ANDY'S POV
And it's moments like these that I could carry forever in my heart.
A simple lunch after finishing work and picking up your children from school with your husband.
Small and simple moments that for a person can represent everything and more.
Watching our kids talk brightly about which gym teacher is the best.
"They are beautiful, aren't they?" Rye whispers in my ear, a smile can't leave our lips, almost hurting our cheekbones.
"What's up?" Jude asks smiling, he takes another bite of the pasta with sauce that his father and I have cooked.
"You are beautiful" we reply.
"Shush!" both answer in chorus, trying to be annoyed but smiling at the same time.
"Oh God!" Jude exclaims out of nowhere, we all look at him waiting for him to say something. The cell phone in his right hand, his mouth forms an O, his eyes are wide open.
"What Jude?" his dad asks.
"I got 7 in chemistry!" he jumps up and hugs us tightly. We spent two weeks together, studying chemistry because it's not exactly a subject he's good at, but if he tries hard he can get results like these. "I got 7, mom!" he hugs me tightly, being careful not to hurt his little sister.
The conceive of this little girl was quite unexpected, we wanted to wait, but now that she is here, inside me, and that she grows healthy as never before, we can only be overwhelmed by happiness.
I am 17 weeks old and yet my belly is huge, I think it’s not only because she is a baby girl, but also because it is the second pregnancy and generally, the belly, after a first full term pregnancy, is always bigger.
He started calling us mom and dad two months ago and we'll never forget that day. Rye and I were on the bed, immersed in the silence and sweetness of our cuddles, when Jude knocked on our bedroom door and asked us if we wanted to watch a movie with him and Luna. He entered the room and said: "Mom, Dad, would you like to watch a movie with us" we nodded instantly but it took a few minutes to let go of a few tears of happiness.
"Thanks mom, I love you" I feel something explode inside me. Happiness? Love? Pride? Maybe all three.
Rye looks at us with two eyes full of happiness and love.
He has this same light from the first time we met, incredible, isn't it?
RYAN'S POV
The alarm bell wakes us up, this means that the big day has arrived.
It has taken four months to finally get to this day and now that it has arrived we feel like we are about to explode.
"Would you give me a massage before getting up?"
"Of course my little one" I lie on my side and position myself behind him, I wrap my arms around his waist, passing an arm under him, with my hands slowly massage his bump, trying to calm our little girl.
Ever since we found out Andy was pregnant we’ve been hoping it was a baby girl and it obviously worked.
This little girl and Jude's imminent adoption are two very important steps for our family and we are delighted with this.
When we told them Luna jumped for joy while Jude simply hugged us. Sometimes I understand him, being speechless because the situation is too overwhelming. But he too is happy as never before, he already has a sister and will soon have another.
"Feels good yeah?"
"Mmm, you’re very good"
"Yeah?"
"How do you calm her down like this?"
“It's something I've always been good at” I reply with a laugh. But it's true, when Andy was pregnant with Luna I always managed to calm her down. Every night when he couldn't sleep I would sing to his bump a song that we both like so much called "Flashing lights", a song that we wrote when we were in a band. I sang and talked to his bump for almost an entire hour and never got tired. We were young and inexperienced, but this didn't stop us from being good parents to her.
"You're right... with Luna you were fantastic and now you are even more so" he lets himself go completely to my contact and I, after almost twenty years of knowing each other, I still wonder how it is possible to love a person so much.
After almost ten minutes we head to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, but to our surprise we see that the table is already set, a scent of pancakes enters our nostrils and fills the whole room.
"Mmm, pancakes" we go into the kitchen and see Jude in an apron preparing the chocolate by hand, probably having melted some chocolate bars.
"Good morning mom" he leaves him a sweet kiss on the cheek and at the same time caressing his bump. "Good morning dad" and he leaves a sweet kiss on my cheek too.
"Good morning son, why did you decide to prepare breakfast?"
"Not that we're complaining," Andy adds with a chuckle.
“I was too happy that I couldn't sleep so I made breakfast for my family” as you can't help but love a boy like him. He's just sweet and he manages to make us proud of him with each passing day.
Luna enters the kitchen and she too leaves us a kiss on the cheek, and then hugs her brother.
My family, our family. Something unique in the world.
"Mom, I made you the orange juice diluted with water because I know our little sister likes it best and here are your vitamins"
"Thanks darling" he takes the vitamins and swallows them with some orange juice. Andy takes his face in his hands and leaves a kiss on his forehead, lingering for a few more seconds.
We all sit down at the table, my big and beautiful family all together. Our smiles light up the whole room and there is nothing more beautiful than looking back and seeing how far we have come now.
We met at school, we became friends, best friends, we got together, we fought and we broke up, it seemed like the end of everything, but we both couldn't stay apart for more than a few days, we got back together, we engaged after three years, Andy got pregnant with our beautiful Luna, we got married when our little girl was not yet born, then Jude came, Andy got pregnant for the second time with our second baby, Luce means light, and today is the day the adoption of Jude, our son. Isn't it amazing how things go sometimes?
***
We all leave the house, so elegantly dressed that I don't remember the last time we were so elegant.
Andy had to buy a shirt on purpose because the baby grows so fast that even taking larger sizes would mean not being able to put them at the end of the pregnancy. He's beautiful; the shirt he wears is black with some white abstract figure, long flared trousers and, like me, he has worn the wedding shoes; I am dressed in a white shirt, black jacket and pants of the same color; Jude is also very elegantly dressed and Luna is more beautiful than ever, it seems that she has to go to prom she has a beautiful dark blue dress with cream-colored lace embroidery. Our little girl is growing so fast, she's not even a little girl anymore.
"Mom, Dad, wait a minute" we stop and turn to him. His eyes are filled with tears, but only one tear runs down his cheek.
"What's wrong baby?" Andy asks as we approach him to hug him.
“This is happening, right? Isn't it a dream from which I will wake up?"
"No, it's not a dream, my love" he replies softly, stroking his cheek and leaving him a sweet kiss on the cheek, Andy too low to reach his forehead.
“It isn't, my little one. You are about to be adopted, as you always wanted” I welcome him in my arms, letting him cry as much as he wants. My right hand leaves many caresses on the back of his head, while his mother gets emotional as always, too hormonal to hold back.
“You'll have time to cry when I make you despair with my teenage problems” Luna says, making us all laugh.
"I love you, all of you"
"Us too, so much" I leave a kiss on my son's forehead, making it linger for a few more seconds, as I always have, to inhale his sweet scent, mixed with ours.
We enter the courthouse after twenty minutes, some friends of Jude and Brooklyn with Jack and their baby are all seated to witness the adoption of our baby. Maybe I should stop calling them children when they are no longer.
We exchange a smile before my husband and I take the official adoption papers, just given to us by the judge, take the two pens placed on the table and sign where we were instructed to sign. Before giving the papers to the judge we look at our child, his smile illuminates the whole court and his tears of happiness flow down his cheeks.
"I, Judge Robertson, declare Jude, now become Jude Beaumont, an official member of the Beaumont family" Jude throws himself into our arms crying as we have never seen him do before. Luna joins the embrace, all our children are here, one still in her mother's womb, but she is still here, with us.
“Jude Beaumont” he says crying. I don't think I've ever heard his name sound with our last name so well.
“Yes, my little one, yes” his mother leaves him many kisses all over his face, making him smile and laugh. Look at our son, he entered our house the first time, he was sad and now he is happiest as we are. We are happiness personified.
"I love you Jude, you’re my brother"
"I love you Luna, you’re my sister"
"We love you, son"
"I love you too, mom and dad"
What is happiness? A home with the people you love inside.
Here you are the last part of "The foster" hope you enjoyed it🌵💞