The Atrium

It was already 10:04 a.m., and the thought of being even one minute, let alone four minutes late was causing my anxious stomach to gurgle uncomfortably. The flier said to be there promptly at 10:00 a.m. The flier also said to have all of your paperwork in order, prior to entering the lobby. I hoped to hell that one out of two counted for something.

My paperwork and I were fifth in a cue of similarly anxious candidates. At first glance, they all seemed decent enough, in an if-you-absolutely-had-to-settle-for-one, kind of way. They all dressed well, seemed to have all of their paperwork in hand, and of course, they all had that one thing over on me. They were all ahead of me in line. 

To be fair, they each probably checked me out in basically the same manner and skepticism, in which I did them. Yes, they were all submitting their paperwork ahead of me, but no way in hell would I ever fit into their ‘absolutely-had-to-settle’ kind of category. I’m not the settling type. 

The young man at the counter, who officially time stamped my paperwork at 10:09 a.m., barely made eye contact with me, let alone spoke. I could not have given an accurate description of him, had my life depended on it, which tells you how quickly that interaction transpired. He was solely there to perform his job, without getting personally involved, and he was very good at it. I suppose in these situations, it is best to make sure that everything is done by the book, so that there are no complications or hard feelings, once a final decision has been made. 

About twenty minutes after my time stamp, a representative entered the main lobby where the five of us - myself and the four ‘settlers’ - still lingered. The representative was an attractive blonde woman, probably in her mid-50’s, and although she had an air of kindness about her, she was certainly all business-like when she spoke. She said that once the committee had ample time to review all of our paperwork, a decision would be announced promptly at 1:00 p.m. In the event the selected candidate failed to show, or had changed their mind, their opportunity would be forfeited and the next best candidate of would be selected immediately. This was not a decision anyone wanted to prolong.

While the rest of the group dispersed through the arched doorway leading toward the parking lot, I remained in the lobby. I honestly could not bring myself to leave. This was too important of an event to simply drop off some papers and split. No, I was here for the duration. 

I located the nearest restroom, a definite priority, and dealt with the aforementioned uncomfortable gurgling situation that I had been experiencing, when I arrived. Nerves. Pure nerves.

My situation situated, I once again found myself back in the main lobby. Noticing a cushy bench alongside a very wide, floor-to-ceiling, double-paned window, I sat down and made myself comfortable. The window itself was incredibly large, more like the size of an entire wall. At second glance, it was actually the focal point of the lobby, something I really had not noticed when I first arrived. The glass framed a fairly large atrium-style garden just outside, which was now demanding my full attention.

Looking out at the atrium, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of calmness come over me, which I could only assume was the whole reason behind the atrium itself. Two big Japanese Maple trees, bigger than any I had ever seen, stood gracefully over a grassy hill in the far corner of the grounds. They offered soft shade and a picturesque photo opportunity for anyone lucky enough to be sitting beneath them.

Closer to the window beside me, a refreshing little waterfall spilled onto oversized, yet carefully placed river rocks. The water trickled downward, forming a textbook style ‘babbling brook,’ which rolled itself over still smaller river rocks, until eventually flowing effortlessly, into a fresh water pond, filled with storybook lily pads & pollywogs. 

Surrounding the pond and the outer edges of the brook was a vibrant mix of beautiful summer flowers. I watched as each flower began to open, just as the sun washed its warmth over their newborn petals. There were bright orange poppies and yellow sunflowers. There were purple and blue pansies, or maybe they were violas, I always get those mixed up. There were yellow daisies and pink hibiscus flowers, and little gray and orange butterflies fluttering everywhere. I watched as the last of the late morning dew glistened on blades of grass, looking like tiny diamonds resting on a delicate bracelet. I was very grateful for the calmness that came over me, as I watched the morning scene unfold.

Just then, someone dropped their cell phone in the lobby, causing an echo that jolted me back to reality. Apparently, I had been so taken aback by the engaging scenery outside, that I had almost forgotten where I was, inside. I glanced at my own cell phone and was stunned to see that I had been daydreaming out that big, framed window for well over an hour. Time was flying and that 1:00 p.m. decision was nearly upon me. That uncomfortable stomach gurgle was now trying to find its way back to me; so much for calmness.

Realizing the need to stretch my legs and get my body moving a bit, I wandered down the nearest hallway, the walls of which were lined with a ridiculous amount of framed photos. These were obviously walls of memories that went on for at least 20 feet down the hallway, with maybe an inch between each frame…maybe.

The photos, all of which appeared to have been take outdoors, were of families, of children, of singles, and couples. There were photos showing obvious laughter and happiness, and even some people in tears of what I hoped represented joy over sadness. Some of the photos, those in black and white, were much older; some further down the hallway, were more recent and in full color. Taking time to look at as many of the photos as possible, I felt honored that the people on these walls chose to share a piece of their lives with myself and others.

As I was nearing the end of that long hallway of photos, a male voice came over the loudspeaker. He said that the decision for that morning’s candidates would be announced in five minutes, and to please gather in the main lobby. I couldn’t believe how quickly the wait time had passed since 10:09 a.m., and that my life would quite possibly be changing within a matter of minutes.

The original five candidates were now down to four, including myself, as one of the other ‘settlers’ had decided not to return. Somehow, I was not surprised.

The same blonde representative who spoke with us earlier that morning, stood in front of the remaining four. She smiled and wasted no time in telling us that in her hand, she held the name of the person the committee had selected.

The representative took a deep breath and unfolded the blue piece of paper that held one name and one name only. She said that this decision had been a unanimous one, which was an unusual outcome, for their committee. They all hoped that the person whose name that was on this piece of paper was still amongst the four remaining candidates. And then, without any hesitation, she said it.

As certain as I was from the start that my name would be on that piece of paper, I was still absolutely stunned when she actually said my name aloud. My eyes teared up instantly, and an emotion that I can only describe as the excitement one might feel when winning the lottery, overtook my entire being. My ears were ringing, my knees were weak, and I wanted to jump for joy! Life as I had known it was about to change.

The blonde woman came right up to me and gave me a hug. So much for keeping things all business-like. She said she was so happy for me and so thrilled that I had submitted my paperwork this morning. She asked me to follow her out to the atrium and then asked me to have a seat on the grass underneath the Japanese Maples. Since my knees were about to buckle, anyway, I was more than grateful to plant myself in this beautifully calming place. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

Less than five minutes later she returned, but she was not alone. She brought with her my new best friend, my new family member. He seemed to be smiling from ear to ear, like he already knew I was his and he was mine. He was a big boy, maybe forty pounds or so, with black marble colored fur, and a tail that wagged uncontrollably from side to side. He was doing all he could to escape his leash and run to the woman sitting under those shady trees - me. And then he did just that.

He was too strong for the kind representative to hold him back any longer, and so, my handsome boy ran to me under those trees and that was it. We were inseparable from that moment on. He leaped all over me with excitement, he barked and yelped and he gave me a million kisses. I hugged him and kissed him and told him I was his Momma now. But he already knew that. 

We had only met here once before, when he was cowering in his kennel, after someone had found him wandering the streets alone. I knew he was mine from the moment I saw him, and I wouldn’t settle for any other. But, of course, there are procedures for these things, so we had to be patient and do this by the book. But even the book knew we were meant for each other.

The blonde representative took our very first picture in that atrium, under those amazing Japanese Maples. We were both so excited and happy and I had tears of joy streaming down my face! My handsome boy and I now joined the other lucky families on the wall of memories in that 20-foot hallway. We were a family now, and we were home.