Save One Love

A week before the final hearing, Leslie met the foster parents of Sarah Haddad, in a conference room at the courthouse. Linda and Errol Earling were surprised to find that a limping, big, Marine in plain clothes was the prospective father of Sarah, their foster child for the last seven weeks. They knew only that Sarah was Syrian, her family all deceased, and that there was an early request to adopt.

Leslie arrived after the Earlings; he approached the table with a limp, and held out his hand to Errol. "Mr. Earling? They said your name was Earling? I'm Jack Leslie."

Errol stood and shook Leslie's hand, surprised at the Marine's bulk and his desire to parent a child, particularly Sarah.

"Yes, Sir. I am Errol. We've cared for Sarah for over a month. She's a doll, by the way."

Leslie turned his attention to Linda, Errol's wife. She looked at him, her visage hard, without congeniality. Leslie saw some feeling in her, a possessiveness for Sarah, protectiveness, skepticism.

"Mr. Leslie," Mrs. Earling said. She stood, shook Leslie's hand, and withheld judgment. To Linda Earling, Sarah was a precious and unique being to be protected. She looked at Leslie with many questions.

"Hello. I want you to know," said Leslie, "I appreciate all you've done for her. She's only known loss. Loss of the people who loved her. She probably will always need to know someone loves her, and I hope it's me, but she needs to know love." Jack went quiet. It was just a preliminary meeting. He'd been approved by the social worker and the powers that be who only saw paperwork. He did not need to prove himself anymore, though. But these people had loved her and they should know that was her great need. And that he knew it.

Mrs. Earling looked at the man across the table from her. "Mr...Leslie? Who are you to adopt our Sarah?"

"Call me Jack, please," he said. Leslie looked at her, a woman 30, who had fostered many infants, and he wondered at HER motivation. He returned several ideas. One, looking at her, seemed most likely. He stood across the table from her, remembering his interview with the commodore, the captain, and the lieutenant colonel about SEAL assignment.

"I am no one, if you mean do I have money or prestige or power. I've none of those." He stopped and thought. Looking down first, he looked up straight at Linda.

"But I am the guy who brought her out of Syria. I found her when I was supposed to abandon her. I hid her for 26 hours within yards of the people who massacred her family, I fed her using strips of cloth and coffee creamer and water she could suck out, I shielded her from bullets, I handed her to the SEALs who brought her to safety, and I was shot twice doing it. I'm the only other person but you and your husband who loves her." Jack was looking straight at Linda Earling, leaning on the table, speaking not in threat but sincerity. "I believe you would have done those things for her, too. No one loves her as we do. You and I. That's who I am."

He knew what was being asked of him this time. She wanted to know if he loved Sarah the way a child should be loved.

He stared at Linda. She looked back. Neither gaze faltered.

*

Custody transfer took place in a courthouse before a magistrate who was surprised that a Marine/SEAL Squad leader was adopting as a single parent.

Ms. Jenkins stood. "Your Honor, may I make a statement?"

"Go ahead. You were the social worker? You met with Captain Leslie three times?"

"Yes, Ma'am. He also attended adoption group meetings twice a week for six weeks now. This case is unusual because of the way in which the Captain bonded with the child," she said. "We believe we followed due process, but it was not the same process as most other adoptions. The time was condensed; everything was expedited. There is still a secondary homestudy to be performed in Ohio by...Ohio Adoption Services, upon Mr. Leslie's move there in a week or two."

"Is there a statement here about that?" the woman said.

"Yes, in the first filing from my office," Jenkins said. "We treated Captain Leslie as a relative or a close family friend."

The magistrate was reading for some time. She looked up at Leslie, stood and walked around her desk to him. She held out her hand. "Just extraordinary." she said, and he stood and shook her hand. "I think I understand the swiftness of this one. He applied before the child was in your hands, in the country, even, he'd already spent an emotional time with her... Why should we stand in the way of further bonding for the young child?"

The magistrate looked at some other pages. "How did you find out which agency Sarah would be assigned to?"

Jack stood. "Captain Miller of the Bataan kept me notified of the planning as soon as I notified him of my desire to adopt. He was able to follow the chain of people who were responsible for her. The decision to put her with this agency was made by someone at the State Department, the ones who issued her a birth certificate and passport."

"Remarkable."

The magistrate signalled to her assistant, who then opened the door and the Earlings brought Sarah into the room. She was bigger-Jack hadn't seen her in these months since the ship. But it was she, her eyebrows darker and a little thicker, her hair almost gone.

"What happened to her hair?" he asked Linda, who smiled and said, "It disappeared!"

Everyone was smiling, and the nerves were lost from the meeting. Jack knew he was about to be a father in the most nuanced way. The magistrate looked at the child in the foster mother's arms and smiled.

"Linda Earling, you may turn the child over to Jacob Leslie, who you already spoke to," she said.

Linda went to Jack and handed the child over. "Oh, and the baby bag, and we put a present in the bag for you and one for Sarah. And my husband has a bag of clothes and things. He'll carry them out for you. Good luck, Jack."

"Linda, I don't know what to say. I have something for you too," Jack said, holding Sarah with both hands, he nodded to a small wrapped package and a card on the table.

"Thank you."

"Captain Leslie, you are now father to Sarah Haddad Leslie. If you would sign these papers, it will be complete." Jack limped forward, no longer on crutches, handed Sarah to the judge, and quickly signed the papers. The judge saw no change in demeanor by the new father, but he was unable to speak. He saw she expected him to say something, but he could only shake his head..

*

They lived that last week of his active duty at a motel in Dumfries, Virginia, waiting on his separation papers. He took Sarah-who he decided to call Hattie, for Haddad, so that both her mother and family were remembered every time her name was used-everywhere she went. He bought a carseat he could use on an airplane at the post exchange, learned to tie pink ribbons around her hairless head, took her to restaurants, placing her in her seat on upended wooden seats.

He took her along even to see his commanding officer-the base commander, who was shocked and at first angry at the faux pas in military decorum, but then insisted upon holding her once he understood the situation. Jack had no duties but to await the paperwork, which he received the day after he met the base commander. He wondered if the meeting had anything to do with that.

Suddenly he was Captain Jacob Leslie, USMC (Ret.). It was like a part of him was gone.

But no life is complete with only one dream, and when one dream ends or becomes impossible, most people develop another. Jack had his daughter to raise, school to attend, classes to teach, and books to write.

Chapter 11: Welcome Home

At 4 the next day, a cold but dry winter day, Leslie's cab pulled up in front of his old home in Sky Grey, Ohio. The driver took out his two seabags as Leslie pulled his child from the car in her new car seat. He thanked the guy for carrying the bags with him to the porch, and put the car seat down while he tipped the guy.

"Good luck, fella, glad the leg's getting better."

"Thanks." Jack took Sarah out of the seat and knocked on the door as the cabbie walked off. He opened the door and went in-it was never locked during daytime.

"Mom, Dad!" he called out. They came in then, saw him, saw Sarah with her arms sticking out in a heavy winter coat, and if his mother was going to die of surprise, this would have been the moment.

"Jack? Jack?"

"Mom," he said quietly, "this is your granddaughter Hattie. My adopted daughter."

It was magical. His father and mother had a thousand questions, but Hattie was in his mother's arms within a second and crying not understanding new people and smells and so much love, and Mom was crying as she realized it was not a joke, taking the coat off her awkwardly, and Dad was harrumphing because that's what Jack's dad did now when he wanted to pretend he was not emotional.

Dad was speechless though he wanted answers. He hugged his son.

"She's five months old, we think. Her birthdate on the birth certificate is a guess, but close," Jack said, taking a seat at the kitchen table that they had migrated to during the initial shocks.

"How did you adopt a kid? And why didn't you tell us?" his mother asked, carrying Sarah around the room, cheek to cheek, as the baby cried.

"It's a long story, and it's not all happy. Are you sure you want to know it?" Jack asked, warning them because he knew they'd want the details. Love involves truth and the details don't get in the way.

His father said, "We want to know." Of course they wanted to know. Who would not?

"Let me get our stuff in," he said. Jack went to the porch and brought the baby bag, his sea bags, and the car seat into the house. Then he mixed some formula and handed the bottle to his mother.

So he told them about the mission, finding her parents executed, staying behind when the first extract chopper came, and then about finding her. He told about her two brothers dead in an outhouse, and her oldest brother hiding her in a grotto before his own death, and then Jack finding her by feeling in the dark. Finally, he explained about hiding out for a day, trying to keep her happy and quiet, about getting picked up then in a firefight and his wounding. "Her first name's Sarah but I kept her family name for her middle-Haddad. I want to call her Hattie, so the family is always part of her."

More harrumphing ensued. Jack had not seen much harrumphing when he'd lived at home, so it was a new affectation, but it suited his father who was almost as tall and much heavier than Jack.

"Sublime. Heroic. People can be so noble when they love," his conservative, stalwart dad said quietly.

"Yeah."

"You, too," Dad said.

"Harrumph," Jack said, and they laughed.

"So she's Syrian?" his mother asked, still moving about with her granddaughter.

"Her mother's from Michigan, no known family, an orphan herself. That makes her American as well. Her father was an engineer who met her mother when he was at the University of Michigan, then they went to Syria to help build water systems in the desert. Caught in the religious extremism there, we found out and since the mom and kids were officially Americans and they were in direct peril, they sent my team in."

"Your team?" his mom asked. He'd never told them his unit.

"I was a SEAL Squad leader, Mom," he said, and his dad knew what that meant. "All those schools and that one in Israel for 20 months. Those trained me to parachute and scuba dive and about explosives. I was always jumping or swimming into places, bringing guys out, shooting bad guys. It's what we did, Mom. You know the war is wider than they let on. It's not us against one small group. It's a lot of groups. Lots of missions." He was quiet for a minute as they realized he was a warrior. "And I found my daughter on my last one."

Mom sat down, cooing at her hungry grandchild. He didn't think she'd give the kid up without a fight.

"Those brows! She is so...stunning!" his mother said.

"Uh, Mom, lots of Syrians have dark brows, and some have blue eyes..."

"...but eyes often change color in young kids," she finished for him.

It was his mother's way of loving children, he knew. She'd remark on a kneecap or toenails or a birthmark, whatever she noticed. She'd delight in anything she noticed-like a stinky kid, eventually changing her but only after holding her with no concern for the smell. If the kid was happy, what was the rush? Everyone else might want the kid changed, but if the kid did not care why should she? Holding the kid was precious to her. Who cared about a smell if the kid was smiling? At that moment Sarah was sucking away at the nipple on the bottle.

"Why didn't you tell us?" his dad said.

"I was worried they might not approve me for the adoption, so I didn't say anything to you. I thought you might get your hopes up and it would hurt your feelings then," Jack said.

"What about baptism? Has she been baptized?"

Jack shook his head. He didn't know anything. They had only recovered the bodies, none of the papers or records.

"Maybe her mother baptized her because of the danger... I'll talk to Father and see what he says," Jack said. "She had some shots before they'd let her off Andrews. But I'll get her to a doctor soon. Lots to do. Being a dad is a lot of keeping track."

His mom and dad laughed, and Sarah smiled for the first time in Grandma's arms.

"We should call Craig," Jack said. Craig, his older brother, lived in Wisconsin and had a wife and two kids Jack had seen only a few times. The kids should be five and three, both boys, Jack thought. His mom handed Hattie to her husband-"Here, hold your newest grandchild!"-and was dialing before he could answer.

"Lisa? Hi, this is Mom Leslie. We have some great news! ...

"Yes, he's home and he limps but...he has a daughter! She's five months now. Adopted." His mom covered the mouthpiece and said, "I hear her yelling to Craig..."

"Yes... Craig? Yeah, he adopted a girl. Quite a story. I'll write you an email with all the details, it's something... Yes. ... Yeah, here he is." She handed the phone to Jack.

Leslie took the phone. "Hello, Craig. Some change in my life, huh?"

Craig said, "You adopted a girl? I knew with the injury you would probably leave the Marines, but..."

"Yeah, but it was the right thing to do. Mom'll write you. But Craig...I may want to call you."

"Anytime, Yakker. A kid! I never thought you'd have a kid, not after what Janice did."

"History, buddy, just history. I learned."

"What's her name?"

"I named her for her parents, who died in Syria. Sarah Haddad Leslie. Call her Hattie. I look forward to introducing you."

"Easter, Yakker. We'll meet her then. Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, Craig. Kiss Lisa and those kids."

"I will. Yakker-proud of you." Click. Yakker: his nickname as a child, a form of Yakov, Hebrew form of Jacob, modified by his big brother, who claimed he talked too much.

Hattie was asleep in his mom's arms. They all sat around and talked until 10 that evening, discussing people Jack knew and what had happened over the years. Janice had moved away, Marge said she'd had her baby, but then Marge stopped attending the Ladies Sodality meetings at church and seemed to pull away from everyone. Jack's mom knew nothing of Janice, Kevin, or their child, not for several years.

*

Chapter 12: 2016 Save the World

Hattie looked at the Government and the Family diners. She had one more paragraph to finish the essay, but she didn't read it. She changed it just a little and recited it. This usually shy little kid said, "Some of my friends worry about whether or not their fathers love them. I have never wondered that. My birth parents and my brother Rifat gave someone a chance to love me. My adoptive father found me, saving my parents' love for me," and at this she almost whispered as her emotion caught up with her, "and he has loved me ever since."

The audience erupted, standing. Hattie looked down, and Jack saw she was in her "shy fog."

Jack felt his mother behind him on his right, behind Laeesha who had his hand, and his father behind him on the left. He heard a sob, or sniffle, from Mom? His father squeezed his left arm.

"Some kid you have there," his father said.

Everyone was standing. General Meier was looking at Jack, clapping and shaking her head with a little smile. He had been saved that night, as much as Hattie, he realized. He'd been saved by Sarah Gillespie, a woman who died before he could meet her, and Adnan Haddad, a good man in a harsh reality. They gave him a chance to love their child.

Laeesha, holding Jack's right hand, looked at him and said, "Save one love, save the world."

He said, "I think you altered that. I'm pretty sure the Talmud has it differently."

"I want to be part of your family, Jack," she said.

He smiled at her, looked in her eyes. "I was hoping you would. Is that a proposal?"

She smiled at him and said, "Yes, it is."

"I accept on one condition," he said.

Laeesha just looked at him, wondering what that could be.

"You must adopt my daughter."

She smiled. "I love you. And I accept your condition."