Page 58 of River
We were all watching Maya to see if she caught the clue of real estate, but her imagination didn’t seem to reach as far as to suspect the treasure might be a new house.
The children had to ask a few people for directions, but finally, they found the closed street and gathered under the sign that said Welcome to the Tropical Oasis.
“Is the treasure in there?” Eas, the oldest boy asked.
I was filming the whole thing and wondered if the camera would pick up the sound of my beating heart. Maximum and I exchanged a broad smile, and I nodded to him, silently telling him that he could be the one to reveal the present.
“Actually, that house in thereisthe treasure.” Maximum’s voice rose in volume as he threw out his hands: “Welcome, everyone, to your new house.”
The children didn’t jump up and down like I’d thought they would. Instead, there was confusion among them. With the camera still in my hand, I walked over and opened the gate. “Maya, sweetie, Maximum and I bought this house for you and the children.”
Her reaction was a bit delayed as if she couldn’t believe it, but then her hands rose to her mouth, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Is this a prank?”
“No.” I swung my hands. “Welcome home.”
Maya turned to the children and explained in their local tongue, and when they finally understood, their initial disbelief was quickly followed by glee. We all laughed with the children as they ran through the gates and took in their new home.
Maximum had to repeat that the house was bought and paid for several times because Maya kept questioning it. “Let us show you around.”
Trailing behind us were Peter, the real estate agents, and a few other locals who had kept the surprise a secret.
I laughed and smiled so much that day from all the little surprises. Like when Maya placed her cheek and hands on the washer and drier and teared up when we showed her the fully stocked pantry.
“Noah bought most of this, and some of your neighbors donated baby formula.”
We would hear screams of joy when the children found their rooms and the toys in there. I tried to film as much as possible, but when I got to Ana’s room, she and her two best friends were already jumping on the bed and holding hands.
“Hello Kitty,” they exclaimed when I asked them if they knew who the figure on their bed was.
I could have stayed in that room all day watching the girls play with the toys that Noah and I had picked out for them, but I walked to the closet and opened it.
“Look, girls, new clothes for you.”
They gave another scream and crawled down from the bed to come and see.
Soon I was filming three girls clinging to my hips, hugging me.
“Here, give me the camera,” Noah offered, making it possible for me to bow down and hug them one at a time.
That whole day was magical. By the time the take-out food came, the kids were all in the swimming pool, and it was hard to get them out long enough to eat.
“The idea is that you can sell the old building and use that money to buy food for many years to come. This house is paid for, and River and I will raise money to cover utility bills and property tax for the future. That way, you won’t have to worry about that part either.”
“My angels,” Maya said and reached out her arms to hug us both.
“Get over here,” I called out to Noah. “You’ve been part of this project as well.”
We stood, two men and two women hugging. It was impossible not to get emotional with the gratitude that oozed from Maya.
“I can’t ever thank you enough,” she kept repeating.
“No, sweets. It’s we who can’t thank you enough. You’ve dedicated your life to being the mother of these children. We’ve done very little compared to you.” I dried my eyes and had never felt better about using a large amount of money.
