The following day Carrie and her new parents left towards Georgia, where they would live. Carrie shyly stopped herself from asking all the questions she wanted to, like "How's our house?", "Have we got any pets?", etc. She tried desperately to hang onto every detail of her new parents and also her surroundings. She had never been very far from home before and she found everything amazing. She was thrilled. Deep down inside, there was also the thought that she would never see Michelle again, but trying to fill her head with happy thoughts, she pushed that particular one aside. It was one of the happiest days of her life, she didn't want to ruin it! On the other hand this feeling wouldn't go away.
Her parents realized that she was missing her sister and did their best to tell her nice stories and descriptions of their town, family and friends, trying to occupy her mind. They were, after all, very caring people, and already cared very much for Carrie and wanted to make her a happy little girl.
The new family stopped on the way for food at a McDonalds, which Carrie enjoyed very much- after all, she hadn't been that well fed with her biological parents- but she nearly cried when she saw two siblings hugging. The older one looked uncannily like Michelle, and the other was a little blond boy.
Carrie held onto Esther, her mother. "Something wrong, honey?"
Carrie shook her head but hugged her tighter.
"You just need a hug?"
Carrie nodded with a tiny smile, and Esther pulled her up and hugged her close. She was finally a mother. It had taken many years but she finally had a daughter. Oh, she knew it would be hard. She wasn't immune to the horror stories about adopting any child over two years old, she had heard them, too. But this little girl was different. Esther could see it, they had both seen it the moment she walked into Matron Joanne's office. She was well-mannered, charming, beautiful, and just about anything else Esther had ever wanted in a child. Yet she could see her hesitating to talk, shy, and confused. Matron Joanne had spoken of her background. It seemed ironic that such parents, who treated her that way since she was born, had produced such a child. 'Carrie was born to the Porters when her mother was only fifteen.' Matron Joanne said, as if that explained it all. 'They married right away, but Mrs. Porter had to drop out of school. The social worker says that she blames her girls for her mistakes, and the way that her life has turned out, and that's why she treated them that way.'
Jonathan and Esther understood this. Yet the child was in no way uncontrolled nor rebellious, quite the contrary. She was a delightful child. They were ready to take on the responsibility to bring her up and make of her the successful young woman that they knew she could be.
Esther shook the thoughts out of her head. Carrie was climbing off her lap and running to a little girl.
"Michelle!"
Esther was confused. She knew that Carrie had a sister, but it couldn't possibly be this little girl, could it? It was. Carrie and Michelle were hugging and crying, as if they had been apart for years.
"What are you doing here?" Michelle asked. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Esther and Jonathan adopted me!" Carrie happily explained. "Do you live near here?"
"Yes!" Michelle said. "Do you?"
Carrie didn't know, so she asked Esther, who said that they did.
Their parents exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and as it turned out, they lived just a couple of blocks away from each other.
Carrie and Michelle could hardly believe their luck.
In just a few days they had gone from being members of a dysfunctional family to members of nice families. They knew they had a lot to be thankful for. Their new parents, brother, houses, and friends.
And most importantly, each other.
They would finally be able to be happy together.
The End
Author's Chapter Notes:
Yes, the begging worked. Thank you! I probably wouldn't have finished it if you hadn't begged. Oh, yes, and it's done. I hope you've enjoyed it.
