Fighting for Emma Part 3

Hi everyone, it's Reese! I have some Emma news to share (yes, I do realize that I blog about this a lot, but now it's getting exciting!). Do you remember how I told you that my mom was flying to Washington? Well, she left around 4 a.m. this morning.

It was 3:30 a.m. in the morning and everyone was asleep. I was awaken by the sound of a crash. At this point, I was scared, so I hopped out of bed, taking my trusty unicorn pillow pet, and hurried into the kitchen where the noise came from. Standing in business attire was my mother, who looked distressed as she cleaned coffee from  the white tile floor. As she looked up to put the coffee pot in the sink, she noticed me standing in the doorway and almost dropped the coffee pot again.

"Good morning Ree. Did I wake you up?"

"Yes, kinda." I replied, trying to avoid being mean, but also being honest.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." My mom said as I was engulfed in a hug. At that very moment, my unicorn fell into the coffee puddle, and now has a brown stain on its muzzle. (That's okay though, because I love my unicorn.)

"Are you going on the flight today?"

"Yes, I was just about to leave."

I notice a medium-sized duffle bag near the front door, accompanied with a large suitcase and my mom's briefcase.

"Okay, well, can you see Emma today?" I inquire.

"Most likely not." My mother replies, and picks her travel mug overflowing with decaf coffee.

My dad shows up in the doorway, wearing plaid pajama bottoms, and looking extremely groggy compared to my mom.

"Goodbye love." He says to my mom as her ushers her to the door.

"Love you Ree, and you." She says with a laugh, picking up the briefcase.

"See you on Saturday mom."

"Bye Reese, say goodbye to your sisters for me." She replies, then walks out the door and starts her car.

At this point, my dad looks at me and says,
"Let's head back to bed, shall we Reese's?" He chuckles, using his special nickname for me.

"We shall." I reply, and we walk down the hallway together, only parting when I reach my bedroom.



The next part of our story comes later that evening, around 6 p.m. I am typing up a Global report for school when a Skype call comes in.

"It's mom!" Isabella yells.

"I'll answer."

Over a camera, our mom tells us that she indeed did see Emma today, around 2:00 p.m. Here's what we know now.

The orphanage is willing to let Emma go early, but only if we can prove that we are adequate caregivers for Emma. Despite my mother's pleas, we all will have to fly out to Washington this weekend. Because of this, my mom will stay in Washington, and me, my dad, Isabella, Samantha, and Nellie will meet her there on Friday, late at night.

The earliest we could adopt Emma would be on Sunday, May 20. My dad promised me not to worry about all of this legal stuff, but it's hard not to when even your parents are worrying.

My mom also got to have one hour of a supervised visit with Emma. From what my mom told us, CPS was right. Emma is extremely petite and has a worried nature to her. Emma is very shy and usually has very limited responses, even when she is questioned. If the name Lucy is mentioned, Emma grabs onto the handles of a chair and freezes. It is as if she is blind to the world and is trying to put a wall in between to protect herself. Considering what Emma has been through, this doesn't surprise me at all. She is unwilling to trust anyone except her service worker, and she is even lenient about that. We now have a more detailed visual description as well- Emma has very light skin, caramel-colored brown hair, large aqua-colored eyes, and a thin, heart-shaped face. She is fourteen years old, but she turns fifteen on May 22.

Do you remember how Lucy still wants revenge on Emma? Apparently, she is locked up, but the orphanage has reported some people lurking around and asking for Emma. I have a strong gut feeling that Lucy has something to do with these people, and I don't like it one bit. The orphanage has not let them in, but that doesn't stop them from constantly surrounding the building. My mom had to show proof that she is working with the adoption agency to even be allowed in the office. In the visit with Emma, many guards surrounded both my mom and Emma.

My mom is staying in Washington all week, so we will hopefully have some new information throughout the week to share.


I know that Emma is somewhat safe in the orphanage, but she will have to go to school soon. Going to school also means going outside, and being in public all day long. I'm worried that one of these people may attempt to hurt Emma. I don't know what to make of this situation. Poor Emma! She's only fourteen, but this is a ton for anyone to handle.

Love,
Reese <3