They Had Aspirations and Ambitions

Debra waited anxiously, her heart was beating more rapidly than the continuous pen-tapping that came from the receptionist. She was nervous. It had been an arduous eight months since Debra discovered the cancer that affected her fertility and at the time she felt like she'd had her womanhood snatched away from her. The thought of not being able to conceive was as excruciating as losing one of her five senses. Debra's husband, John, was her anchor throughout the rough ordeal. He stood by her and comforted her despite his own underlying feelings of angst, grief and loss. He gave her his understanding and acceptance like a priest gives absolution, but that was not enough for her to recover from what she considered as 'an early mid life crisis.' No, this was a roadblock that had ruined her and John's life plan. Their four bedroom, double story house with extra area in the front and back to expand would go to waste and their unnecessary bank loans would bury them in debt. They had high hopes for a family of five, they had aspirations and ambitions and now they only had one option, adoption.

Two hours had passed and Debra had watched four couples being called in, each leaving with a new beginning. It made her wonder, would adopting a child make all her problems disappear? "Debra and John?" They heard from across the room. "Yes!" answered Debra, instinctively standing up forgetting her troubled thoughts. "Hi there! My name is Loretta, right this way please," introduced the woman. Loretta was young and beautiful, not the typical social worker who dedicated her weekends to child services nut nonetheless passionate and caring.

They nervously made their way up a flight of stairs and into an office where Loretta insisted on sitting down. She pulled out a stack of documents from her desk drawer and proceeded to explain the process of adoption. After an hour long explanation of the terms and conditions, Loretta handed over the forms they had been waiting for. "We've tried our best to match the child to your previous requests, and hopefully you are successful today, I'll ask you to read over these forms and sign them and then we'll continue on to the next step." Debra picked up the ball point pen and came to the realisation that within a few scribbles, what she considered as a road block in their life would soon be just another obstacle that they would overcome. Their aspirations would be fulfilled and that as John said to her, "its okay, not to be okay." Debra hurriedly signed the documents and waited for her husband to do the same. Her insides jumped like a puppy does greeting its new owner. She felt a sensation diffuse through her body, one that she hadn't felt in a while.

Loretta stood up, straightening the creases of her skirt, she opened a door attached to her office. The slowness of the door opening into brightly coloured lights on the

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