Saving Della Ray

Just then, we heard sirens blasting through the air as they arrived at the house.

With a victorious glance, her sister rushed to the door to welcome the officers in.

Della-Ray looked up at me with fear in her eyes, I told her not to worry.

She still let go of me to turn around to welcome them. They had barely arrived at the house before her sister began to sing her song and I honestly couldn’t believe that they were related.

The officers glanced at me as she made up accusations about my forcing my way into the house and threatening them all to which Della-Ray immediately tried to defend, but I held her arm back, and shook my head to discourage it. There was no need.

When she was done with her complaining, the officer in charge turned to me, one eyebrow cocked. “Miller?”

“I’ve got it all handled,” was my simple response.

“Family dispute then?” his partner asked.

I nodded.

“Sure.” With a polite tip of their hats at me, both men turned around and exited the house.

Her sister stared after them in shock.

So did Della-Ray. “What just happened?” she asked.

“We’ve had some run-ins,” I explained briefly. “They’re familiar enough with me. Come take a seat,” I said to her and holding her hand, I led her over to the sofa. “You both need to talk about this. You love Jess and think she is best with you, but your sister is her mother after all. Talk about it.” I settled her on the sofa, then turned to her sister who was still fuming at the door. “You don’t want to settle this?”

The man she was with headed over to sit opposite Della. He patted the area next to him.

We all looked towards her sister, but she refused to comply. Her jaw was set in a stubborn line.

“What’s the real problem here?” I asked. “Della’s taken care of Jess since she was a baby. Why the sudden need to take her to an orphanage?”

“First, tell me why the hell I have to explain myself to you?” she sniped.

God, help me, I wanted to shake some sense into her, but thankfully Della’s friend stepped in, “It’s my fault. I was the one who originally gave Denise the impression that Della Ray wasn’t coping with the financial stress of taking care of Jess’s medical bills,” she confessed.

I could see the outrage bloom on Della’s face, but I held her hand tighter to indicate that she should let it go and calm down.

Ignoring Della’s expression, her friend looked straight at me. “Jess was not living and it hurt me to watch her keep struggling just to make ends meet. My intention was to call Denise and tell her to make contributions towards Jess’s care instead of acting as though she didn’t exist, but it seems she would prefer to put her in an orphanage.”

“I still can’t understand why I can’t do with my child as I please,” her sister piped in.

“I know what your problem is,” Della yelled. “You feel guilty and you’re afraid that Jess will eventually come to resent you. Your pride is threatened and instead of finding ways to take responsibility for her, you want her to be abandoned all over again, and make your incapability someone else’s problem.”

“How dare you talk to me that way?” her sister spat, her eyes shooting angry sparks.

I understood what was going on now and knew that it wasn’t my place to decide what the outcome would be. “Della,” I said to her. “Let’s not drag this out any further. You’ve heard from your sister and since she is Jess’s mother, you have to consider her option.”

“But—” Della began.

I shook my head at her, then turned to Denise. “What would Della have to do to convince you that she is capable of taking care of Jess?”

That threw her. It was clear she hadn’t given it any thought at all. “I just want what’s best for her,” she said finally. “A good family. A good education. Her medical bills paid.”

“True, you have the right of being Jess’s biological mother, but Della has been Jess’s guardian for a while now, and for abdicating your motherhood for so long, you also do not have complete right over Jess any longer. So, let’s give this a month. Now that Della knows what is important to you, she can work towards proving that she can provide all those things on your list and if she can’t then, you will need to inform her of how the adoption process can be made more acceptable to her.”

“I like the idea,” Nichole declared. “Let’s revisit this again after a month.”

I rose to my feet and looked at Nichole. “Do they have room and board with you for the night?”

“Uh. No. We don’t have any room.”

“Let’s go,” her sister’s partner said, and rose to his feet.