Cynthia'S New Home

[robehouse]

Melanie nods as Cynthia explains what she wants done. She follows Cynthia to the electronics department and puts the stuff she wants into it. There is no more room for Cynthia in the cart.

"Why don't you hold onto the handle of the shopping cart. I think we need to get going now."

She waits for Cynthia to take hold of the cart then starts up to the checkouts.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Yes I think we should get going too. Mark is probably going to wonder where we got off to." She holds onto the side of the cart as they go to the checkout. Cynthia starts close to Melanie as the lady checks them out. After they checked out. She looks at Melanie. "Are we going somewhere else or are we going home now?"

[robehouse]

Melanie keeps an eye on Cynthia as she loads everything on the checkout counter. She notices Cynthia drawing closer to her when they walk up to where the checkout lady is. She reaches down and hugs Cynthia to let her know it's okay. Finally she puts the shopping bags in the shopping cart and starts out the door.

"I thought you might like to go to Mcdonald's or somewhere like that for dinner. If we went home, I would just have to order a pizza or something, and we just had pizza for lunch. Would you like to eat out today?"

[baby_snow_white]

The cashier smiles at Cynthia. "Your daughter is a little cutie. How old is she? I would guess 3 or 4 years old by the way she is dressed,her being shy and sucking her thumb."

Cynthia hides farther behind Melanie. "McDonalds is fine with me." She follows Melanie out of the car. "Melanie, why did she say I was 3 or 4 years old? Do I look that young to you in this outfit?"

[robehouse]

Melanie listens at the cashier asks Cynthia age. "She is 14. I just adopted her She has emotional problems."

Melanie walks out to the car with Cynthia. When Cynthia asks how old she looks Melanie looks down at her.

"Well, I would guess 9 or 10 if I didn't know you, certainly not 3 or 4. For one thing you are too tall for that age and for another you act nothing like a toddler. Cynthia, you will probably hear a lot of people misguess your age. You will have to learn not to let it bother you. We accepted you as you are, and it doesn't matter what age you look like. We know how old you are."

Melanie unlocked the car and opend the back door for Cynthia to get in. Melanie walked around to the back and put the shopping bags and other things in the trunk and shut it. She came around to the passenger side and got in the front seat. As Mark started the car Melanie glanced in the back seat to see if Cynthia had fastened her seat belt.

[baby_snow_white]

The cashier shakes her head. "Well she doesn't look like she is 14. I've never seen a 14 year old that still sucks her thumb."

Cynthia looks at Melanie. "I didn't think I looked that young,but she seemed to think I was that young." The cashier thought I was acting like a toddler." Cynthia gets in the car and sets down in the seat. She starts looking out the driver side window at some seagulls flying around. Cynthia smiles contently as she day dreams about being able to fly like a bird.

[robehouse]

"Fasten your seatbelt Cynthia."

After about twenty minutes they arrive home. Melanie gets out and opens the door for Cynthia. She leads Cynthia around to the trunk and starts pulling out shopping bags, handing the ones with the toys to Cynthia to bring into the house. She closes the trunk and leads Cynthia into the house. They walk upstairs and Melanie takes Cynthia into the spare bedroom that will become her playroom. Mark waits outside for the truck to arrive with the furniture that they bought.

"This room will take some fixing up Cynthia, but I think it will make a great playroom. Don't you?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia grumbles. "I don't like wearing it. It is uncomfortable. It rubs my neck." She grabs the bags with the toys in it and follows Melanie upstairs. Cynthia looks at her playroom. "You are right. It is going to take some fixing up,but I think it will make a great playroom too." She looks around the room. "It has it own bathroom. Good I will not have to run to the bathroom if I am in here playing. Cynthia sets in the windowseat and looks out at the backyard. "The view up here is great. I could draw alot of good pictures from up here. I can see forever." Cynthia looks at Melanie. "Do you have horses? I saw some inside the fenced in area pass the trees in the backyard."

[robehouse]

Melanie frowns as Cynthia mentions that the seatbelt rubs against her neck. She would have to buy whatever it is that extends the seatbelts so a child can use them right. She would have to ask Mark about it later.

Melanie follows Cynthia over to the window and looks outside. She sees the horses Cynthia is referring to.

"Actually, we are loaning out that part of the yard to the neighbors so they can pasture their horses. However, we have been told that we can come over and see the horses anytime we want, and even ride them. Have you been around horses before?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Oh I see." She shakes her head. "No I've never been around real horses. I've seen rocking horses and stick horses. I've seen horses in movies and TV. The three most famous horse is Lone Ranger's Silver,Roy Rogers' Trigger and the horse at Florida State. I can'r remember his name." Cynthia gets out of the window seat and runs to her room. She comes back with her sketch pad and flips though it until she came to Renegade. "I drew this from a picture in a book in the library." She flips to the next page. "This is the flaming spear that the native american that rides the horse throws down on the field before the game starts." Both pictures are museum quality pictures. "This isn't my own pad. In the bottom of the box you put my clothes in at the orphanage is 5 more pads full of pictures. The only time I can focus for a long period of time is when I'm drawing and when I'm playing my guitar."

[robehouse]

Melanie listens as Cynthia explains about the horses. She looks at the pictures in shock. "These are really good Cynthia! would you mind if I had some of these framed and hung on the wall?"

The delivery truck arrives and Mark shows the workers where to put the desk and the couch. He then leads the men upstairs with Cynthia's new bed. He goes into Cynthia's bedroom and takes the crib mattress off the toddler bed frame. He moves the frame and the mattress out into the hall and has the workers set up the new bed in it's place. Mark tips the workers and then lets them out. He comes back upstairs to where Melanie and Cynthia are.

"Okay, our daughter's bed is set up now. You women can go get it fixed up with the bedding and stuff."

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia shrugs. "If you want to. I didn't think they was very good. It was just something to keep me focused for a while. I've never shown my drawings to anyone before. I fill up a sketch pad with my drawings and then put it into the box. I get another pad from the art teacher at the orphanage." She goes and get the other pads out of her room. Cynthia hands the pads to Melanie. "Here are the rest of my drawings." She looks at Mark was a shocked look on her face. "I've never heard that word used to describe me before. Daughter. I like it. It sounds really nice. We will be there in a little bit. Melanie is looking at my drawings. She thinks that are really good."

[robehouse]

Mark listened as Cynthia said she liked the sound of being called their daughter."I really mean it too. You are always going to be our daughter."

Mark took one of the sketch pads and started looking through it. He couldn't believe how good the drawings were either. "I agree with Melanie. These are too good to be kept in a box somewhere. How do you draw these? I mean are they all things that you have seen or are they from your mind?"

"I think you should start getting your bed together though. After you are done with that I have something downstairs I want to show you."

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Some of the things are things I've seen in real life,in pictures in books, in movies, on TV. Some of the pictures are of things I have in my mind. The things I have in my mind are never planned out. They just happen and my hands draw them as my mind works. Where was alot at the orphanage to draw. There was alway something new to draw. Birds and squirrel are hard to draw because they will not set still long enough to draw them." She nods. "Ok we can put my bed together. What do you want to show me downstairs? Is it a good surprise?"

[robehouse]

"I guess you would have to draw a bird or squirrel from a picture, rather than try to draw them in real life. I think it is a good surprise. We will find out if you do too."

Melanie and Cynthia walk over to Cynthia's bedroom. Cynthia's bed has just the headboard and footboard and bare mattress. Melanie walks over and starts looking through the bags. She pulls out all the different sets of bedding they had bought.

"Which bedding do you want on your bed for tonight?" Melanie wondered.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Yeah I guess I will have to unless I can get one to land in superglue." She runs out of her playroom and goes to her bedroom. Cynthia looks at her choices. "Tinklebell." She helps Melanie put the bedding on her new bed. Cynthia looks around. "She is gone. Angie has ran away from home." She sets down on her bed and starts crying. "How could she run away from home? This is the best home we have been in."

[robehouse]

Melanie helps Cynthia put the Tinkerbelle sheets and comforter on the bed and sees her looking for Angie. When Cynthia sits down and starts crying, Melanie sits down next to her and puts her arm around Cynthia.

"I'm sure Angie is somewhere around here, Cynthia. Where did you see her last?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia looks at Melanie. "She was setting on the bed when we left. Angie told me she would wait here on the bed and now she is gone. I'll never see her again. She was more than just my doll. Angie was my best friend. She would listen to me and not judge me if I did something wrong. She is the only one who never turned her back on me when the other people who adopted me did."

[robehouse]

Melanie listens as Cynthia tells her that Angie was laying on her bed when she left. Melanie knows that Mark took the bed apart earlier.

"I will be back in just a minute, Cynthia."

Melanie stands up and leaves Cynthia's room. She finds Mark standing out in the hall.

"Have you seen Cynthia's doll? She says she left her on her bed before we went shopping. I know you took the toddler bed apart, so I was wondering if you did something with her?"

Mark smiles. "I took her doll and put her in the top drawer of the dresser to keep her safe. I know she means a lot to Cynthia."

Melanie went back into Cynthia's room and walked over to the dresser. She opened the top drawer and took out Angie. She brought her over to Cynthia and set her on Cynthia's lap. "Here she is."

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Ok I'll be right here." She smiles when she sees Angie. "Why was you hiding in the top drawer of the dresser? If you wanted to play hide and go seek. You should have waited for me to get back so we could have played together." Cynthis nods. "Of course I forgive you for hiding. I was really worried that you had ran off while we was gone." She looks at Melanie. "I'm ready to see whatever the surprise is that Mark has for me."

[robehouse]

Melanie smiled as Cynthia talked to her doll. she was glad the doll was found.

Mark took Cynthia's hand and led down the hall and to the door to the room that was to be her studio.

"Close your eyes until I tell you to open them."

Mark waited for Cynthia to close her eyes, then led her into the room. A Dark brown desk sat against one wall and had a couple of sketchbooks on it. Against another wall was a purple couch. Cynthia's guitar was laying on the couch, as well as several pages of sheet music.

"Okay, open your eyes now."

Mark held his breath as Cynthia looked at the room.

"If you don't like the colors, I can either have the couch upholstered in the material you want, or we can exchange it for another one."

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia looks around the room and gasp. She turns around and gives Mark a big hug. I love the couch. Purple is so regal and a royal color. That is what you both make me feel like. I feel like a princess. The desk is a little too dark in color. It makes the room seem darker than it should. A lighter colored desk would brighten the room up. I read it in a magazine that Mrs. Hall had. She is the art teacher at the orphanage and she use to be an interior designer before she came to the orphanage to take over the position of art teacher." Cynthia sets down on the couch and picks up her guitar. "This is perfect. The couch isn't too fluffy.So I will not sink down too much and have a hard time getting out,but it isn't too hard which would make it uncomfortable to set on for a long time." She looks at Melanie. "Do you have any family or friends that will be coming here to visit?"

[robehouse]

Mark nods when she talks about the desk. "We can exchange it for a lighter colored wood. I'm glad you like the couch. You are our little princess."

"Yes, we sometimes have friends over, and we have family that drops in sometimes. Our parents visit us about three or four times a year, and we have other relatives as well. Why are you asking that?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Thank you for getting me a couch and the desk. I really like them both." She looks at Melanie. "I was trying to judge what size my new family is. Whether it was big or small. I'm not sure I am going to like having all those relatives around. It sounds very overwhelming and I don't go well with people I don't know. It took me almost 2 years to say anything at school to anymore. They thought I was deaf and couldn't hear very well. That is why I stood behind you at Walmart when we was checking out. I was afraid of the cashier. She seemed nice except for saying I looked like I was 3 or 4 years old."

[robehouse]

"They won't all be at the same time, Cynthia. There will only be maybe two or three people in here at any one time. My sister Nancy is expected to be here in a couple of weeks with her five year old daughter Megan. Nancy just divorced her husband and she says Megan has been regressing since the divorce. She said Megan wears disposable training pants most of the time and sleeps in Pampers. If her visit is too soon for you, I can call and ask her to postpone the visit for awhile."