Dorsai - Marilyns Return

Kelly told her "Marilyn, you are more than welcome to stay with us while you're here in this country, whether it's while you're going to school, or if you just want to visit. You are family to us, too, and we're always glad to have you here."

With that, Marilyn started to cry (with happiness, I hoped), and Kelly went over to hold her and comfort her, followed by me to do the same things.

After a bit, she settled down again, and after giving us both a kiss on the cheek and wishing us a good night, went to bed.

The next morning – Friday – Kelly and I got up and headed for the kitchen to get our coffee, and to start breakfast for the kids. Instead, we found that Marlyn had already gotten things going, and was waiting patiently for us. We asked her why she was up so early, and she blushed a little before telling us "I just want to make sure that you are not sorry that I am here, so I am trying to help you."

Kelly and I both hugged her and assured her that she didn't have to do anything special to 'help' – that just having her there was enough for us. She asked when the kids usually got up, and we told her that we usually had ourselves a cup of coffee and our own breakfast before waking the kids; that way we were assured of getting our own meals before it was feeding time at the 'zoo' – making her laugh.

She had breakfast with us, and when Kelly and I were down to the bottoms of our coffee cups, told us to stay in the kitchen if we wanted; that she would be the one to get the kids started. Kelly suggested she'd need a crowbar to get the kids out of bed, and Marilyn laughed before leaving on her self-appointed task. Much to our surprise, the kids were dressed and ready to start the day sooner than if Kelly or I had gone after them; apparently, Marilyn knew some trick to getting them going that Kelly and I needed to learn from her.

That morning started a pattern that lasted for the whole time Marilyn was with us: she would join Kelly and me for breakfast, then get the kids up and ready for whatever was in their day. On top of that, she assumed minor 'cleanup' duties – making sure things were generally put away in the house, helping the kids keep their rooms (mostly) cleaned, running the dishwasher, and so on. Several times, Kelly and I would try to tell her she was doing too much; her only reply was to say "I will be the one to do that."

Anyway, when everyone was ready to go, we told Marilyn that she was welcome to stay home or go out, whichever she wanted. She'd been told by Marlyn and Ted that she wouldn't be allowed to drive 'her' car until she completed her driver's ed course, so we gave her a bus schedule and map so she'd know how to get to anyplace she might want to visit. We also made sure that she had our office phone number, as well as Kelly's cell phone number, and strongly emphasized that she was to call us if she ran into any kind of problems or had any questions. She let us know she understood, and Kelly and I left with the kids.

On the way to the office, we dropped them off at daycare – they were to start school that fall – and went to work. Then, around two o'clock or so, Kelly or I would pick them up and bring them to the office for an hour or two before the other one would take them home.

Once at work, I made a quick call to make sure that Marilyn's 'spot' in her driver's education class was still good, then called home to let her know she would be starting it the following Monday. She was delighted, of course, and thanked me profusely.

The rest of the day went by as it usually did for Kelly and me – working out any hang ups in whatever design I was working on, making sure that any necessary parts and materials would be available when they were needed, and so on. It was Kelly's turn to pick up the kids, so I was the one that took them home around 3:30; when we got in the door, I could see that Marilyn must have spent most of her time cleaning the house – it was immaculate. I thanked her – making her blush slightly – then let her know that we usually did the housecleaning on Saturday. The only response I got was "I will be the one". Clearly, she was determined to 'pay' us for letting her stay there by doing whatever jobs she could get away with.

Supper that night was pizza – to Marilyn's specifications at our insistence – followed by a night of TV with Cat on Marilyn's lap (purring to beat the band as Marilyn petted her) and the kids nestled into the couch next to her.

The next morning, Kelly and I slept a bit later than usual. On our way to the kitchen, we heard Marilyn talking to someone. We looked in and saw that both of the kids were on the couch with her, listening wide-eyed as she told them a story. We stopped to listen for a bit, and it didn't take us long to realize that she was telling them about herself and Marlyn, and how Kelly and I had helped them. But she was doing it in a way that made the whole thing sound like a fairy tale – the poor little girl that lost her family and had to stay in a terrible place with other children that had not families, and the kind Aunt that tried to help her. Kelly stood there, transfixed by the story, so I went and got us each a cup of coffee. When I got back, I had to nudge Kelly a couple of times before she looked at me to see what I wanted – then gave me an embarrassed smile and took her coffee before turning back to listen to Marilyn's story. Marilyn finished telling the kids her story and both of them looked happy as could be at the happy ending; Marilyn then told them "That little girl was me, and the aunt that tried to help was my Momma Marlyn. But the Philippines is a poor place, so she was not able to do as much as she wanted – until the people from the far away place came and helped her. That place was this country, and the people that helped my Momma Marlyn and me was your Mom and Daddy."

Kelly and I could see that both kids were awe-struck that their plain-old Mom and Daddy could do something like that, and Marilyn told them "Your Mom and Daddy are very special, very good people. So you have to listen to them, and do what they tell you, so that you can grow up to be the kind of people that they are: good, and kind, and brave. Can you do that?"

Both kids nodded solemnly, and assured her that they could.

I nudged Kelly again, and when she looked at me, I gestured with my head toward the kitchen. She nodded, and the two of us quietly made our way there – then proceeded to make a little noise so that the others would know we were up and moving. Daniel and Janet both came rushing in to the kitchen, telling us about the wonderful story Marilyn had just told them; Kelly and I hugged both of them 'good morning', and asked if they were hungry. Both told us that Marilyn had already fed them, and rushed back to their rooms to get dressed, since both were still in their pajamas.

Kelly and I took our coffee into the den, and saw Marilyn sitting there looking a bit abashed. She quietly asked us "You heard?"

Kelly nodded, and Marilyn blushed before telling us "Please do not be upset with me. When I got up, they were already awake, so after I fixed them some breakfast I wanted to keep them quiet so you could sleep. So I told them about how you came to the Philippines and helped Momma Marlyn and me."

I nodded, and after sharing a look with Kelly, told her "That's okay, Marilyn. The way you tell it, it makes it sound like we did a whole lot more than actually happened, I think; but you haven't done anything wrong."

To Marilyn's visible relief, Kelly added "You can tell them stories if you want, Marilyn – but you don't have to do or say anything that makes Dan and I sound like more than we are, either."

Marilyn hastened to tell us "But I don't! If you heard, you know that I did not tell them anything that was not absolutely true! Maybe it was not such a big thing to you, but it was for Momma Marlyn and me – and we will never forget about it!"