Chapter 6: Trials and Separation
Jen walked into the Tokyo General Hospital, clutching Jacey’s hand like it was her only lifeline. She felt like she could never let go. They walked up to the front desk where the receptionist smiled up at them. “Where is Darien Chiba’s room?” Jacey asked in Japanese.
“Room 138, just down the hall,” she answered and pointed to her left. “There are some men from Child Services in there waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” Jacey said. She turned to Jen, “Did you understand?” she said in English.
Jen nodded, “I think so. I’m sorry to make you do this. You have to teach me better Japanese.” The two headed off down the hallway. Jen just wanted to wrap Jacey up inside of her, so she would never lose her. Jacey was the only thing she had left of her sister, and she was in no way prepared to let her go.
The pair approached room 138 almost in slow motion. Jen’s knuckles grazed the door and she squeezed Jacey’s hand.
“Come in,” a man’s voice beckoned. Jen and Jacey walked in and silently closed the door behind them.
Jacey let go of Jen’s hand and ran to Darien’s side. “Darien?” she sobbed. He was asleep. “Wake up, please,” she begged.
The man gently pulled Jacey away. “He’s under anesthetic. He had to have his broken arm set, so he’ll be out for a while.” Jacey ran to Jen and buried her face in Jen’s stomach. “Ms. Monroe, please have a seat,” he said motioning to the chair next to him.
“Please,” Jen said. “Do you speak English? I speak a lot of Japanese, but I only put it into practice once a year.”
The man smiled, “Sure. My name is Richard Sato. I have looked over your sister and brother-in-law’s wills, and you do have custody over the children.” Jen shuddered in relief. “But you must know about the law.”
“What law?” she asked gripping the arms of the chair until her knuckles turned white.
Mr. Sato sighed and wiped his glasses off with a handkerchief. “Japanese law states that any amnesia patients must go to an orphanage. Unless relation can be proved, of course.”
“But. . . but I go back to America in a week!” Jen stuttered.
“Well,” Mr. Sato said, slightly shocked. “I am sorry to say that you can’t take him. Amnesia patients are not allowed to leave the country.”
“His grandparents!” Jen shouted.
“He was left to you. And besides, no one over the age of 60 is allowed to take custody of a child 13 or under.”
Jen broke down into sporadic sobs. “These kids are all I have left. Please, isn’t there a way?” She laid her hand on his and looked into his eyes. He saw her pain and extreme frustration.
“I’m sorry, I. . . I just can’t!” he stood up and paced around the room. “You have to sign some adoption papers and the girl is yours, but he has to stay.”
Jen collapsed into Jacey’s arms and cried. “No, no. This isn’t right,” Jen sobbed.
“I know, I know,” Jacey said stroking her hair. Mr. Sato winced at the poignant moment.
He gathered up is briefcase and jacket and turned to walk out the door. “I suggest you start planning the funeral if you only have a week.” Jen looked up in pain. “I’ll stop by tomorrow with the papers.” He turned the knob and opened the door, “I really am sorry,” he whispered and closed the door behind him.
***
Mr. Sato showed up at the door the next afternoon, briefcase in hand. “Come in, please,” Jen had said after he rang the bell.
Jen and Mr. Sato sat down in Jon and Cindy’s dinning room. He laid out all of the papers for her to sign. “Here,” he said handing her a pen. “You can read them if you want, but its nothing special. All that is says is that you will bring her up in a loving environment and take care of her.”
Jen took the pen. “I believe you,” she said scrawling her signature on three different documents. “The neighbors adopted a baby a few months ago and they told me what the documents say. Oh, but please, hyphenate her name. Don’t change it completely.”
Mr. Sato nodded and wrote “Jacey Christina Chiba-Monroe” in the box marked “name.”
“Thank you Mr. Sato,” she said standing up. “And if there’s anything else. . .”
“Actually there is,” he said standing up too. “I would like to apologize for the Japanese government. I saw, in your eyes, how much it hurt to have this boy taken away. Believe me, I searched all night through every law book trying to find a loophole, but there wasn’t any.” Mr. Sato wiped his eyes.
Jen just stood there listening. Her face bore a look of shock. “He tried to help us,” she thought. “Maybe there’s still hope.”
“I had something similar happen to me not too long ago. My son and his wife were in an accident and their son was stricken with amnesia. I was too old to claim custody and they had no other living relatives.” Jen laid her hand on his shoulder. “He was adopted by a couple from Hiroshima and I haven’t seen my grandson since.”
Jen hugged the old man. “If he gets adopted, please call me. I just want to know where he’d be going.”
Mr. Sato nodded, “I will. Take care of the other little one and I pray you find peace.” Jen walked Mr. Sato to the door.
Once he left, Jacey came out of the kitchen. “Are you my mommy now?”
Jen hugged her. “No, I’m still your aunt. I’ll just be playing mommy for a while. Is that okay?” Jacey nodded and laid her head on Jen’s arm.
***
“It’s too beautiful for a funeral,” Yuki said to Jen. Jen nodded. In three days she had put together a funeral for her sister and brother-in-law. Through all of the tears, she knew it was beautiful. In two days she had to pack the house and make sure everything was ready for her departure.
Yuki and Jen met up with Marie, George, Jacey and Yuki’s husband Martin by the headstones. “You did such a lovely job on everything,” Marie whimpered, blowing her nose.
“We’ll all help you clean out the house and we’ll sell it,” George said draping his arm around Marie.
Jen laughed. “Don’t you have your own houses to clear out?”
“That can wait,” Martin said. “You have to leave in two days, we still have three months.” They all began to walk towards their cars.
Jen picked up Jacey and carried her. “Are you sure you want to move back to Ireland?” she asked her parents.
“The only reason we moved here in the first place was because Cindy was here,” Marie said. “Now we really don’t have a reason to stay. Besides, your grandparents need us to take care of them.”
“But what about you guys,” Jen said turning to Yuki and Martin. “Ireland is nothing to you!”
“It is, my child,” Yuki said. “Your parents are the only family we have left besides you and the kids. And I don’t think we’d survive a day in New York City. Donegal seems calmer.”
Jen sighed. “But you all have to visit us. At least once. Me and Jacey will visit you guys once a year.”
They reached their cars, parked neatly in a row. “We’ll see you in a while, dear,” George said kissing Jen and Jacey on their heads. They got in their cars and drove away.
***
Jacey wandered around her empty house. There weren’t even any boxes left. Jen had everything shipped to New York or Ireland, or sold. She only sold things that weren’t sentimental, like the furniture and old camping equipment. All of the memories were sent to her parents’ new house or hers.
Jacey looked despondently at her and Jen’s suitcases piled up by the front door. She began to sob silently. Slowly, she walked over to the window and, through blurred eyes, looked at the rising moon. Jacey touched the windowsill and a flood of images came rushing in her mind.
First it was just a girl with bright red hair, crying in a black void. Then a gorgeous palace appeared and almost instantly began to crumble. The whole world fell apart around her, people screaming, the palace being blown to bits, all a background to the crying. “Don’t cry little princess. Nothing good can come of it!” a familiar and comforting voice of a woman boomed.
Jacey opened her eyes and fell to the floor wide-eyed in amazement. She wiped her tear-streaked face and stood up again. “I can’t cry anymore,” she thought. “The world depends on it!”
Jen walked into the room, startling Jacey. “I’m sorry, Jace,” Jen said wiping a tear from her eye and sniffling a bit. “Its time to go to your new home now, in New York.”
Quietly, Jacey walked over and put on her backpack. Jen grabbed the other luggage and brought it out into the car. Jacey followed slowly, making each step deliberate so she could remember this place forever. She silently climbed into the car and stared out the window as Jen ran up and locked the front door. She came back and sat in the car and started the engine.
“Do you think Darien will be happy in the orphanage?” Jacey asked Jen.
Jen paused in thought, the wrong answer could scar this child for life. “I think Darien will get along fine and will have people to love him wherever he goes.” Jen was happy with her answer.
Jacey pressed on, though. “Will he forget about us?”
This startled Jen, how could she tell Jacey that he already had? “Well, Jace, he has amnesia. That means the doesn’t remember anything about what’s happened to him before the accident.”
“So he doesn’t remember us, does he?”
“Well, in the back of his mind and heart he will always remember us. He knows someone used to love him, and that out there, somewhere, someone still does.”
Jacey smiled proudly, “I’m that someone!”
“Mm hmm,” Jen nodded.
Jacey felt her spirits lifting for the first time in a week. She spent the entire ride to the airport in silent reflection, pondering over what Darien would do without her.
***
Once Jacey and Jen got on the airplane, Jacey hit Jen with a throng of questions about their new home and when they were going to visit Ireland. Jen happily answered her questions through the night, even though she knew it kept some of the other passengers awake.
They arrived at JFK airport on April 16th at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The pair got freshened up and caught a cab to Queens. They arrived at Jen’s rented house about two hours later.
When the cab pulled up and Jen stepped out, a short blonde woman came running out of the house next door, followed closely by a small boy. “Jen! You’re home!” the woman shrieked and hugged Jen.
“Miriam! Oh, I’ve missed you. How’s everyone?” Jen said.
“Fine, Grif and Jake are doing good.” She looked at Jacey. “You must be Jacey.” She kneeled. “Hi, I’m Miriam Castro. This is my son Griffin,” she said pulling the boy’s arm. “He’s six years old. That’s two years older than you.”
Griffin smiled shyly at Jacey. He was big for six, with dark hair and dark eyes. For so early in the year, he was very tan also. He was three quarters Spanish and could speak the language fluently.
“Hola,” he said extending a hand to her.
“Konnichiwa,” she said back. She took his hand and a spark of electricity flew through both of their bodies. She shuddered. “You shocked me!”
“You shocked me too!” he said. They both started laughing.
Miriam and Jen looked at each other. “I have this feeling that we have our work cut out for us,” Miriam said. Jen nodded. “You and Jacey should join Grif and I for dinner. Jake’s away on business and we need company. Besides, the two of you need a break and dinner is the last thing you need to worry about.”
“Sure,” Jen said. “But do you mind if I leave Jace with you for a while, I want to unpack a bit.”
“Not a problem. They seem to be getting along well. And she is cute as a button!” Miriam said. The two hugged and Jen got her bags out of the cab.
Jacey consented to stay with Miriam and Griffin for a while and Jen went inside. “She builds her trust awfully quickly,” Jen thought as she peered out the window at the newfound best friends. “Better for both of us, though. Its time to move on.”