The alarm clock went off at 05:00. We might as well not have
set it. The excitement kept as slumbering. Not sleeping. There was no chance
that we would miss this flight. It was just too important. Everything was
planned to the T. Wake up at five, leave the house at six, be at the airport at
7. Meet or SW. Book in. Have breakfast at a restaurant. Get on the flight on
time. Arrive in Cape Town.
Further then that we could not plan. We had to play it by
ear. As long as we got to Cape Town we did not give a damn. We were close to
our son and having him in our arms was all that mattered.
As Mornè and I were packing the car, we checked, checked and
re-checked that we had everything. Bottles? Check. Nappies? Check. The
Coming-Home-Outfit? Check. Baby toiletries? Check. Receiving blankets? Check.
Car seat? Check. In times like these I don’t know a thing about doing anything
in moderation. Rather too much then too little I always say.
We got into the car and off we went.
Mornè and I arrived at the airport. Luggage in hand we made
our way to the Domestic Terminal. We met up with our SW and booked in. At the
Mugg & Bean we ordered our morning coffee and breakfast.
At about 10:20 we boarded the plane, our SW in the window
seat, me in the middle and Mornè in the aisle seat. I dreaded the flight. Two
hours standing between us and our son. The three of us got so caught up in
conversation that we completely missed the captains announcement that we were
about to land and that we needed to fasten our seat belts.
Upon arrival at the Cape Town International Airport, Mornè
went off to collect our hired car and car seat while our SW and I waited for
the luggage. With the car packed (again…) we made our way to Bellville where we
would spend the night at an awesome guesthouse called Old Oak.
With an entire day to kill, the three of us set off to go
and have lunch in Franschhoek and afterwards we strolled around in the little
shops. On the spur of the moment, we decided that an ice-cream on Camps Bay
will round off the lunch perfectly… And off we went.
In between all the gallivanting we got to chat to our SW
about everything. What to expect at the court, what to expect when we go to
meet our son and everything else that we wanted to know about everything and
anything. It goes without saying that 90% of all our questions were about Loïc.
It being summer and Cape Town being on the west coast we were not use to the
sun setting so late. It was 19:30 when we got back to the guest house, the sun
still high in the sky. This day was over and we were only a few hours away from
meeting our son.
I’m sure it goes without saying that falling asleep and
staying asleep was a nightmare. The excitement was overwhelming. We were up at
06:00 this Monday morning. Lounging around in the room and slowly starting to
get ready for the big day. At just after 08:00 we made our way to the communal
lounge area where our SW met us minutes later. We sat down for breakfast. I
can clearly remember what we had: Muesli & strawberry yogurt, coffee,
orange juice, a croissant, sausages and a fried egg… medium done.
At 08:45 the three of us made our way to the Bellville court
as our appointment was at 09:00. On arrival we followed our SW as she led the
way. Up the stairs and left into a corridor where we were shown to a wooden
bench in front of an office. She finalised all the paperwork and formalities
while we waited. In the days leading up to our ‘court appearance’ I could not
help but imagine that scene from “Fiela se Kind”. The day she appeared in front
of the magistrate pleading to him to give Benjamin back to her.
At 09:25 it was all over. The paperwork was done and the
adoption was legalised. This was a technicality that did not faze me or Mornè
in the least.
We got back into the car and our SW directed us a few streets
up to a ‘House of Safety’. This is where we were about to meet our son. On our
arrival we got shown to the lounge where a Procare colleague (Eloise) from their Cape
Town offices greeted us. Loïc was staying at a house of safety in Swellendam
and they haven’t arrived yet by the time we got there. Eloise phoned them to find out where they were. They were minutes away.
As we sat in the lounge we had a view of the gate that led
into the yard. As we anxiously stared at the gate we saw them pull up. They
removed the car seat from the vehicle with its back facing us. We could not see
Loïc. They took him up to the second floor of the house to change his nappy
before he had to meet his dads.
And then they made their way to us. Our SW grabbed our
camera to take a picture. On her way out she closed the lounge door. We were
staring at the door knob… Waiting for it to turn.
In came the most beautiful boy in the entire universe. He
was full of smiles and SO tiny. We held him, kissed him and we were happy. We were
a family.
Jusqu'à la prochaine fois ...
