Dennis
Dennis and Daniel loved going in the sandpit to play all sorts of games. In one game, one would be the genie while the other would pretend to be Aladdin making wishes to the genie. And after that wish, they would immediately find what they want in the sandpit by digging it up…
One day, in the middle of Aladdin, they heard an announcement from the rusty speaker in the play yard: “Dennis, please come into the building and into the main office”. Daniel, digging in the sandpit for the treasure, immediately jerked his head up midway to stare at Dennis. Dennis stared back, reluctantly. He got out and made his way to the gate and headed inside the dark building. Dennis had always questioned why the lights inside were so irregular, some dim, some broken, one red bulb… the walls were mostly white, the halls were small and crowded with either people or donated clothing, and it almost always had an odor of floor wax mixed with food smells, odors of the three different meals served every single day: cabbage soup, hotdogs with buns that tasted like cardboard, and soggy egg salad sandwiches. Dennis was familiar with the smell, but it seemed to never clear up. As he kept on walking, his heart gradually started beating faster and louder. He preferred not to be faced with unexpected situations. He walked in the main office.
An old grumpy lady volunteering to watch the main office handed him a piece of small white paper. He read it over and over again – not daring to believe what he saw.
“To Dennis, you will be meeting a pair of foster parents that selected you, please wait in the main office”. He sat down.
In the main office there was an old grandfather clock – it was twelve o’clock, and the time was going – nothing would stop it. Dennis’s heart was pounding so fast that it seemed as if that’s the only thing he would hear for the rest of the afternoon. It was Dennis’s first time ever being selected by foster parents, and he had vivid memories of other orphans getting picked up and then being sent back again after only a few weeks. The old grandfather clock had been there ever since he was only a little four year-old; now he was nine, and his birthday was next week. He had been hoping to get an iPhone soon. He always was intrigued by technology.
“Hi, Mrs. Hart.” Mrs. Hart had mid-length blonde hair and wore high heels, a white shirt tucked into her knee length skirt. Though she had a few strands of white hair and a few wrinkles in the forehead, she changed her earrings every day and had light makeup on, and her eyes always carried a youthful sparkle.
“Dennis! We have good news for you: a couple saw your file and wants to have a meeting with you! Come with me.” Dennis followed without a word. They then walked across the hall and into a bright room with a framed poster of the beach on it and some photos of posturing foster parents with their adoptees. Inside was a room with white paint peeling off and even though the room seemed of considerable size, it was claustrophobic. A glossy wooden table was plunked in the center with two matching seats on either side. Sitting opposite were a lady and her husband both in their mid-thirties. The lady had a well-tailored dress and her husband had an equally well-tailored suit; they seemed to be overly nice and smiley.
“Dennis, this is Mr. Treech and Mrs. Treech,” introduced Ms. Hart.
“Hiiii, Dennis! We’ve been looking forward to meeting you!” trilled Mrs. Treech.
Mr. Treech eyed him up and down, “You seem like a very quiet kid – that’s my type of kid!” He gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Mhmmmm,” Dennis mumbled. He didn’t know what to say to that. What was he going to do if he did end up with these parents? How were they going to react when they found out that he was not quiet at all?
“Awww, no need to be scared, Dennis. What do you like?”
“Umm, I like reading and-and… playing.”
“Do you like any sports?” Mr. Treech had a demanding voice.
“Uh, yeah I-I do.”
“Don’t scare the boy!” Mrs. Treech scolded.
Dennis nodded and stared at his shoes. He did not have a good feeling about these people.
“So, Mrs. Hart, when can we take him in?” said Mrs. Treech in a high pitched sweet voice.
“Um, as soon as you want. As the paperwork is finished, and the interview is happening now, I would just suggest that you give it a day or so.”
“Great! How ‘bout we pick him up tomorrow?”
“W-wait, what?” Dennis found himself saying out loud.
“Don’t be scared, we’re going to love you very much!” Mrs. Treech leaned forward.
“Sure! Are you guys sure you don’t want a few more meetings before that though? How do you feel, Dennis?” Dennis didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to leave with these people, and before he could answer… “Ahh, shy kid! He must definitely like us!”
“Oh, um, alright! Dennis you may go back to your dorm. Playtime is already over.” Wordless, Dennis left, his heart beating faster than ever.
The next day after lunch, at playtime in the yard, Dennis was playing with Daniel like normal.
“I don’t know about you, Dennis, but I think today’s sand is a bit deeper than yesterday!”
“I think it’s just your imagination – hey get out of the sand pit! It’s our turn, you guys get it later!”
“Dennis! Check this cool rock out! It has so many colors!”
“Yeah, I wish Mrs. Hart would let us keep them.”
The speaker interrupted them: “Dennis, please report to the main office right now.”
Dennis left and went to the gates and into the building. When he got to the office, Mrs. Hart was there waiting for him with a sympathetic look on her face.
“Dennis, I am so sorry, but Mr. and Mrs. Treech had a delay in picking you up today. You’re going to stay in the orphanage.”
“Oh… okay, thanks Mrs. Hart,” Dennis said in disbelief.
“Alright Dennis, you can go back to playing.”
Dennis walked back, heart pounding, his mind swirling with questions and confusion. It had seemed so close – so quick and so sudden – that he was about to abandon his life in the orphanage and go and live with a rich couple for his parents. He felt a surge of strange disappointment and relief, so unfamiliar. Perhaps he felt relieved because he knew that a part of him didn’t feel quite ready to leave Daniel, Mrs. Hart and the orphanage yet. But deep down he felt regret – maybe Mr. and Mrs. Treech didn’t like him. Maybe he should have said a bit more about himself: how was he supposed to know what to say and do anyways? After all, he had no memory of having parents before. He went to sleep that night and had strange dreams.
Dennis woke up to puffy and slightly red eyes, and a slight headache forming at what felt like the base of his skull. It was like he’d woken up from one of those dreams where you cry and soak up your pillow with tears. Dennis felt like he was sagging into himself as he threw off his blanket; while everyone was getting up and tidying their beds, Dennis sat there, and out of nowhere a Dennis felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Daniel.
“Hey, you alright?”
“Ye-yeah,” said Dennis, finding that his voice somehow sounded kind of faded. He could barely hear himself over other kids’ waking noises.
“Mrs. Hart told me to tell you to go down to the office… said something about foster parents.” Daniel’s voice was shaking a little as he turned away. He felt like a bruise, having it iced up, and after, it felt just a bit better – but someone had hit the same place again. For just a few seconds Dennis felt nothing but numbness. He got up, and slowly made his way out to the hallway, dreading the news that was waiting for him.
“Hiiiiiii Dennis!” was the first thing Dennis heard when he walked in the office. He immediately recognized Mrs. Treech’s sickly sweet trill.
“We’re here to pick you up – there was a bit of a confusion yesterday”, said Mr. Treech. Dennis saw that he had rather yellow teeth.
“Dennis, why don’t you go pack your things?” Ms. Hart said. “Do you want a few extra minutes to say goodbye to everyone?”
“Umm, I’ll just go pack, thanks.”
Dennis made his way up again, feeling a strange scratchy feeling in his throat. It felt like something was blocking it, and the closer he got to the dorms, the bigger it got. Soon, while Dennis was packing, he found his vision all blurry. He roughly wiped his eyes and carried on. Other children were beginning to stare, and some even rudely pointed at him and started talking loudly. He didn’t care, and by this point even though it was very loud around him with kids talking and bickering, all of that seemed to be blocked out. Daniel seemed to be feeling the same sensation as Dennis. He came over, and pound-hugged him, pressing his head on his shoulders. Both thumped each other’s back – Dennis still remembered the first time Daniel taught him how to hug like that; he had said that it was called a “man’s hug”; he said he remembered seeing his dad hugging his uncle like that. From then on, that was how they always celebrated small victories – and finally Daniel let go with a noogie on Dennis’s head.
“This will be the last time.”
“Y-yeah, bye.” Just like that, Dennis grabbed his things and left. He found he wasn’t even really paying attention to where his legs were bringing him. When he got down to the office, he was determined to not show his emotions. Mrs. Hart crouched down and put both her hands on Dennis’ shoulders. Dennis saw that her eyes seemed to shine more than usual.
“We’ll be missing you, Dennis. Bye bye now.”
“Come on, kid,” said Mr. Treech gruffly, putting his huge hand on Dennis’ head. Though his voice was harsh, his hand felt rather gentle.
Dennis’ stuff was packed in the trunk of Mr. Treech’s black Toyota Highlander. It smelled of cigarettes and heavy perfume. “Sit in the back, boy,” Dennis was told, “and try not to get anything dirty.” Dennis was astonished by both Mr. Treech’s rudeness and the luxurious leather interior of the car. Mr. Treech took out a cigarette and lit it, and Mrs. Treech took makeup out of her purse and started to dab it all over her face. Dennis saw in the reflection from the visor mirror that Mrs. Treech’s mouth was nowhere as wide as the smile she had given to Mrs. Hart at the orphanage. Mr. Treech looked into the rearview mirror and into Dennis’s eyes – there was no warmth in them and right above the corner of his right eyebrow, there was a small scar.
“From now on, you call us sir and ma’am. Ya hear me?”
“Yes sir.”
Mr. Treech then took a glance at his watch.
“We’re about an hour away from the airport; our plane is in three hours. Kid, remember, when the security asks you questions, either stay quiet or say that you don’t know. I don’t care what they ask you. You follow and do what I say. Got it?”
“Yes sir.”
“Dear, we have a change of clothes for you, so when we get to the airport, just follow Roger into the men’s restroom to change.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Dennis then looked out the window. The orphanage was already out of sight. Mrs. Treech had her legs crossed in the front seat. She bent over to retrieve what looked like a plate from her tote bag, turned around in her seat.
“Dear, I thought you would be hungry, so I cut up some fruits for you before we came to pick you up – eat up!”
“Yeah, the kid ought to have some food – he can’t walk around looking like that with us. It’ll look like we starved him!”
Dennis didn’t say anything. He suddenly felt defensive of the orphanage. Even though they didn’t serve the best food, he was still fed, and thinking of that, his thoughts immediately swirled to Mrs. Hart and Daniel. All of a sudden, it began to slowly, slowly sink in… He was going to leave the orphanage forever – he was never going to see Mrs. Hart and Daniel again. He felt a similar scratchy sensation in his throat. It was as if something was trying to come out of him, but whatever it was, he wasn’t going to let the Treeches see. The more he held it in, the more painful it became. His new life was waiting for him, whether he liked it or not….