OF ALL THE CAMPSITES, IN ALL THE WORLD

Chapter 11  

They told us that we could stay with Jordan as long as we wanted today and that tomorrow, from what they understood, she would be going with us. That was what the lawyer had explained to us as well. We stayed with Jordan for as long as we could, which was most of the day. We got permission from John and Mary to take her for dinner, we let her pick the place and once we dropped her back off, we promised her that we would be back for her first thing in the morning.

When Kevin and I got back to the hotel, we decided that we weren’t going to tell anyone until we knew what the will said. So once we got back we would hold a little party to welcome Jordan and explain to everyone what happened. I slept peacefully that night, as did Kevin. He knew that since his father told him to do it, it was the right thing.

In the morning we were up early and ready to get Jordan. We found her waiting outside again for us all dressed up. We told John and Mary that once we were done at the lawyers’ office that we would come by and get the rest of Jordan’s things. We went for breakfast and then headed over to the lawyers’ office. We gathered in the conference room, I noticed that there was a couple of other people there as well.

“Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Richardson. This is Jane Dorset from Child Protective Services and this is James Landsing from government offices. Please have a seat.” He finished as he pointed to two chairs. We sat together, while Jordan sat on Kevin’s lap. “Let’s get started. The will is extremely simple. Veronica had no other relatives, she was an only child as was her husband. He passed away four years ago as a result of a drunk driver. Veronica has left everything to Jordan. It will be held in trust for her by the Public Trustee until she is 21. At that time, she can have the whole amount. Veronica requested that you be named as Guardians for her. Since there is no relatives, you can take Jordan with you as soon as you want. You are required to keep in contact with Jane.”

“That’s right.” Jane said. “It is my job to make sure that everything is going fine. Since Jordan is a minor, she needs to be looked after. When she turns 18 she can do what she wants.”

Kevin and I looked back at the lawyer, “Yes, well, the best thing to do with the house that they lived in, would be to sell it and put the money into trust for Jordan. I can arrange for that for you. And that about does it. Do you have any questions?”

Kevin and I looked at one another. “There is no problem with taking Jordan back to Florida tonight then?” Kevin asked.

“Not at all.” Mr. Stewart said. He explained to us that Mrs. Dorset, expected to hear from us once a month and she would occasionally be sending a colleague over to check on us. Mr. Landsing was going to handle the sale of the house and would forward all the money to us to be held in trust for Jordan until she turned 21.

That was it. She was ours now. The only stipulation was that we couldn’t change her name from Bennett. Which was fine. We left the lawyers office after signing all the papers and leaving contact numbers and addresses. Our first stop was at the foster home where we picked up the belongings that Jordan took with her. The next stop was at her home. It was a beautiful home and would get Jordan a lot of money for her future. We spent that day packing up what ever she wanted to take with her. Kevin called a shipping company and had them come out the following morning and load everything onto a truck.

I sat down with Jordan and asked what she wanted to do with her mother’s things and all the things that she didn’t want to take to Florida with her. She told me that she had all ready taken everything that she wanted of her mother’s and father’s and that everything else could go to charity. Even though we had been together for only a day, I was extremely proud of her. It took a lot to be able to do that.

The following morning we went to the airport and headed home. When we got there, there was a dozen messages from the gang, wondering where we had gotten to. They all assumed that I had gone into labor and Kevin didn’t have time to call anyone.

We got on the phone and explained that we had a surprise for everyone and that they should be at our place in an hour. We wouldn’t tell them what was going on, just told them to be sure they were there in an hour. Jordan was a little nervous meeting everyone again, but I assured her that there was nothing to it. They were the same people she met before, only they had kids now.

I started to get nervous for her when I heard the doorbell ring. Jordan and I were waiting for everyone in the kitchen, Kevin was going to get them all in the living room and then we would tell them. Ten minutes later we were waiting for Brian and Leighanne to arrive. Once they did and everyone was seated, Kevin started.

“Well, before I explain what has happened, I just want to ease your minds. Syd has not had the baby yet.” He laughed. “However, do you remember that little girl that we met when we did that first fan conference that Syd put together, Jordan?” He asked.

“Yeah, she was a cute, nervous little thing, right?” Ally asked.

‘That’s right. Well at the time her father had just recently passed away so that was why she was so quiet. Apparently Sydney has been talking with her and her mother over the past few years but not in the last year. We got a letter from a lawyer the other day. Her mother passed away a few days ago. No living relatives, we were named as the Guardians.” Kevin explained.

Jordan and I walked into the room and saw everyone staring at Kevin. “Guys, meet Jordan, again.” I said as we went over to Kevin. “She will be a permanent fixture to our family.”

Jordan and I had no reason to be worried about what everyone would think. They all supported us and thought that what we were doing was great. It was Nick and AJ that decided that we needed to have a party. Hani, Chloe and Ally went to get food from the store and we got the music going.

I made my way around, careful to keep one eye on Jordan. I saw that she was taking a liking to Nick and was deep in conversation with him. I relaxed a little and decided to have a good time. It had been a while since we had a good party. We threw some food on the barbecue and passed out the drinks. I obviously skipped that part, but had fun all the same.

It was about midnight when I started to have pains. I thought that they were just because of the stress of the last few days, but when I went upstairs to use our bathroom, my water broke and I knew that this was it. I went back downstairs and looked for Kevin.

“AJ, where’s Kev?” I asked. Which was odd, because I never called him “Kev.”

“I think he is outside.” AJ replied.

I went outside, but couldn’t find him anywhere, I found Brian and Nick, “Guys, where’s Kev?”

“I think he is downstairs.” Nick offered.

Brian was the one to notice that something was wrong, “Syd, what’s the matter?”

“My water broke.” I said, just as the first big contraction hit. “Woah!” I cried out as I reached for something.

Nick and Brian were at my side in an instant. “Okay, it’s okay, let’s get you inside, we’ll find Kev.” Nick assured me.

They got me inside and on the couch, the music had been turned off and everyone gathered around me. Hani was counting my contractions with me, while Leighanne went to get some ice. Jordan was sitting on the other side holding my hand and stroking it softly. Kevin came bounding up the stairs two at a time.

“Sydney, are you okay?”

“I’m fine honey, let’s just call the doctor, these are like five minutes apart.” I turned to Hani for confirmation, who was nodding her head as she counted.

“All right.” Kevin said as he reached for the phone.

He had a quick conversation with the doctor and then hung up. He told me that the doctor wanted us to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Everyone around me was doing something. Ally went upstairs to get some things for me, AJ cleared a path for me to walk to the door, Nick went to get the truck out of the garage. Hani was still counting my contractions while Jordan stroked my hand. Kevin went to make sure that we had the appropriate papers and what not, while Leighanne and Brian started to make calls to our family. Howie and Chloe were cleaning things up around the living room for us.

I never knew that Kevin could be so calm. I was a jumble of nerves. Kevin drove us to the hospital, I had insisted that Jordan come with us, I didn’t know how long this was going to take and I didn’t want her to be alone her first night. The others followed behind in their own vehicles.

As it turned out, things went very quickly. Went we got to the hospital, our doctor was waiting for us and got me into a room and checked things out. There was no time for the epideral that I wanted, the baby was coming. The nurse took Kevin and Jordan out of the room as they got me ready. I had told Kevin that I wanted Jordan with me and he was to make sure that happened.

When they came back a few minutes later, they both were dressed in the hospital scrubs and looking adorable. Kevin came to my side immediately.

“How’s it going in here?” He asked.

“I want this done with. How could you do this to me? Don’t you love me?” I cried as another contraction tore through me.

“Of course I do.” He laughed.

“Okay Sydney, let’s get things going here. The next contraction that comes, I want you to push with everything that you have.” The doctor instructed.

We waited for about half a minute and then I could feel the contraction coming. I held onto the grips on the bed and pulled myself up, Kevin pushed on my shoulders and Jordan stood by in amazement. I groaned from the strain and on the count of ten, I relaxed enough to catch my breath.

“Once more Sydney.” The doctor said.

I flopped down on the bed and cried, “I can’t.”

“Come on Syd, you can do this.” Kevin encouraged.

I felt the next contraction coming. “Oh ....” I started as once again I reached for the grips and pushed with everything that I had.

“Okay, Sydney, hold it there.” The doctor told me. “The cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, just give me a second.” He worked quietly for a minute and then suctioned out the baby’s nose and mouth. “Okay Sydney, the rest is gonna slide out with ease. Just one more push.” He said.

I looked at Kevin with worry, “Why isn’t our baby crying?” Kevin wouldn’t answer me, but I could see the worry on his face. “Kevin!” I cried.

“Come on Sydney, concentrate. Here comes the last one, push Sydney.” The doctor ordered.

The nurse came to my side and forced me to sit up and push. I pushed with whatever I had left and with one big whoosh our baby came into the world. They rushed him over to the heat lamp and began working his body to get the blood flowing. They dried him off and then we heard the cries. A big, earth shattering wail that let us all know he wasn’t happy.

I saw that Jordan was the closet to the baby, “Jordan, what is it, a boy or girl?”

She turned to the baby and looked quickly then came over to Kevin and me, “It’s a boy.” She whispered.

I looked at Kevin and saw the tears fall down his face. He had a son. “Jensen Jerald. That is his name.” Kevin said to me.

Things moved quickly after that. The doctor checked the baby out to make sure that he was okay and upon being satisfied that he was, he left me in the care of the nurses. They cleaned both of us up and got us to our room. After a few minutes the gang joined us.

Jordan was sitting on my left side, while Kevin was standing on the right, just looking at his son. When everyone came in, Kevin lifted Jensen out of my arms and turned to everyone. “Guys, meet my son, Jensen Jerald.” He announced proudly.

Everyone took their turn holding the baby and then since it was early morning, they all went home. Kevin and Jordan stayed in the room with me and we talked. We learned a lot about how Jordan was feeling and told her that she was welcome into our family and that we would do our best to raise her to make her mother and father proud.

Kevin and I both watched with pride as she held our son and spoke to him of what she was going to teach him of the world. The nurse came in a couple of times and helped me out with nursing and to see if I wanted anything to eat. She told us that we would be going home that day.

When the time came, Kevin helped me out of bed and to get dressed while Jordan held Jensen. We slowly made our way out of the hospital and to the truck. There was no press around, so we weren’t bothered as Kevin and I took our new family home, both of us beaming with pride.

--END--

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