“Frank, you’ve distressed me the most. Shama has done nothing to provoke your distrust. She has been endlessly accommodating, loving, and caring. You should receive her as a potential bonus to end your stubborn, bachelor-prone ways. You would, if only you could lay your suspicions aside and SEE her as the person she is.”
Willow had leapt from my arms at the introduction of either my yells or the arrival of the two men. She was back to rubbing her head against Mrs. Penn, acting like she was Mrs. Penn’s familiar and not mine. I tried not to let that disturb me. It wasn’t like I didn’t have other matters of concern at the moment. Both boys were softly crying and clinging to me as if their heart had once more been ripped open and shredded in the anger of the moment.
I knew that was my fault for being so upset by Mrs. Penn’s offer and by another rejection in trust by Officer Krugel, plus the suspicions of the doctor. I bent over and hugged the boys, doing my best to soothe them while murmuring soft words of love. My caring for them was certainly no lie. If I could take them with me, I definitely would, but they belonged in Tinkle Town, and I sometimes had doubts as to whether I would ever truly belong. My past always seemed to catch up to me.
“Not, you, too, Doc. What gives you the right to lecture me about what I wish to do?” Mrs. Penn said fussing angrily at him.
Whatever he’d whispered, I hadn’t heard.
“You already have a daughter,” he lectured Mrs. Penn. “She’s your rightful heir and shouldn’t be displaced by the first young female who crosses your path and offers kindness while you’re ill. What would your daughter say about this idea?”
“Is this the same daughter who hasn’t bothered to come to visit me in three years?” Mrs. Penn asked with an ascorbic tongue. “Besides, I never said I was going to write her and my grandchildren out of my will. I only said that I want to adopt this girl. I went ahead and bought this house from the Council. Shama can inherit it, and my daughter can have the home she grew up in — not that she wants it.
“But you’re talking like I’m about to die,” she added. I have no intention of doing so. I just want to enjoy my last years on Earth, and this child is how I figure on doing that, if she’ll let me. Since Frank over there is too stupid and too prejudiced against newcomers to see it any other way, I plan to have myself a family. If the Council would let me, I would love to adopt . . .”
She suddenly stopped, slapped her hand over her mouth and said, “That’s enough of that. My mouth is running away with my intentions. Shama hasn’t said yes, and so we have a stalemate.”
She scooted up in bed, smoothed down the covers, and said, “Frances, are you ready to read to me now? I think you can see Shama isn’t going anywhere. I’m planning on asking if she’ll let me live here with you permanently, so we can all be a family. Would you like that? Could I be your grandma?”
Frances was nodding emphatically. Then, Carlo, glancing first at me, then back at his brother again, followed suit. “Grandma,” he said.
I sighed, feeling trapped. Was this a good thing? Wasn’t it what I’d always wanted? Why did I feel chills running up and down my spine?