn’t until the plane’s wheels lifted off the runway in Lusaka that he allowed himself to feel both satisfied in what he was able to pull off and happiness that his family had just expanded. He would do anything for Mia. But this time it was even bigger than that, and he was fully aware that this accomplishment cemented together his family and confirmed his own unequivocal berth.
Bending down, he planted a sweet kiss on her lips, “I have missed you, Baby Girl.”
“It’s smoochal, Pretty Boy. You are a sight for sore eyes.” Looking back at the toddler in her arms, “Portia, this is your brother Nathaniel.”
“Hi Nathaniel,” Portia reached out, touching his arm.
Looking at her very seriously, he surveyed the new little girl smiling at him from his mother’s arms. Reaching out, he touched her arm, rubbing it with his finger, then poked her. Looking up to take her all in, he remained very serious until his new sister shrieked, “Nathaniel,” and he immediately broke into his classic Moore smile and the two started to giggle.
Schooner and Mia looked at one another and broke into laughter at the first interaction between their two children.
“Portia, I see you’ve brought Roberta with you,” Mia was smiling at the little girl.
Portia suddenly looked stricken, “Mommy, Roberta is the only one who didn’t get a new name.”
Again, Mia looked up at Schooner, her look saying, “Isn’t she adorable,” and at the same time understanding the deeper significance.
“Do you want her to have a new name, too?”
Nodding her head vigorously, “Yes, she needs one too.”
“What would you like to name her?”
Holding out the ragdoll and looking at her, Portia thought for a long moment, “Bupe. I want to name her Bupe.”
“I think that�
�s a wonderful name for her,” Mia kissed the little girl’s cheek, “and you know what, I think she’s going to really like her new name. It fits her perfectly.”
Pulling Mia under his arm and kissing the top of her head, Schooner didn’t need to see Mia’s face to know that there were tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Let’s go home,” he said to his family.
Chapter Forty-four
The loft was empty when they arrived home. The plan was to let Portia settle in and get rest before meeting her very colorful extended family. Lois and Seth had insured that the loft was filled with things to make Portia feel right at home from the minute she walked in. Dolls, stuffed animals, a tea set, little ponies in a multitude of colors and a fantasy wardrobe that could only be purchased by a doting grandmother and a fashion plate gay uncle.
So fascinated by the sights and sounds of the city, she stared out the window on the drive back from Kennedy Airport. Knowing that Portia had never slept alone before, Mia made the decision to add a toddler bed into Nathaniel’s nursery and of course, Lois and Seth rose to the task by finding a bed with a pink and white dollhouse headboard and painted picket fence sideboards.
Taking her by the hand, Mia showed Portia her new home.
“This is where Mommy and Daddy sleep,” and taking her down the hall, “here is your bathroom.” Mia loved the look of awe on the little girl’s face. Just the grand scale of things was a lot to take in. “Are you ready to see where you and Nathaniel sleep?”
Walking her into the jungle room, Mia knew it would be like walking the little girl into a fantasy.
Portia looked up at Mia, her excitement barely contained, but questioning, if it was ok.
Mia nodded, “Yes, sweetie, that is your bed.”
With a gasp of delight, Portia ran to her bed, Bupe still in her tight grasp.
“Look there’s a spot here for Bupe, too. Are you tired?”
The little girl nodded and placed the ragdoll in one of the empty cubbies in the dollhouse headboard, letting go of her for the first time since her journey began. Mia felt the sting of tears. One small action spoke volumes.
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