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Life's Illusions - 10 years on - Chapter 46
Paulette Caroline Caswel-Thorn was born six months after Josef and Carry married and she was the apple of her fathers eye from the second he watched her enter the world.
From the moment she was introduced to the family she became known as Etta, a name that would stick with her for all of her life.
Josef remarked later, she was the reason Carry changed her mind about security, from the first moment she'd held her daughter in her arms, she got it, that thing Josef had tried to explain, the worry that she would be a target, Carry's protective instinct kicked in, she'd hired a nanny, but Cecile, or Cissy, was no ordinary nanny.
Carry had been quite specific in her requirements, Cissy could annihilate most humans in unarmed combat, carried a legal, licensed, concealed weapon, and adored children, she became, not just nanny, she was a trusted member of the family.
For the other Caswel-Thorn family, there arose a niggling problem.
Right from the time he was taken in by Juan and Pierre, even before his adoption was finalised, Junior wanted to go out every day, always in the evening, walking the promenade.
Both Juan and Pierre could sense he was searching for something or someone, but Junior was never forthcoming in who, or what, he was searching for, until one day he found it, or rather he found her.
It was a Sunday, they were due to fly home to Montclair in a few days, and Junior was getting panicky, they'd joined with the family to have lunch at Mano's on the promenade.
Junior had been anxious to leave when the light started to fade, but as usual he hadn't wanted to head home, he wanted to walk the length of the promenade.
They'd humoured him, but on the return walk, he'd stopped dead.
"It's her, I know it is, don't come with me, I'll be okay, stay here, you'll be able to see me, I promise, I won't be out of your sight, just don't come near until I say it's alright".
And he was gone, walking briskly towards a bundle of blankets, which, in the fading light, were huddled against the sea wall, leaving Pierre and Juan completely mystified.
As he approached, they saw the bundle jerk, then a head appeared, in the next moment the bundle literally exploded, a little figure emerged, engulfing him into a hug.
Pierre and Juan watched as the two figures sat on the sea wall, never letting go of one another, they were obviously talking, catching up.
There were some nodding of heads, some pointing, before Junior waved to them, beckoning them to come closer.
As they approached the little figure was obviously getting nervous, gathering it's possessions.
Junior waved at them to stop, and they did.
There was some more conversation, they couldn't hear what was said, but the figure seemed to relax a little.
Pierre sensed this was someone Junior had a special link with, someone who was important to him, someone who didn't trust the world the way he did, it would need some help to get this person to trust them, and Junior was having difficulty expressing that.
Pierre spoke quietly to Juan.
"Trust me, stay here, don't follow me ".
Pierre walked towards them, he could see the person Junior had been talking to, again start to panic, so he stopped a few feet from them.
"There's no need to be afraid, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, I'm pretty sure that's what Junior has already told you, if you want us to go away we will, but Junior has to come with us, I would be frightened for his safety if he were out on his own at night".
Pierre could see the little figure, it was evaluating what he'd said, so Pierre carried on.
"Could I come closer and say hello?, if you're a friend of Junior, then you're a friend of ours".
The little person nodded, so Pierre walked towards them.
As he got close Pierre could see it was a girl, grimy faced, with greasy, dirty hair, she was shaking slightly with nerves.
Pierre sat down next to them.
"I can see you're afraid, that's natural, but if you trust Junior, you can trust us, we're his parents now, we're staying at our Grandparents apartment, it's not far from here, would you come back with us, you don't have to stay if you don't want to, you can leave whenever you want, but you could at least have a bath, get your clothes washed, have something to eat, Junior will be with you all the time, I give you my promise, you'll be safe".
She was staring at Pierre, then looking at Junior who nodded as if to validate what Pierre had said, then she looked past Pierre to where Juan was still standing, Pierre got it, she needed to meet Juan, he was still an unknown quantity, Pierre beckoned Juan over.
"This is Juan, I'm Pierre, please come with us?".
She nodded, nervously, still not absolutely sure, but willing to trust Junior.
Juan and Junior gathered up her possessions into the two canvas shopping bags she had beside her.
As they set off along the promenade they had to pass Mano's where PJ and Lenny were just emerging, Juan spoke to the girl.
Those two you see there are my Grandparents, they're good guys as well, would it be okay with you if they walked with us?".
Again she looked back and forth but quicker than before, she nodded.
Juan waved Lenny and PJ over.
"Gramps, Gramma, this is a friend of Juniors, she's coming back with us for a bath and something to eat, but she's a little nervous".
Lenny smiled, held out her hand and the child took it immediately, as they carried on along the promenade it was an unusual sight, the little unkempt figure, holding hands, on one side with Junior, who she'd never let go of, and on the other side with Lenny, who she kept looking up at and smiling, it was clear, for some reason, she trusted Lenny.
Back at Thorn Plaza she was more nervous than ever about going up in the lift
Once they got up to the apartment Lenny crouched down in front of her.
"If you ever want to leave, this silver button will bring the elevator up for you, it's an express private elevator, that means it only serves this floor, so when you get in press the button with the down arrow, it will take you to the lobby where we came in".
Standing and turning she led the little figure across to a door.
"This door leads to the emergency stairs, if there were a fire it would unlock automatically, if you cant wait for the elevator you need a security pass to get through it, and the same at the bottom of the stairs".
Lenny took her pass card from her purse and showed the child how to swipe it before pushing the door open to reveal the stairs.
She gave the pass to the child.
"You can leave whenever you want, if you do leave, that pass will get you back into the building, I trust you to keep it safe".
The child examined it carefully before pushing it into her pocket.
She actually looked a little more relaxed now, probably because she could see an escape route.
Junior asked if they could go up to the roof but Juan had other ideas.
"Unless I'm very much mistaken I heard someone's tummy grumbling rather loudly, I think food first, then a bath, then you can go upstairs to play and catch up".
Juan led the still nervous child into the breakfast room where the smell of food was getting stronger, as Juan got her seated, one of the staff came out of the kitchen with two massive cheeseburgers and a bowl of fries, no instruction was necessary for what happened next, two little hands grabbed alternately between burger and fries, devouring the food in record time, and then making short work of the glass of milk which had been placed at the side.
Surprisingly, seconds were refused, politely, with a thank you for the food.
Pierre had once again asked Reene from the household staff to go and raid her uncles shop for clothing.
By then Juan had asked Lenny to supervise bath time in their ensuite.
What came out of the bedroom suite was a complete, and wonderful surprise.
Before them, holding tightly onto Lenny's hand, was a beautiful little blonde haired girl wearing a lemon summer dress, white socks and little lemon coloured sandals.
Junior by now was clearly bored with waiting.
"About time, why do girls take so long to get ready, come on I'll show you the garden upstairs".
She just giggled.
Grabbing her hand he almost dragged her across the lounge to the staircase which led up to the roof terrace.
Everyone stayed in the lounge for the next hour, giving them time to catch up, and finally it clicked with Pierre.
"Did anyone actually get her name?".
Looking around the room, everyone was shaking their heads.
"Well I think it's time we go and join them and maybe Junior will officially introduce us".
As they climbed the stairs to the roof terrace PJ remarked how incredibly quiet they were being, when they saw them it was no surprise they were quiet.
They were curled up together on one of the large sofas, both fast asleep.
Pierre nudged Junior who stretched, yawned and opened his eyes.
"She's really tired, I think the bath and food finished her off, she fell asleep as soon as we got up here, can she sleep in my room tonight?, she'll get frightened if she wakes up and doesn't know where she is".
Everyone agreed that was a sensible and generous idea, but Pierre had a question.
"Who is she Junior, what's her name?".
He looked at his Poppa and a big grin appeared.
"Oops, I forgot to introduce you, her name's Gabriela, but everyone calls her Gabby, she's a runaway like me, she was with a family and they treated her like a slave, beat her if she didn't do everything right, she's been living on the streets for over a year, I met her just after she ran away, we used to meet up for nights, one of us would try to stay awake as much as possible, you have to if you don't want your stuff nicked".
Junior yawned then carried on.
"I think she's about nine, can she stop with us Poppa, she won't be any trouble I promise, she's not big enough to be out there on her own".
As he asked that question tears started rolling down his cheeks, Pierre pulled him into a hug.
"Hey, son, don't get upset, if she wants to stop with us we'll make it happen, but it has to be Gabby's decision, she's had enough of people making her do things, it's about time she got to choose what she wants, you talk to her, tell her we'd all like it if she wanted to stay with us, but she has to be the one who decides".
Juan carried a still sleeping Gabby to Juniors room, there he got her out of her little lemon dress and into princess pink pyjamas, before settling her on one side of the massive king size bed, when Junior climbed into the other side, Juan and Pierre tucked them in, kissing both goodnight before returning to the roof terrace.
Juan looked at Lenny.
"I think there's every chance we might be needing your help again soon Gramma".
Lenny nodded, she'd been instrumental in arranging a lot of the adoptions over the years, but in this case she knew, she would fight tooth and nail to make it happen, the child had had an extraordinary effect on Lenny, and she didn't know why.
Later that same evening Lenny would be provided with an answer to why Gabby had been able to affect her so easily.
Leo arrived home from a golfing holiday, he still used the apartment within PJ and Lenny's as his official residence.
After they'd explained how Junior found Gabby, Pierre led him into Juniors room to see the child, but Pierre hadn't been prepared for the reaction from his Grandfather who'd recoiled as soon as he saw her face.
"It can't be, it's not possible, I need to show you something".
Leo vanished into his apartment, it was a good thirty minutes before he came back carrying a large photo album.
He'd already earmarked the page he wanted them to look at.
Each of them gasped, there in front of them was a photograph of not one but two Gabby's in summer dresses.
Leo said only a few words, but clearly he was freaked out.
"It's Rosa and Rozel aged nine, you have to prepare your Great Aunt Rozel before she meets Gabby, it will hit her hard, you should also prepare your Poppa for a shock, he will see his mother in her as soon as he looks at her".
Pierre was shocked, he made a mental note to call his Poppa Aly next morning, he didn't want his Poppa upset, but at the same time, he was determined, he wanted Gabby.
Bo took the call from Pierre early next morning, he listened, and despite the fact he didn't believe in reincarnation, and was sceptical, he agreed with Pierre, he would brief Aly before they flew over, which they were planning to do immediately.
As Pierre replaced the phone handset into it's stand he heard shouting coming from the hallway where the guest bedrooms were located, the hallway on which Juniors bedroom was situated.
Heading in that direction he literally bumped into an agitated Junior as he rounded the corner.
"She's gone, she wasn't there when I woke up, all of her things are still here, but she's gone".
Pierre shushed him, telling him to calm down whilst he called down to security on duty in the lobby.
Junior was literally jumping up and down whilst Pierre was talking on the phone, then he almost screamed at Pierre as he cut the call.
"What did they say, what time did she leave?, we might be able to catch up with her".
Pierre shook his head.
"No one left the building overnight, the only people to leave since sunrise are all residents known visually to the guard on duty, the security log doesn't show Lenny's pass being swiped, and the elevator hasn't moved since last night so she's here somewhere, come on I have a hunch".
Pierre and Junior climbed the staircase to the roof terrace where they saw her immediately, curled up, fast asleep under a blanket on one of the sofas.
Pierre breathed a sigh of relief, Junior just sat next to her, gazing at her until, as if she sensed him being there, she opened her eyes, yawned and stretched.
"I was too hot in the bed, it's been a long time since I slept in one, I grabbed a blanket and came up here".
Pierre could see Junior was going to do his 'sell it speech', to try and get Gabby to stay, so he left them alone.
Junior held Gabby's hand as she still lay covered by the blanket.
"Everyone wants you to stay, for good I mean, not just a day or two, please think about it, you'd be safe, clean, well fed, I'm so grateful to them for taking me in, but the strange thing is they don't ask for, or want, anything other than love and respect".
He stopped to think before adding.
"When I tried to tell them how grateful I was they just shushed me, Poppa Juan told me, they'd both been where I was, both been saved by kind, loving people, all they were doing was paying it on, and in my case, they said it was an easy task, because they loved having me as their son".
He stopped again anxious to get it right he needed desperately to sell this to her, he was about to launch into his hard sell when she put a finger to his lips.
"I already decided, I want to stay, I hope they'll have me, I don't ever remember being really happy, not like this".
Junior was now jumping up and down in excitement.
"Come on let's go tell them, they'll be so happy, they didn't want to pressure you, they kept saying it had to be your decision".
And so two pyjama clad little figures burst into the breakfast room, with Junior shouting.
"She wants to stay, honest, she does, it's her own decision, I didn't even have to persuade her, can we do the judge thing quick so she can't change her mind, I've got a sister, whoopeeee".
Everyone was doubled up laughing, including Gabby, who by now was sitting on Lenny's lap, and staring at Leo.
Pierre realised, she hadn't met his Grandfather, Leo had arrived after she fell asleep last night.
"Gabby, this is my Grandfather, he'll be your Great Grandfather, the same as he is to Junior, I hope it doesn't worry you but most of the family will want to meet you, in fact my parents are flying in this afternoon from our home in France, and I'd like to bet Poppa Juan's Uncle Woody and Aunt Jacqueline will be with them".
Gabby was definitely overwhelmed with the number of family that came to visit.
The strangest thing that happened was when Rozel came, she looked at Gabby and started to cry, instinctively Gabby put her arms around Rozel, hugging her close, from that moment on she was accepted by Rozel.
Aly just stared, he'd seen photographs of his mother when she was young, this was a reincarnation, but he held it together, hugged her, introduced himself, realised this was not his mother, even if she might be having some input, this was a severely disadvantaged little girl who his son, the boy he was so proud of, had decided needed help.
"Hello, I'm Aly, I'll be your Grandfather, and this other man, he's Bo, he's your Grandfather too, we're here if you need us, don't ever hesitate to call us if you need help, it's what we're here for, Pierre is our son, he's a precious gift we received many years ago, we love him dearly, he wants to adopt you, that means you are special too, welcome to the family".
Gabby just smiled, totally amazed that these people accepted her, didn't want anything from her.
Pierre and Juan's departure from Torremolinas had been delayed because they needed to wait for the legal process of adoption to be completed.
Then it happened, the day arrived, they were going to court, Gabby was going to be officially declared their daughter.
Junior was a mess, he was only half dressed when Juan entered his room, tears were rolling freely down his cheeks, he wasn't making any progress on dressing.
"Come here son, you're letting this get to you, the judge will see it for what it is, a little girl needs a family, we're that family, it's a done deal, trust me, she's going to be your sister before the day's out, now let's get you dressed".
Junior let Juan dress him, and in only minutes they were headed for the court.
The day didn't go exactly as they planned.
When they arrived at the Court Building there were an elderly couple, unkempt, scruffy individuals, and a boy of about fifteen waiting for them.
As soon as they entered the couple almost pounced on them, shouting abuse, accusing them of stealing their child.
"She's our foster child, we've looked after her for the last two years, you can't do this, we'll object, she's coming home with us".
The boy had just stood back, staring at Gabby.
It had taken several court security guards and PJ's personal security to quieten the couple, finally they were ushered into a separate room.
By then Gabby was crying, Junior was crying, Pierre and Juan were livid.
This was the couple who had treated Gabby as a slave, Pierre and Juan were convinced that was the only reason they wanted her back.
A little before the hearing was due to start, Lenny's friend Delores, from Children's Services came to speak with them.
"This may sound like a strange request but I want you to ignore them, let them rant all they want, I'm going to allow them to back themselves into a corner, but there is a slight problem, the boy, we're going to have to take him away from them, he'll have to go back to an orphanage, I wondered if you might consider taking him in, only on a fostering basis, until you know him better that is?".
Pierre looked at Juan who just nodded, effectively giving Pierre the okay to make the decision.
Pierre went to Gabby who was cuddled up on Lenny's lap and holding Juniors hand tightly.
"Gabby, do you know that boy, they're asking us to take him in, but we don't know him, I'm asking for your help here, what do you think we should do?".
Gabby surprised them, she immediately became animated.
"It's Berto, he used to protect me from them, they make him work market stalls every day, he's really strong, but he's gentle, please let him come home with us, he won't be any trouble, he's not like everyone else, they call him the idiot because he has trouble learning things but he's really kind".
Pierre turned to Delores the Children's Services Official with a quizzical look.
She understood his look was a question about the boy being slow to learn.
"Yes he is slow, he's fourteen with a mental age of nine, but we believe he can hold a useful place in society with the right sort of guidance and love, it's why I think you guys can help him, I know the values that weave their way throughout your extended family, not exactly conventional but effective all the same, it's your decision".
Pierre looked at Juan who just smiled and said only a few words.
"Claude, hardest working cog in the machine called, The Inn".
Pierre smiled back at him, Juan's comment had clinched it.
"I guess that's the decision made then, do whatever you need to do, place him in our care for now, we'll work on a full adoption as soon as you can get the paperwork sorted, he needs to know he has stability, only one stipulation, the Judge needs to allow Berto to travel whilst we're sorting things out, so he'll need to be granted a temporary passport, it's about time we went home".
The woman went off to speak with the Judge and as they were entering the Courtroom, being loudly heckled by the awful couple, she gave them a thumbs up.
As the Judge entered everyone stood, with the exception of the couple who were still shouting insults at Pierre and Juan.
The Judge didn't even sit, he grabbed his gavel banging it loudly several times, addressing them directly.
"In my Courtroom I demand respect, for my office, and for the law of the land, any further outbursts will earn you a stay in the cells below us, charged with contempt, don't test me on that promise, now can we get to business".
The couple raised their hands, obviously wanting to be heard first, the Judge was by now losing patience.
"You have something to say, I understand that, but this is a courtroom, enter the witness box, both of you, and swear the oath".
Pierre and Juan were confused, why was the Judge allowing them to do this?.
They were reassured slightly when Delores, the Children's Services Officer looked their way and winked at them.
Having been sworn in the couple began a long monologue of how they had been beside themselves this last two weeks, since their foster daughter had vanished, kidnapped by those perverts, their fingers pointing out Juan and Pierre, they droned on for nearly fifteen minutes until the Judge held up his hand to silence them".
"I have to warn you, perjury is a very serious offence, I have in front of me a file which makes a mockery of that pathetic monologue, and hurling insults at two well respected citizens is not pleasing me, you are excused, go and sit down, remember you are under oath, I might ask you questions as we proceed, and remember to hold your tongues".
Turning to Delores.
"I don't need you to take the oath, you are Children's Services and as such an Officer of The Court".
He stopped to study the file in front of him before continuing.
"This file contains several statements of neighbours, they all allege that the child, Gabriela, has been missing for well over a year".
Delores only answered to confirm that was correct, so the Judge continued.
"So the testimony we heard earlier was a lie, this child was not in their care over the last year?".
Delores answered.
"Officially she was in their care, however, we now know that she ran away over a year ago, they didn't report her as missing, they just kept claiming the fostering allowance each month, the child told me living on the streets was hard, but not as hard as being beaten all the time by them, the child does have old marks which are documented in that file as over a year old, the medical experts who examined the child are waiting to testify if it pleases Your Honour".
The Judge looked at the medical expert reports.
"Court Bailiff, would you convey my thanks and regards to these medical experts, I have every faith in their opinions, I don't need to detain them further, I accept their evidence and opinions as expressed in their sworn statements".
The Judge turned to look at Berto.
"You boy, are you Roberto?".
Berto looked confused, but he answered.
"I'm Berto the idiot Mr Judge sir".
The Judge, along with most of the people in the court were rightly incensed that the boy had been convinced that was his title, but surprisingly it was Gabby who, crying, stood up and shouted.
"You're not an idiot, you're my Berto".
The Judge actually smiled at her outburst before saying.
"Thank you Gabriela, she is right Berto, now I would like a chat, with you Gabriela, and you Roberto, in my chambers, Bailiff, would you escort them, and bring them some Cola, I'll have tea, we will recess for one hour".
In the courtroom the mood was difficult, the elderly couple were escorted back to their room, Pierre, Juan and the family stayed in their seats, eyes hardly ever leaving the door Gabby and Berto had disappeared through.
In the Judges chambers, the mood was entirely different, the children were enjoying Cola and listening to the Judge who had taken off his robes.
"Okay, it's just us, no one can hear us, what's said in here is only going to be known by us, so tell me honestly Berto, is Gabby a bad girl?".
Berto was shocked.
"No sir, she's a good girl, they're horrible to her, I tried to protect her, but I couldn't sometimes".
The Judge didn't comment, he simply turned to Gabby.
"It must have been hard, being on the streets for over a year, is Berto telling the truth, are you a good girl?".
Gabby fixed him with a stare, incensed that he would challenge Berto being honest.
"Berto never lies, he's honest and kind".
The Judge smiled.
"Thank you both for being honest, Berto the same couple who are asking to be Gabby's parents are also asking me to place you in their care, they want you eventually to be their son, how do you feel about that?.
Berto was slow to comprehend what the Judge meant but Gabby helped him.
"They want you to live with us, be my brother, you'll have a brother as well, Junior, he's good, he kept me safe after I ran away, I trust him, the same way I trust you, they'll love you Berto, they won't want anything from you except love and respect, say you agree Berto, please".
Berto thought for a moment before replied.
"Okay, I'd like that, we'll live together, no beating though, I don't like that".
The Judge smiled.
"Okay let's go back to the courtroom, Gabriela, I want you to take Roberto back to sit with your new family, whatever happens stay there both of you".
When they came back out Gabby was holding Berto's hand, she led him back to where the family were sitting, placing him between herself and Junior who immediately put an arm around Berto's shoulders.
Anyone looking on could have seen how happy Berto was with that simple gesture.
The old couple started shouting insults again as soon as Gabby and Berto sat down.
The Judge took his place and banged his gavel down.
Addressing the old couple he said.
"I find you both to be not only in contempt by the nature of the insults you continue to hurl around my courtroom, I also find you have questions to answer about the child known as Gabriela being unaccounted for over this last year, possible charges of child neglect, child endangerment, possible fraud charges for claiming foster payments when you didn't have the child in your custody".
Addressing the Court Bailiff.
"Take them both away, the charges will be determined by the Prosecutors Office and Children's Services".
When they'd been led out, still hurling insults, the Judge turned to Pierre and Juan.
"I'm not sure if you two know just how remarkable you are, I wish I could duplicate you, were it that simple I could sleep easier knowing we would have the means to solve the problem of finding a loving safe environment for every child in need to grow up in".
He paused beckoning Juan and Pierre forward.
"I am going out on a limb today, don't let me down, even without the correct paperwork in place, I'm giving you full adoptive parental rights in the case of Gabriela and of Roberto, what names will you have placed into the records by law for them?".
"Pierre was the one who spoke up.
"We are grateful your honour, we would ask the court to grant us parental status for Gabriela Caswel-Thorn and Roberto Caswel-Thorn as the legal children in law of Juan Caswel-Thorn and Pierre Alphonso Caswel-Thorn".
The Judge banged his gavel down.
"It will be so, Court is adjourned".
Berto looked puzzled, but he'd never again have trouble understanding what was happening, he now had a brother and sister who would always patiently explain whatever confused him as Junior did now.
"That's it Berto, the Judge made it law, no one can dispute it, you are mine and Gabby's brother, you come and ask us about anything you don't understand, we'll do our best to help you understand, if we don't know the answer, we'll find it out together, but right now you need to meet the family, there's lots of them, and they are going to love you".
From that day on they were virtually inseparable, the three musketeers.
TBC
ARB Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.