Chapter 21 #2
I can’t help but burst into laughter. “Really old. Super old. I was born in the 1900s.”
Her jaw drops, eyes shining with disbelief. “The 1900s?”
“Indeed. Do you know anyone else born in the 1900s?”
Wrinkling her nose, she shakes her head.
“I was,” Maryanne says, and when I turn to face her, she’s watching our interaction with a smile on her face.
She must see some awful shit. Especially around these parts.
“Well,” I say, pushing to my feet, “we should probably start this paperwork before Salem gets here, huh?”
Arlo walks toward us, then catches Nora’s hand in his own, leading her with us into a small office.
I almost can’t drag my eyes away from the two of them. It’s been a long fucking time since I’ve been around kids in any real capacity. Staring at the two of them opens up spaces in my heart I didn’t even know existed, making room for two kids I didn’t even know were missing from my life.
Maryanne walks us through the documents, and I’m half dazed as I sign everything.
“Thank you for being patient with me,” Arlo says softly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Smiling, Maryanne nods. “It’s been refreshing to see someone fight so hard for their siblings.”
“It wasn’t a question for me,” Arlo says.
“Just didn’t know if I’d be able to get it done.
” He leans closer, passing a sideways glance at Nora, where she’s sitting along the wall with Arlo’s phone in her hands and big headphones settled over her ears.
“Do we have to facilitate visitations with my parents?”
“No.” Maryanne watches Nora for a second. “Your parents have expressed no interest in getting them back for visitations or otherwise. The state is pursuing termination of rights.”
“Does that mean we’d be able to adopt them legally?” I hear myself asking.
“In essence, yes,” Maryanne says. I can feel Arlo’s gaze on the side of my face, his eyes intense even when I’m not looking at him. “That would be up to the two of you. Or just Arlo.” She nods in his direction without taking her eyes off me.
I nod. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Maryanne clears her throat. “Now, Arlo. You don’t need a foster license for a family placement, but if you were to get one, the state could provide benefits to you as far as a monthly stipend—”
“No thank you. I don’t want money.”
Frowning, Maryanne nods. “I understand, but it’s just one extra step to have some financial—”
“Do I have to do it to take them? Is it gonna come back to bite me in the butt?”
After a brief hesitation, Maryanne shakes her head.
“Then I’ll take care of them myself. I don’t want anything from the state. I have a job and a house.”
He says it so confidently that it makes my heart soar. I love that he trusts in us, in me, enough to know that his home and stability are taken care of. That he believes in our relationship and its longevity means everything to me.
I reach out, taking his hand in mine, and he gives my fingers a squeeze.
“Well,” Maryanne says, “you’re certainly not obligated to. But the help is there.”
“Thank you,” Arlo says. “I’ll let you know if anything changes for us. Jasper?”
I turn to face him. “Yes?”
He searches my face for a second, eyes slowly roaming over each inch before settling on my own eyes. He doesn’t say anything. Not to me anyway, and then he shifts his focus back to Maryanne. “If we were to pursue adoption, what does that look like?”
“It’s pretty straightforward.” Maryanne drums her fingers on the desk. “You’ll need some time. Six months with the children is usually preferred, and parental rights will need to be terminated, but like I said, the state is already working on that.”
“And then what?” I ask, watching Arlo from the corner of my eye to make sure that I’m still on the right track.
“And then you file a petition for adoption. It might not be worth it for Salem, though, since he’s closer to aging out.”
I clench my jaw tight so I don’t say something stupid, taking a deep breath through my nose.
Arlo has no such restraint. “It’s not worth it to adopt my baby brother? Like because he’s closer to aging out of your system, he’s less worthy than Nora? That’s a load of shit.”
I’m almost unable to hold back my laughter. I love my little spitfire so much. His passion gives me life.
“No, I’m not saying that at all. Just that it can be a lengthy process.”
I’m not sure anything she says at this point could win Arlo back to her side. When my baby boy is fed up with someone’s shit, he’s fed the fuck up, and given the tight set of his lips and the tension in his shoulders, he’s done with this.
“Thank you for the information,” I say before Arlo has a chance to say anything else. “We appreciate it. Do we have anything else we need to sign?”
Maryanne shakes her head. “No. We just have to wait for Salem to arrive, and then you all are free to go.”
I nod. “Thank you.” Standing, I hold a hand out to Arlo. “Let’s go wait out front for Salem. I want us to be the first thing he sees.”
Something sweet passes across Arlo’s face, and my breath catches. “I want that too.”
He takes my hand, then leads me to Nora before dropping it to kneel in front of her. Her eyes shoot up when he’s in front of her, and he taps his ear to ask her to take her headphones off.
She does, then hands the phone back to Arlo. He shakes his head. “You can keep it for now. We’re going to go out here and wait for Salem.”
Her eyes light up. “I miss Salem. I haven’t seen him in, like, forever. Not as long as you, though.”
Those words hurt Arlo. It’s easy to see.
It’s about time for these three to be home together.
They need each other, and I’m finding that I might just need them too.
I didn’t realize how dull my life had become until I met Arlo, and I definitely didn’t realize how much I was longing for this right here. A family of my own.
It might not have been what I pictured for myself, but with each second that passes by, the image gets more and more clear. Until it’s all I can think about. All I can see. All I want.
I’m going to love the fuck out of these three. I’m going to support them and take care of them and show them that life can be better than they ever dreamed of.
I can’t wait to get started.