A Million Wishes

  “I understand babydoll. I felt that too. We’ve been through so much and had so many ups and downs. This is definitely one of the high points. Right up there with putting a ring on your finger and making you mine.” She stood on her tip toes and kissed him, her hands stroking his cheeks. “Thank you for coming to check on me baby. I love you.” He swiped the cool cloth over her face again and kissed her once more. “I love you kitten. Are you ready to get back out there with our family?’ She nodded and looked in the mirror, wincing at her red nose. “Don’t worry about that, you’re still stunning kitten. Come on.”

  They rejoined the others and spent the rest of the afternoon eating and telling stories about growing up together. The twins and Dakota shared some stories as well and showed the few pictures they had of their Mom and Dad. It seemed to make them feel more comfortable, knowing they were free to talk about it. As far as Miki was concerned, that was part of the healing process. It made her feel good knowing that their birth parents had been so good to them. They deserved to relish their happy memories.

  It didn’t take long before the competitive spirit came in to play. The guys set up the volley ball net and teams were chosen. It was a sight to see Tank’s huge self, standing next to the kids since he dwarfed them, but he was so gentle with them, swinging them up in the air so they could spike the ball over the net, and cheering with them until they were in fits of giggles. Once the younger kids got bored with it though, the guys decided to have a match. It was one of those kind that have you sitting on the edge of your seat, afraid someone would end up hurt, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from it for a second. It was so much fun seeing the boys take to Noah the way they had. They were already a team unified, going up against their uncles and Tank. Lilah had organized the girls to be cheerleaders with her, so they stood on the sidelines making up cheers, and distracting the younger boys.

  One thing Miki noticed was that even though Dom’s girlfriend Jade was there, he seemed to be more intently watching Lilah’s best friend Chelsea instead. Apparently his girlfriend noticed it too, because she went up to him and looked quite unhappy as she shook her head side to side and poked him in the chest, before walking off to go sit at a picnic table by herself.

  “Oh that boys a little heart breaker, isn’t he? Both of them really, so damn handsome that it turns girls inside out.” Vivi was smiling when she nodded over at the scene as it played out. As all the ladies talked Miki noticed Chelsea walk over to Jade and sit with her, obviously trying to be kind to her but Jade just stood up, said something and walked off. She couldn’t hear what the girl said, but from the look on Chelsea’s face it wasn’t nice. The girl looked like she was near tears. She excused herself from the table and went over and sat with her. “Hey sugar, are you ok?” Chelsea looked up and nodded, wiping her eyes and turning to face away from everyone. “How about you and I go for a walk?” Putting her hand on Chelsea’s shoulder she led the teary eyed girl around the front of the house, giving her a chance to gather herself.

  “Looks like Jade may have gotten jealous or mad about something and said something mean. Am I right?”

  “She said Dom was staring at me and giving me more attention than her. Then she…”

  “Then she what, sugar?”

  “She said she didn’t know why he’d look at me since I’m so fat and ugly.”

  “That little shit! Just because you have curves and aren’t a stick figure doesn’t mean you’re fat and you damn sure aren't ugly.”

  That made Chelsea laugh and Miki laughed right along with her. “I suppose I probably shouldn’t use bad language, but seriously Chelsea, you are a beautiful girl and you have a cute figure. That’s why Dom was looking at you. Wanna know what’s even better? You’re beautiful on the inside too.” They walked up the porch steps and sat in the shade on the porch swing. “You know how I know that?” Chelsea looked at her and shook her head. “No. You haven’t known me long enough to know really.” Miki smiled and patted her hand. “You went over to her and tried to be kind to her after she got mad at Dom. A mean girl wouldn’t have tried to do that, especially if she liked the boy that had been checking her out earlier.” Chelsea’s face turned beet red and she lowered her eyes. “Dom doesn’t like me like that. He barely even knows I’m alive Miki.” Touching her chin she lifted it up and smiled at the blushing girl. “Keep your head up Chelsea and trust me. Dom is aware of you and knows quite well that you are alive and present. Don’t you worry about that.”

  With perfect timing, Dom came out the front door and smiled when he saw Chelsea. “Hey girl I was looking for you. You ok? I hear Jade was being “Jade” again.” Miki stood up and waved to her seat. “Go ahead and visit you two, I’m just going to go check on things.” Giving Chelsea a wink, she went inside the house smiling. This being a Mom stuff was entertaining for sure. They had their own little teen version of a soap opera. All that was missing was the dramatic dun dun dunnn…”and next week see if Jade convinces Dom to choose her over his new found crush Chelsea.” Miki laughed and walked out the back door, joining everyone at the picnic tables.

  Chapter 28

  Three months later-August 2006

  Summer flew by with surprising speed. It started with moving into the new house, then heading to Florida for Dakota’s track meet. Afterward they took the kids to Disney World in Orlando Florida. It was a first for them all and they had a great time. However, once they got home and resumed a normal schedule, so many things had come to a head at once it had been a bit overwhelming for them all. Dom had been struggling and starting to act out. Anger issues and lashing out at others happened so fast, Miki and Noah didn’t quite know how to handle it. Their caseworker Meghan had set up family counseling for them and after several sessions, all together, then separately, they learned about PTSD. I was almost a form of survivor’s guilt, living and moving on after their parents’ death to find happiness. It was something Dakota understood as well. The twins being placed with the great family of Noah and Miki’s was a blessing, but it was hard too. Especially seeing Lilah take to them so easily, calling them Mom and Dad within a week, and blossoming under their care. Dom’s anger was upfront, bold, and hurtful, while Dakota’s was silent. At the session that blew it all out in the open the painful truth revealed just how torn up the kids were over the loss of their parents.

  “Dom, with calmness in your speech, I want you to voice what you told me about why you feel so angry sometimes at your sister and foster parents.” Grayson, the therapist, encouraged him to talk, not lash out. Dom’s eyes welled up with tears “Sir, I don’t want to make them mad or hurt anyone’s feelings.”

  “This isn’t an argument Dom. This is merely discussing with the people you love, that love you tremendously, why you are angry and hurting inside. They need to know and you need to let it out. You aren’t being judged here.”

  Dom looked over at his older brother, then at his twin. “I’m mad, mad because it feels like once we were placed with the Canes that Lilah forgot about our parents. They were great parents. It makes me mad she started calling Noah and Miki Mom and Dad right after we started getting to know them.”

  Lilah lowered her eyes, trying to fight the tears that burned her eyes.

  “Is that all Dom or is there anything else you want to say?” Grayson spoke with such a soothing and encouraging voice that Dom nodded and looked over at the Canes.

  “I’m mad at myself, and you guys too. I’m mad because you guys have welcomed us and made us feel so loved and special that I sometimes forget our Mom and Dad too and want to call you my parents. It makes me feel guilty as hell, like I’m being disrespectful to our Mom and Dad. So I do stupid stuff. I get angry and act like a jerk, so maybe you won’t love me so much, and you’ll punish me or not want me anymore so I don’t have to feel so guilty for loving you guys and the life you’ve given us. I know it sounds stupid. I don’t mean too. I love you guys, all of you. But I still love our Mom and Dad too.” Tears were streaming down his face
but he didn’t stop there, his voice was shaky, louder still. “Most of all I’m pissed off that Mom and Dad died and left us. Sometimes I hate them for it. I wish I could scream and yell at them. Tell them how much I miss them. I’m sorry, so sorry for being a jerk. Please don’t send us away just because I’ve been so messed up inside.”

  Miki went to him and pulled the sobbing young man in her arms, stroking his hair. “Sugar there’s no way we’d send you away. We love you, all three of you and we are a family. That means we stick together through thick and thin, good times and rough times.” She knelt in in front of his chair and rubbed her thumbs across his cheeks wiping his tears. “We don’t want you to forget your parents. That’s why we ask about them and want to know all the memories you have of growing up. I love the smiles you have on your faces when you remember them honey. I know we will never replace them, we don’t want too, we just want to love you and finish the job they started and help you grow into the amazing people they always knew you would be.”

  “Dom, you don’t have to call us Mom and Dad, you can if you want, but no matter what son, we love you, unconditionally, all three of you.” Noah’s voice was low laced with emotion.

  “Little bro, you aren’t the only one that’s felt this way. I’ve been fighting with it too honestly; I just kept it to myself. It’s hard though ya know, seeing you and sis being handed the world by some amazing people, and knowing they want to adopt you. Don’t get me wrong…I want you guys to have a forever family, you need that, but it doesn’t make it easier for me to deal with that though. Don’t be mad at yourself for loving them back and wanting to call em’ Mom and Dad, they are now. It doesn’t mean you love our parents any less. In fact, I bet Momma set it all up in heaven to make sure you two were taken care of. Lord knows we were placed with some awful people early on. I’m glad you guys have Miki and Noah now. They’ve even took me in because of their love for you two. I’m grateful for that because I can be with you, watch you grow up, ya feel me?” Dakota put his arm around his little brother and hugged him. “Our parents wouldn’t want you to go on being sad or feeling guilty. I know, without a doubt in my mind, they want all of us happy.”

  “Dakota…” Miki reached and took his hand in hers “you are just as much a part of our family, you know that right?” He nodded but averted his eyes away from her. “We thought we’d made it apparent from the beginning, so I apologize if we didn’t sugar, but just because you are 19 and in college doesn’t mean we don’t want you. We do. We are hoping to adopt all three of you, not just the twins. You deserve a forever family as much as they do and we want to be that family for you. Of course, after the 6 month waiting period, which is November…” she grinned and touched her fingers under his chin to raise his face to meet hers “we’ll be applying to adopt you if y’all want to be a permanent part of our family. You don’t have to change your last name if you don’t want too. That’s entirely up to you kids. We just want to be your family and take care of you.”

  “Can I speak now Sir?” Lilah’s quiet, quivering voice sent a hush through the room. Grayson gave her an encouraging smile. “Of course Delilah, thank you for waiting patiently.”

  “It’s ok y’all have been mad at me. I’m not ashamed that I love the Canes about as much as Momma and Daddy. We’ve been in so many awful places since they died I’m just so thankful that we’re with them now. In my heart I know that Noah will protect me with his life, would never hurt me, and that he loves me, Miki too. She reminds me so much of Momma it was easy for me to get attached. She gives the best hugs you know? The kind that makes you feel so loved and she’s so easy to talk too. They are giving people like our parents were. They teach us new things and push us to be better people. They have money but they aren’t greedy or stuck up. They could be driving around in sports cars and going on vacations all the time blowing money and buying everything they ever wanted. But they don’t. They help people, all the time. Miki still drives a van and Noah has a pickup truck. They never even bought new cars when they won the lottery. Do either of you know how many cars they have bought for families that they heard about that needed transportation?”

  They boys shook their heads no and looked like puppies that were getting a scolding.

  “Eight, just since we’ve been living with them. Nine if you include the one they bought for you Dakota so you could still get back and forth to school, and be able to go out with your friends sometimes. Momma…Miki, has set up the foundation so we can find more people that need help. She knows that’s what I want to do with my life. I aspire to help others and live selflessly. Momma and Daddy encouraged us to be good people and find purpose in our lives and Noah and Miki encourage us to do that too. Not once have they said we had to call them Mom and Dad. Never have they made us feel bad for talking about our parents. They have offered us the world, a beautiful place to live, plenty of food to eat, love, encouragement and respect. So, just so you both know, I’m not mad at either of you for the way you been acting. I am ashamed of you though. How many times have you said thank you or took the time to appreciate the life we’ve been blessed with? Have you taken the time to think about doing something for someone else, instead of what new thing you can buy, or feeling sorry for yourself, or being mad at me for being happy after two years of being miserable?” The pitch of her voice got higher and higher as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “I guess maybe I just don’t understand my brothers Sir. I don’t understand how they can’t just be thankful and go on with life. I don’t mean to sound harsh or mean, but our parents died. We didn’t. To me, that means we need to go about living in the present, not the past.” She only looked at Grayson now. Her foot was tapping the floor at a steady pace and her bottom lip trembled.

  “It’s ok not to understand each other all the time Delilah. Everyone deals with tragedy and new life experiences differently. There’s really no right or wrong way about it. When your parents were taken from you so suddenly, it had to shock all of you. Not to mention your entire world shifted. That happened to you time and time again with each home you went too. Then to top it off your oldest brother aged out of the system, went out on his own and started college.”

  Lilah nodded her head and looked at Dakota. “I was mad at you for that, for leaving us. I know it was best for you, and you deserved to go to college and start living your life, but it felt like you deserted us. I know you didn’t really, but at the time it felt like it.”

  “I’m sorry baby girl. I wanted to get my education so I could get a good job to provide for you two. To help you with college so you wouldn’t have to struggle. I never meant to make you feel like I was ditching you.”

  “I know you did. Just like you both know that just because I was excited to have Noah and Miki as our foster parents, our adoptive parents, it doesn’t mean I stopped loving and missing our parents. I felt guilty about that at first too, but I talked to Miki about it after we were there a few days. If you talk about things instead of hold them inside, you can work it out.”

  After that session things ran smoother. The kids seemed more at ease with Miki and Noah, and with each other. The boys started asking if they could go with them when they went to volunteer at shelters or food banks a few times a week. Not only that, but Dominic proved to be a whiz kid with a computer and built them a website where anyone could submit a wish that was in a hard financial situation. Miki and Lilah filtered through the emails they received, and soon realized they needed more help as the wish bank was filling up quick with inquiries. Chelsea offered to help since she had already been spending the summer volunteering with them and proved to be a big help. She was a natural like Delilah was. It was no wonder the girls were best friends, they were two peas in a pod, so spending the summer filtering through requests to have wishes granted was perfect for the girls. It was Lilah that came up with the name for the foundation, “A Million Wishes.” Some of them were small, easily accomplished wishes, and then there were those that broke your heart knowi
ng there was no way they could help. They could help financially but they couldn’t make miracles happen, at least not in the way of healing someone’s illness.

  Noah, Dom and Dakota spent the remainder of the summer putting the finishing touches on the training course with their Uncles, then finishing up the gym. Noah hadn’t been joking when he said it would be state of the art. It even had therapy pool installed now, like the one Noah had used after he’d been injured. It had made a world of difference in his rehab, so he’d made it a point to have one installed in the new gym. Dakota had been a great help already and was as enthused as Noah was to make it a place that anyone, not just soldiers, would be able to have all the tools needed to get as mobile as they possibly could. They had even talked about the shortages of health clinics for poor people with stellar medical care and equipment that worked. The nearest one to Sugar Creek was a good twenty miles away, and it was not in the best of shape. From what Noah had been told the medical care there was sadly lacking, not only in the lack of caring from the people that worked there, but that the equipment was in disrepair and there wasn’t much they could actually do there.

  Since finding that out, Noah and Miki were making it a priority to develop a clinic there in their hometown of Sugar Creek. They had ideas for a free clinic that could offer various medical care, from the smallest of colds and allergies, to minor emergency care seven days a week. It was then that Dom started really taking an interest in things. In his young life he hadn’t realized just how many people were sick and couldn’t afford a doctor’s care. At the homeless shelters there were such destitute people it broke his heart.