No Promises Pt. 2 Open Up
Mornings were so sweet , so calm so peaceful everyday . Even when I had to wake up early to catch the bus for school mom would make breakfast dad would say "see you after school " before I left and my brothers would see me off. When your dreams start to be memories playing over on a loop it can be hard to know what you want out of life because what you dream off is everything you already had. My family was broken in so many ways , so disconnected but there were always glimmers of what made us good , I miss even the little moments that faded like single fireworks in my past. What I wouldn't give to see my brothers before leaving for school? What I wouldn't give to hear my father's voice again, but I still heard him telling me he'll see me when I get home. What I wouldn't give to wake up to the smell of my mother's breakfast , sad because as I woke up the next morning I found a plate of pancakes on my bedside table. Trip and Fremo were standing in my doorway, I suppose they were waiting for me to wake up. I got up as they walked in.
Mav- I missed dinner last night didn't I
Trip- yea
Fremo- but it's OK , we understand
Mav- understand what
Trip- we didn't mean to but we heard you crying last night
Femo- saw you too
I was embarrassed to say the least. Shows of weakness like that would have gotten me in hot water in the system.
Fremo- but we all had to let it out at some point
Mav- look I should tell you guys something, this is my first time being adopted
Trip- and
Mav-that was it , I don't deserve all of this , I don't want it , I had a family a good family and I...
My voice trailed off.
Fremo - look first time or not being adopted is always hard
Trip- you don't feel like a family , you feel like strangers, and for you it might be harder because you remember your birth parents but don't ever say you don't deserve a family
Mav- if you knew what happened to my last family, to my first family you wouldn't say that
Fremo- maybe your right , maybe your wrong , but you cried now what do you say you try to make the best of things
They were so nice I almost started crying again but then I took note of the pancakes still on my bedside.
Mav- did you guys put those there
Trip - oh Wendy made those
Fremo- I'm telling you your gonna love here when you meet her
It was summer so there wasn't school to get ready for , at least not for a few weeks. I'd gotten the tour on my first day but needles to say I still got lost in that big house. Trip and Fremo seemed to be my guide, more so because I didn't feel like taking an hour to find the kitchen, or the bathroom, or my room. It was like something out of a dream.
Mav- So was Chuck and Susan mad at me for missing dinner
Fremo- mad at you ... I don't think so
Trip- they don't get mad at much
Fremo- they were surprised, worried maybe
Mav- all of this just feels so...
Trip - yea , but you get used to it
Fremo- just don't turn into a rich snob , that's all we ask
We walked around the house for a while. I'm not sure if the guys knew where we were going at some point. all the windows let in so much light around the house. I could see the neighborhood as we trekked up flights of stairs. I wasn't in an inner city anymore , I wasn't in the suburbs I was in rich mans territory. Every house had a pool and a garden. There were no one story houses , no two story houses and if there were there were too many bigger houses in the way to see them. and there was always the ever present fence around the community that really rang in that feeling of separation from the outside world.
Mav- wheres Jake
Trip- Jake?
Fremo - Jake is out with his girlfriend, so it's just us for the day
We came to a room at the end of a hallway. It was big enough to be a bed room but it looked to be used as a closet. Trip and Fremo stepped in and started grabbing clothes , it seemed they were going somewhere.
Mav- So where are you guys going
They turned back to me and to my surprise they handed me the clothes I thought they were picking out for themselves.
Mav- what's all this for
Trip - well you don't have clothes yet
Mav- what's wrong with what I have on
Trip- nothing
Fremo - but we don't want you to learn the hard lesson we had to when we first got here
Trip- no one in the house will care what you wear but people in the neighborhood will
Fremo- and if your coming with us the least we can do is help you fit in a little
Mav- I don't wanna take your clothes from you
Trip- oh these aren't our clothes, our clothes are in our room
Fremo - this is all stuff kids who lived here left when they moved out
Mav- oh
There was an awkward pause. I got that I was supposed to change but I had no clue where a bathroom was or how to get back to my room so I stood waiting for them to turn their backs or something. We were all guys but I didn't have on underwear so I didn't want them to see me change. But they pulled out their phones and it seemed they were willing to just wait until I was dressed. I pulled off my clothes and almost frantically changed into the rich kids hand me downs. I'm sure they saw my more private parts but they weren't phased, they even picked up my old clothes and tossed them into the room. Sure they were nice but honestly were still strangers to each other , but I guess it didn't seem like a boundary too bold to cross for them to see me nude.
Trip- not bad
Fremo- the gold belt might be a bit much
The gold belt was heavy, but I looked nice.
Fremo - now you'll need one of these
He handed me a cell phone. I hadn't had anything so high tech since I lost my family.
Mav- this is mine
Fremo - yea , in case we loose you
Mav- loose me , what do you mean
Trip - we're going to a birthday party
Mav- a party , who's birthday is it
Fremo- don't know , don't care
Trip- we get invited to a lot of parties
Fremo - it started as Chuck and Susan wanting to make sure we felt included in the community, but after being invited to every party for a year kids forgot our parents were the reason they started inviting us
Trip- now we get invited to everything, they call us the party animals
That was messed up.
Mav- isn't that kinda messed up
Fremo - a little, but we usually get free shit and free food
Trip- and the girls are a plus
Mav- girls
Fremo- yea girls out here will be all over a nice fur , and your a rabbit so they'll probably love you
We walked down stairs to garage and as we did I took the time to check out my new phone. Trip and Fremo made a picture of themselves the background on my screen. I had a few numbers , there was Trip and Fremo number, Wendy's, Chuck and Susan's, but then there were a couple I didn't Know. What stood out the most to me an app that seemed to be linked to a bank account. I had access to a lot of money, enough money to buy another house destroy it and rebuild over its remains.
When I picked my face up from my screen I realized the guys had been waiting for me in a car. I ran over and got in. We we're all in the back seat of this big stretched truck , almost a limo.
Mav - So who's gonna drive
Before I could get my question out the car was already pulling out of the garage down the long drive way.
Mav- oh
What kind of Twilight zone had I woken up in? Mansions, fancy cars , phones, and big bank accounts were just at my disposal. I hadn't forgotten my family but that new place that I was to call home was growing on me. The loss of my family was heavy every day of life , but I was a kid and it had been two years. I was beginning to loosen up , beginning to open up to the possibility of enjoying myself. I wasn't going to start calling anyone my new family anytime soon but they were definitely alright with me.