The word ceremony has a great deal of importance to it. It implies formality and pomp—“fuss and flutter” as Gabrielle sometimes said. But in the end, all a ceremony really means is a moment that is marked, a moment that has great meaning to the people who are part of it. There was just such a moment with my charges today, and despite the lack of nice clothing or fancy food or fine decorations, it was a moment that they will all remember for a very long time.
Hannah at first did not want to go over to Jack’s house when he texted her this afternoon. She was just getting off of a long shift, and she was tired. But he emphasized that it was important, and so she drove over to the house without even stopping for a change of clothes.
At the door, Lily met her with the same exuberant delight she usually displays at sight of Hannah now. Even weary as she was, Hannah still responded to Lily’s joy with honest joy of her own. “What are you up to, munchkin?” she asked, swinging the girl up in her arms.
“Uncle Jack has something to ask you,” Lily said, and she leaned up to whisper in Hannah’s ear, “Say yes!”
Hannah’s heart stopped. She thought that she knew what the question would be, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that question.
“Easy,” I said to her. “You and Jack have talked about this. You know you’re not ready for that commitment. But there is another that he has been wanting to offer you.”
“Lily, are you putting ideas in her head?” Jack asked, coming down the hall. He smiled at Hannah, who began to relax.
Lily jumped away from Hannah and ran to Jack. “Please, ask her now!” she pleaded.
“Okay, okay,” Jack said, wrapping his arm around Lily’s shoulders and dragging her back against his stomach. She laughed and laughed, even after he put his hand over her mouth.
Still grinning from this exchange, Jack looked at Hannah, and her heart started to melt a little. “Lily and I had a good long talk this morning,” he said. “About family and what it means—and who we want in our family.”
“Oh,” Hannah said. “And how did that go?”
“It went very well,” Jack said, and he dug in his pocket and pulled out a silver key. “So we both would like to formally invite you, Hannah Valdez, to stay with us and to be a part of this family.”
“Say yes,” Lily said, pulling Jack’s hand down and squirming with excitement.
Hannah looked at the little key, at the eagerness in both faces, at how very much she was wanted. Sighing, she let her purse fall to the ground and took the key, giving Jack her other hand in its place. “Of course I will,” she said. “I’d be honored.”
Cheering out loud, Lily flew back into Hannah’s arms, and Jack stepped forward with hardly less excitement to wrap his arms around them both. He and Hannah kissed over Lily’s head while she giggled, and then she wriggled free and ran into the kitchen, shouting something about cake to celebrate.
There is more to do, and more to discuss, of course, but I like that they are in this place now. Hannah will begin moving in her things at the end of this week, and they will begin to combine their three separate lives into one. They will find difficulties and struggles in this, but this ceremony, however casual and small, marks a very good beginning, and I think all three of them will believe the hardships worthwhile.