Ginny's Family

Ginny stepped into the garage which had just been burned to a crisp. Thankfully the house hadn’t been damaged in the fire and even the family car hadn’t been parked in the garage. So aside from what was in storage, they were lucky, no lives lost, not much damage. Except of course to Ginny’s heart. The stench of smoke filled the air still, even though it had been a couple of days. For safety measures, she and the others had cramped themselves into a motel room until the fire department deemed it safe to return home.

Home. This place was barely Ginny’s home and already a part of it was destroyed and in that part contained all her worldly possessions. Her heart began to race, and the dizziness took over her. She steadied herself against the blackened wall and Jackson reached his arm out to her.

He’d been looking around as well, complaining to his wife about his tools and new golf set. But she’d shrugged and smiled. “At least we are all alive.”

That’s what mattered, she’d also exclaimed.

Was that all that mattered though? What about her friends? They…were gone. Ginny leaned back against the wall per Jackson’s order. Libby ran out from the house, her tiny legs sprinting to bring her some water.

She gulped it down but her throat felt even drier than it had when she’d seen the disastrous scene before them. She crouched down to the corner and crawled past the burned bicycles, the soot on the cold concrete seeping into the bottom of her flowery dress.

“Mommy?” Libby reached for her mother in confusion who took a few tentative steps toward Jackson who still stood by the wall. Lola shushed her daughter and asked her to go back in the house, that everything was going to be OK.

Lola and Jackson watched as Ginny crawled on her hands and knees and let out a cry when she reached her destination. The box was burned as were the contents inside. She couldn’t make them out even if she tried. But one by one Ginny lifted each small friend, balling as some shriveled up like the dust of her past. One at a time each memory of her friends faded just as the color of her mother’s eyes had so long ago.

“It isn’t fair!” A voice she didn’t recognize belted out expletives and cries that left her chest feeling heavy and swollen. Lola and Jackson were suddenly leaning over her, holding her, cradling her, shushing her.

“It will be all right sweetheart. At least we’re alive.” But Ginny pushed away from them, these people that were still so unfamiliar to her, their concern meaning nothing at that moment. She had nothing. Once again, she had nothing.

For all those years they had been her comfort, every time she was afraid, angry, lost, her friends were there for her. Now they were dead, gone, burned away as if they no longer mattered.

She felt the ground pounding beneath her feet as she ran, ran past the house with its perfect fence and butterfly mailbox, ran past the neighbors mowing their lawns, walking their dogs, laughing, flying kites, oblivious to her hell, unaware of her pain.

Ginny landed on the cool grass at the park a few blocks away, her breaths coming out in heaves. Her head was spinning and she must have looked a mess but she didn’t care, not anymore, she just didn’t care. Her wild curls were everywhere, her new dress was ripped and her heart was broken.

When Ginny first went into foster care she stayed with a nice couple who gave her dessert for breakfast and let her sleep in whenever she wanted and were never home to take her to school, but she was a big girl who could walk their herself. When the guidance counselor brought her in to find out why her clothes were dirty, her hair unwashed, her teeth yellow, 6-year-old Ginny had no answers.

Suddenly a lot of people in uniforms came to take her away. The guidance counselor who was nice and had long pretty hair bent down and gave her a small doll in a yellow gown, one that looked like it came from a fast food restaurant.

“This is Belle sweetheart. You keep her with you always so you can feel safe.”

The next home Ginny went to had so many other kids and boys that were mean and pushed her down some stairs. In the hospital the nurse that bandaged her up frowned at her.

“Looks like you’ve been through a lot haven’t you kiddo?” Ginny shrugged and licked the lollipop the doctor had given her, swinging her little legs off the exam table. Police officers and a lady in a suit talked together with the doctor and they were all watching her. The nurse patted her head and sighed. “Here you go hun, this is for you.” It was a small blue teddy bear, with a red bow that would smile at her no matter how sad she was.

That’s the way it went for Ginny for a while, in and out of foster homes, but she was always able to bring whatever fit into her princess backpack. Belle, Blue Teddy, Unicorn Sally, Buzz Lightyear, My Little Pony and others. Amidst the craziness there was always one kind person, a teacher, a nurse, a foster sister, that always looked out for her and gave her something special.

When Lola and Jackson came to visit her at the group home, they had brought her a beautiful Barbie, that sort of looked like her. She remembered sitting in the little classroom holding the doll with the long brown curls and beautiful nose and lips that looked like her own. She was afraid to go to them when they wanted to talk to her, but holding her new doll, Ellie, she felt safer. She would sit with them and talk and introduce them to her friends.

“Belle is a princess who fell in love with a beast. Blue Teddy takes me on adventures and tells me stories of his forest days.” If she could talk about her friends, she felt better each time they came to visit. On their last visit they brought their daughter Libby who was a couple years younger than Ginny. She had red hair like Lola and Jackson, but Libby’s hair was curly and long like Ginny’s. She always wanted a little sister like Libby. That’s when they all asked her if she’d like to leave the group home and become a part of their family.

Ginny listened to them as they said the words she always wanted to hear. To be adopted was a dream come true and she wanted to pinch herself to make sure she was awake. She darted her nervous eyes between them all, astonished that this was the day she’d been waiting for.

Their smiling faces awaited her response.

“Can I bring all my friends?” Lola and Jackson cried tears of joy, lifting her up in the air screaming, “Yes, yes!” She laughed and felt a warmth in her heart she thought she’d never feel, ever.

But now, all hope was lost. Ginny sat on the grass watching kids play, following the circling birds overhead with her eyes and tears streamed down her face as she mourned the loss of her friends. She was old enough to know they were toys. But they meant so much more to her. The fire had taken them all, just as all her homes had been taken, her first mommy and daddy and all the nice people that gave her friends to her. Who was she now without her friends and all those memories?

“Ginny, oh my goodness there you are!” She turned to the sound of her name and she saw Lola running full speed toward her as Jackson parked the car sideways on the grass and he kissed his hands to the sky as he saw Ginny sprawled on the grass.

Lola collided into her holding her tight and covering her in kisses. “Are you all right baby? We were so afraid!”

Jackson arrived, out of breath, kneeling down and kissing her head, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Ginny, honey,” exhaled, “you can’t just run away. We were worried sick.”

She watched them unable to make them understand. She turned away, the tears stinging her eyes again.

“They’re all gone away.”

They both sat with her, still holding her.

Lola nodded. “Your friends?”

Ginny cried, sobs escaping so quickly she could barely speak. “I…know you won’t…get it. But I..I loved them. All of them! They were always there for me and now…” Her head collapsed into her hands, and she couldn’t stop her cries.

“Honey, we know how important they all were to you,” Jackson said. “They’ve been with you every step of the way, protecting you, keeping you safe. It’s OK to be sad about what happened.”

Ginny looked up at them, these new parents who seemed to genuinely care for her.

Lola stroked her hair. “I know we can’t replace them. But we’re here sweetie. We are your family, and we will never go anywhere.”

That was it, why she felt so broken. Her friends, they were the only stable part of Ginny’s life. They listened to her when she was scared, they told her stories when she couldn’t fall asleep, they loved her. They had been her family.

A cool breeze came across them just then, her hair blew out of her face and suddenly she could breathe better. Lola’s hand was still in her hair, her green eyes were kind and her perfume smelled sweet. Jackson sat in the grass not caring if he got dirty and he smiled at her while he adjusted his glasses and scratched his beard. They way they looked at her was making her feel like her friends always mad her feel. She felt safe.

She thought of Libby and how she always wanted to play with her and sat up with her at night telling stories under the tent in their room.

Her friends had been her family when she needed them, and for all those years they comforted and loved her just as a real family should.

 Ginny knew she could never forget them. But as she looked at her new parents, at their kind eyes and loving hearts, she thought of her new life that lay ahead. She wondered if her friends knew that she would be safe now without them, now that she had a family. They would be happy for her; she knew that in her heart. Ginny wiped her eyes and cried no more.

She stood and held the outstretched hands of her parents. They walked back to the car and headed for home, finally…home.