Not All Sunshine and Rainbows - Bouncing Back, Book III

35

"What's the name you were listed under during your stay?" Before the younger man could answer, Emmanuel heard a woman gasp in shock.

A woman rushed over to him, gushing with excitement. "Is that really you, Jaxon? My goodness, you've grown since I last saw you. Look how strong you are now!"

Stunned by the loud show of affection, Jaxon froze on the spot. The familiarity of the firm hug made him tear up as he recalled who she was. His arms moved of their own accord as he hugged her back. Swallowing the tight lump in his throat, he jokingly asked, “You’re not in training anymore, Sister Teresa?”

Shaking her head, she sobbed, "No, I finished with all that. You were one of the quietest, most well-behaved children I've ever dealt with. How are you, my dear?"

"I'm doing well, actually. I graduated from OTU a few months ago,” he stated in a no-nonsense tone. Bragging wasn’t his style, so he opted to keep things as real as possible.

Emmanuel scoffed, "That's impossible. You would have had to start there at fourteen."

"Actually, I was sixteen when I started there," Jaxon corrected. Purposely leaving out his status as a nationally registered and recognized genius, he smiled and said, "I specialize in information technology and computer coding. I challenged the system and finished high school at fourteen, and then graduated at eighteen from Ontario Tech University."

Scowling, the man asked, "Sister Teresa, do you know this young man?"

"Of course, I know him, Brother Emmanuel. He was Sarah and Margaret's charge when he was first brought here at four years old. Goodness, I can’t believe it’s been twelve years since you got adopted," she said with a shake of her head.

“Yeah,” Jaxon breathed. “It’s been a long time.”

Pulling Jaxon into a side hall, she held his hand in both of hers as they walked into a quieter part of the building. "May the Lord hold her dear, but Sister Maggie is with God now. It's been quite a while since that Mr. Marks took you home, and many of the women who were here back then have moved on to other places or said their final farewells. Now, Sister Sarah is still here as our Mother Superior. Let me take you to see her. I’m sure she’ll be so happy to see you again."

Nodding, Jaxon pressed his lips into a thin line. "Actually, you might be able to help me out. I was wondering why my name was changed from Ji-Hoon?"

Color faded from her face as she sighed. "Truth be told, it was because the Social Worker who dealt with your case decided that you would be too hard to adopt or foster out with what he called a strange name. It took forever for you to answer to the new name. I always felt it was a sin to take it from you after you’d just lost your family, but the Sisters had no say in the matter."

So, his name getting changed was more of a low-key racist move than anything else. He'd figured as much, but he had no proof until now.

"Gamsa, I always wondered why it happened," he whispered. Pulling himself together, he smiled. "I would love to talk to Sister Sarah if she's available. If she's busy, don't bother. I don't want to interrupt her work."

The woman smiled. "Follow me. I'll take you to her office. Oh, what was that, by the way?”

“What was what?” he asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

She laughed. “The word you said, you silly goose! You never stopped speaking your native language, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. In fact, my sister and father encouraged me to use it all the time and even learned it to communicate with me. Dad even learned how to cook authentic Korean food,” Jaxon explained softly.

As they walked along the hall, she continued to talk to him about the events over the years, relishing the fact that he was happy and contented in his new life. Her heart swelled when he told her about his friends. However, when it came to intimate relationships, he seemed to avoid the question.

Before they got to the Mother Superior’s office, his cell phone blared out Lukas’ ringtone. He pulled it out, his lips twisting into a scowl. There had to be a damn good reason for the call because his best friend knew what he was doing that day. “Hello?”

“Scrapper’s in the wind,” Lukas said, quickly hanging up after delivering the message.

His scowl deepening, Jaxon put the device away. Noting the worried look on the nun’s face, he smiled. “Just my friend playing around. Nothing to worry about.”

The door to the office swung open, and he felt his emotions rise up. Tears welled up in his eyes as he did his best to remain calm. Beside him, beaming brightly, Sister Teresa advised the other woman of the visitor. Walking into the room, Jaxon smiled tearfully.

“As beautiful as ever,” he murmured.

Shocked, the woman behind the desk choked back a heavy sob. Her eyes misted, her mouth hanging open in awe as she rose slowly to her feet. Grasping the rosary around her neck, she approached cautiously. “Dear Heavenly Father, is it really you? Little Jaxon?”

“In the flesh,” he said, his tone remaining soft and slightly formal. “It’s nice to see you again. My condolences for the loss of Sister Maggie. She was a good woman.”

“You dear, dear boy. We missed you something fierce when you were adopted, but we never heard of you again. Why, look at how you’ve grown! Such a strapping young man, and so well-dressed,” she whispered.

Pulling him into her arms, she let the gathered tears fall from her eyes. The wrinkles around her mouth and eyes were creased more as she became emotional at his unexpected arrival.

“Please, come and sit down. Would you like a drink?”

He shook his head. “Oh, no, thank you. I actually had two reasons for coming here today. You see, I’ve been having trouble coming to terms with my past over the last twelve years, but my adopted father, my sister, and all of my new friends I made over the years helped me so much. Now, I’m facing down those demons that tormented me so that I can move on with my life. This was my last stop.”

Shaking her head sadly, Sarah smiled tearfully at him as he sat across from her. “I know you never said your prayers while you were here, Jaxon. Did you ever come to God’s path?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t respect other people’s beliefs, Mother Superior. It doesn’t mean that other people can’t be spoken to with respect, either. I thought this would be so much harder than it is, but I’m glad I finally took the chance to come to terms with everything,” he advised calmly.

Her eyes lighting with obvious appreciation, the woman nodded. “That’s the boy I remember. You never changed at all, did you?”

Laughing quietly, Jaxon shook his head. “Dad always told me that I only needed to change if I wanted to, not because other people didn’t like me. Now, phase one of my visit is complete, and I’m actually okay with all this. I realize that my dark thoughts were misplaced emotions, and I’ve faced them accordingly. I guess now would be a good time to move onto the next phase, huh?”

“Next phase? Jaxon, you’re not making a lick of sense, Child,” Sarah replied in confusion.

“Well, phase one was proving to myself that I was stronger than my past. That I could come here, talk to you, and not freak out. Phase two was something I wanted to do to help the women who took care of me as a child. I’d like to present you with a check to go toward the upkeep of the orphanage and the furthered education of the children.” He told her, watching as her face went white from the shock.

Not wanting to lose his momentum, he said, “You see, I was raised in a wealthy family, and amassed my own from saving my allowances and doing odd jobs for people fixing their technology. I recently got hired at Everett Holdings, and was looking to put some good karma out there. After I talked it over with my family and friends, it was decided to give some money to the orphanage. No strings attached, of course.”

Sliding the folded check over the worn wood of the desk, he waited as her trembling fingers reached out to pick it up. Licking his lips, he remained stoic as he waited for her reaction to the amount.

“Jaxon, were you aware that we were struggling?” Sister Teresa asked cautiously.

He nodded. “I looked into the finances prior to coming here today.”

Sarah gasped. “I… No, we can’t… Jaxon…”

“Please, I insist, Mother Superior. For the children,” he pleaded, hoping that using the kids would work in his favor.

“Honestly, Mother Superior,” Sister Teresa muttered. Taking the check, her face paled. “Dear Lord, this would cover all the repairs we were putting off until the government approved the funding we sent an application for. A hundred and fifty thousand? Where in the world did you get this kind of money, Jaxon? You’re not doing anything illegal, are you?”

Grinning, Jaxon shook his head. If only they knew where he had really ended up, they would be trying to save his soul. Not wanting to give more information than necessary, he said, “No, ma’am. That amount is strictly the accumulated interest over the last twelve years of saving whatever I got paid for my odd jobs and such.”

“And to think we were praying for a miracle,” Sarah breathed. “To have it come in the form of a young, sweet man like you is a true blessing, Jaxon. Thank you ever so much.”