Wednesday morning, we woke up, keenly aware that this day was big. Really big. Would everything play out as we were hoping? Would the long-awaited passports actually be in our hands within hours? Would we be able to step on a plane together and arrive back in Delhi by day's end? The answers were still mysteries to us, but we were about to watch and see...
That morning, Karen decided to stay back at the hotel, rest, and pack for our hopeful departure. The plan was for the rest of us to drive to Cuttack and meet the courier who was holding the passports, returning in plenty of time to eat lunch and get to the aiport for our evening departure. That was the plan.
Tuna arrived with a smile on his face and hope on his lips. This was it; this was the day that we were all waiting for....hopefully. But before we left the hotel, he had to share one piece of sad news with me: our original taxi driver had returned the night before, and that morning, Tuna had gone to check on my FLIP. No dice...it was gone. But then, "I did a miracle!" he says, as he pulls out my FLIP from behind his back! Tuna was so proud of himself for tricking me, and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or to cry! All those precious videos were returned to me!!! And to think--it would have been SO easy for that driver to have sold it instead, but he turned out to be an honest man (Or possibly Tuna was able to buy it back? Not sure which! Either way...)...praise God!
We loaded the van and drove the 45 minutes to Cuttack, and on the way we learned about Tuna's call to the postmaster general that morning. As it turns out, the passports had indeed been mailed and had arrived in Cuttack. Unfortunately for us, the guy in charge of the post office in Cuttack was not agreeing to release them to anyone other than an official of the orphanage. Makes sense, actually, but it just meant another step for us. Now we needed to go to Basundhara and ask someone there to come with us as we made our way through the streets of Cuttack to find the random courier who literally held the key to our travel home.
Our other option was to wait until the afternoon mail arrived at the orphanage; this would be a last resort but would result in yet another night at the Ginger (We enjoyed our time there but were definitely ready to leave by this point!).
So, off to Basundhara we went! On the way, Mr. D explained to Tuna a little more about the situation at the passport office and about the tension between the Important Men there and the representatives of the orphanages. Turns out that it is quite common for the orphanages to feel very much at the mercy of the Important Men; a past slap on the wrist by the courts had led to an ongoing conflict of power between the two parties. Had God not intervened the day before, we all felt confident that we would not be on our way to the passports today.
This time, when we arrived at Basundhara, we decided not to take Tom inside the complex. We had said our goodbyes on Monday, and bringing him into that again seemed like the wrong idea. Having said that, we couldn't be there without giving Soudemani the opportunity to love on her sweetheart again. So while Scott, Tuna, and Mr. D went to find help, I went to find Soudemani while Hoffbeast and Tom waited in the van.
Soudemani quickly understood that Tom was outside and that I wanted her to come see him.......and she was SO happy! These last few pictures of the two of them together bring back memories of another nanny goodbye in another land a few years before this one, when Neil and his nanny, Aster, said goodbye.
Much laughter and familiarity--Tom was very happy to see her, too!
For some reason, my pictures are all overexposed, but they are still precious...and all that I have.
At first, Tom hesitated to go back to Daddy, but only for a second or two. Soon, he was settled back in the strong arms that he had begun to trust so much over the last few days.
And they said goodbye, tears in her eyes...
I walked back in with Soudemani and while passing the office, I saw this duo waiting to talk to someone. My mind wandered as to the situation....I never found out what was happening, but I have a strong and very sad suspicion...
Soudemani wanted me to take her picture with this other nanny who is obviously a good friend of hers. I was happy to oblige!
And then I said my own goodbyes...
DSCN3650 from Hoffbeauty on Vimeo.
One last wave from B, whom would hopefully be joining his new family in just a few months...
And then, finally, armed with the Basundhara official, we made our way through the winding streets to a random location where a guy on a bike held our fortune.
Seriously, the situation seemed so crazy....and I felt like a paparazzi, using my zoom to capture these images. On the left, the courier. On the right, the orphanage official.
Words exchanged, papers perused, phone calls made.
What was going on? This was not the quick exchange those of us waiting in the van were hoping for.
Finally, Tuna decided to get out and check to see what was happening. More waiting...
And then....a wave toward the van. Tuna is motioning for Scott to come and join him at the bike. Something is wrong. What is going on?
Eventually, Scott and Tuna, looking rather dejected, return with the official to the van, where Scott quickly announces, "Looks like Tom can leave, but we'll have to stay for another week or so."
WHAT??!?!
You can guess what had happened. After all the haggling with and promises from Rim, the other girl's passport had indeed been issued instead of L's. I had the thought that somewhere in America, R's family had no idea about the cramazing story taking place at that moment on the other side of the world that was enabling their little girl to come home much quicker than otherwise would have possibly happened. Exciting for them, devastating for Scott and Karen....and for us, as we felt so in this together and desperately wanted them with us on the rest of our journey. It was an enormous blow, and none of us knew quite how to respond. We cried, we sighed, we prayed..........and then Tuna got to work.
Tom with his passport...having that document in our hands felt cramazingly good, dulled only by the sadness that our friends couldn't feel the same way. Interestingly, the date of issue on the passport was May 6, 2011. May 6! It was now May 25, which means that that passport had been printed and sitting in that bright blue building for nearly 3 weeks! Who knows how much longer it would have sat had we not gone and fought for it...
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