Stef
I climbed into bed beside my wife, massaging my temples gently with my fingertips.
"Headache?" Lena asked, looking up from her book to watch me.
"Little bit," I nodded.
She reached out to rub my shoulder. "Is something bothering you, honey?"
I fluffed my pillows and lay back. "Callie and I had an interesting talk tonight.
"What about?" Lena asked. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," I assured her. "She went through some paperwork and found Donald's address, and she went to his house to confront him about why he didn't show up today."
Lena chuckled. "Are you sure she's not your biological daughter?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, amused.
"I'm just saying," she said, "that the two of you tend to... take matters into your own hands. You're very similar in that way. Almost uncannily so."
I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn't come up with an argument.
I feel bad, punishing her," I finally said. "She really is a great kid. And I do understand why she did it. It's hard for a girl, not having a good relationship with her father. I know from experience. But we know nothing about this man, and the neighborhood he lives in isn't exactly a safe place for a young girl to go wandering alone. She needs to understand that what she did was reckless. And the only way to do that is by showing her that her actions have consequences."
"You're right," Lena agreed. "You're absolutely right. Did you have a punishment in mind?"
I shook my head. "She's already in bed. Let's just sleep on it, and come up with something in the morning."
By breakfast, Lena and I had come up with a punishment for Callie. It wasn't as easy as it seemed; in many ways, she wasn't a typical teenager. She didn't watch much TV, and she didn't have many friends that she hung out with, or any after school activities. It almost seemed like grounding her would just be sentencing her to do everything she normally did. There was really only one thing we could take away from her that seemed meaningful.
So, while Lena started the Saturday morning pancakes, it was up to me to take our daughter aside and tell her what we decided.
Callie was sitting at the table, playing with her phone. As I came up behind her, I could see that she was posting a beautiful photo she'd taken on Instagram. She really did have a talent for photography. Lena was right that she and I were a lot alike in many ways, but Callie had an artistic eye that I didn't have. "Honey," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Sure," she said. "What's up?" She still gripped her phone in her hand.
Come with me," I said, leading her out the door to the porch swing. When we were seated, I turned to her and looked her in the eye. "Mama and I talked over what you did yesterday," I told her. "And we both agreed that we'll have to punish you."
"Okay," she said, almost unaffected.
"Its not because we don't love you," I reminded her. "Its because we do. Punishments are there to keep you from doing something wrong a second time. Giving you consequences for your actions shows we care."
"I know," she nodded. "What are you going to do?"
"Well," I said. "We're going to take your phone and internet away this weekend." Two days didn't seem like much, but Lena and I never took the kids' phones away during the school week, in case they needed to get in touch with us in an emergency.
"And you're also grounded for a week, other than school, group, and your therapy appointment," I added. "Does that sound fair?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."
"Then let me have it," I said, holding out my hand. Callie reluctantly set her phone in my palm. I tucked it safely in my shirt pocket. "Thank you, love. You can have this back on Monday morning." I reached out and patted her back. "I hope we won't have to punish you often, slug-a-bug. This wasn't easy for us, you know?"
"It's okay," she said. "I deserve it. I just feel bad that I disappointed you."
I took her in my arms and gave her a quick hug. "I know, honey. But that's the beauty of second chances."
Callie
"Hey, Soph," said Mariana, from where she was perched in the arm of the couch. "Do you want me to fix your hair again?"
Sophia shook her head. "No thanks."
The night before, Bill had called and said our dad would be coming to visit us the next morning. So, after breakfast on Sunday, we sat in the living room waiting for him. I think part of Sophia didn't truly believe he was really coming.
"You sure?" She pressed, nudging my sister's leg with her foot.
"I'm sure," Sophia said, wringing her hands together nervously.
"Okay," Mariana shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask. I'll be upstairs if you change your mind."
After Mariana left the room, Sophia stood up and went over to Lena. "Mama, why isn't he here yet?" She asked. "Are you sure he's coming?"
"Bill said he'd be here, honey," Lena assured her. "We just have to be patient." She patted the cushion next to her on he couch. "Why don't you sit down with me for a minute?"
Sophia sat, and Lena put her arm around her and kissed her cheek. "There. Now to calm down a little, sweetheart," she said softly. "You're going to make yourself sick."
My sister had been like that all morning, anxious and jumpy. I wasn't much for prayer, but at that moment, I found myself praying silently that our father would keep his promise this time, and show up for her sake. I was so lost in my thoughts that when the doorbell rang, I jumped.
"That must be him," said Stef, from where she sat next me. "Do you want to get it, love?"
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. "Um, yeah. Okay." I crossed the living room and slowly opened the door. And there stood my dad, looking as nervous as Sophia was, his hands tucked in his jacket pockets.
"Hi, dad," I said.
He smiled a small, shy smile. "Hi Callie. Look at you, all grown up."
"Do you want to come in?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Yes. Please." He followed me into the house.
"Hi, Daddy," Sophia said, shyly stepping forward.
Our dad's smile grew when he saw her. "Hey, squirt! Come here, let me see you. "
Sophia threw her arms around him, and he swept her up, practically lifting her off the ground, just like he used to when when she was little. She hugged him tight, her face hidden against his chest. When they parted, tears were streaming down my sister's cheeks.
Dad took her face between his hands. "Why are you crying, squirt?"
"I just can't believe you're here," she hiccuped. "I missed you, Daddy."
Watching them, I felt my own eyes well with tears.
"I missed you too," he said. " I can't believe how grown up you are. Last time I saw you, I think you were just learning to read."
"I'm twelve now," she told him.
"Twelve," he breathed. "And Callie's sixteen. Where has the time gone, kiddo?" He shook his head. "I can't believe how much the two of you look Colleen."
"I take that as a compliment," I said.
"It is," he replied. "Your mom was beautiful. Inside and out."
"You must be Donald," Stef said, as she and Lena stood up to introduce themselves.
"Yes," he said, reaching out to shake her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"Dad," said Sophia. "This is our-" she paused uncomfortably, looking from our foster moms to our dad. "This is Stef and Lena." She looked down, avoiding our moms' eyes.
"We're very glad you could make it, Donald," Lena said, trying to move along from the awkward silence that filled the room.
"Do you want to see our room?" Sophia asked him, grabbing his hand. "Its so pretty."
"Sure," he said. He paused to glance over at our moms. "If it's alright with you, of course."
It's fine with us," Stef nodded. "We'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."
Sophia led our dad and I up the stairs to our bedroom door. "Here it is," she said proudly.
"Hey, this is nice," he said, looking around, taking everything in. "I like the color."
"Stef and Lena let us pick it ourselves," Sophia told him.
"Our moms," I quietly corrected, but neither of them seemed to hear me.
Sophia sat down on her bed and took her stuffed horse in her lap. Our dad smiled with recognition. "I can't believe you still have that," he said, gesturing to the toy. "We got that for you were just a little thing."
"Daddy?" said Sophia, playing with the horse's matted tail. "Why did you leave us?"
Our father sighed, his smile fading. "Its complicated, squirt. Sometimes, you think what you're doing is for the best. And you don't find out until much later that it wasn't. But don't think for a minute that I forgot about you or stopped loving you," he went on. "I love you kids more than you'll ever know."
"We've been through a lot in the last year," I said softly, as I sat down beside my sister.
"I know, honey," he said, rubbing the gray stubble on his chin. "Bill told me some of what's been going on in your lives. Girls, I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through because I wasn't there. I feel terrible. I've failed you in every way a father could fail his kids."
"It wasn't your fault, Daddy," Sophia said, in tears again.
He nodded weakly. "Thanks, squirt. That means a lot to me. You've always had more faith in me than I deserve. But the fact is, I wasn't there for you. I'm here for you now, though. I don't have much to offer, but I'd do anything for you kids."
"All we really want is for you to sign the papers so we can get adopted," I told him. "Did you sign them?"
"I have them," he replied. "But I haven't signed them yet."
"Why not?" I asked, hugging myself, half-afraid of what he'd say.
"I just had to see if that's what you really want," he said. "I don't want you to jump into something because you feel like you have no choice. You're my daughters, and you're all I have of your mom. We haven't seen each other in so long. I just want to see if there's any chance of us being a family again."
"We love the Fosters," I said. "Dad, this is what we want."
"You mean you want us to live with you?" Sophia interrupted.
"I would love that," he answered. "Like I said, I don't have much to offer, bu I've been working hard, trying to make a life for us."
Panic rose in my chest. I wanted to beg him to sign the papers, to yell at him, just like I used to when I was a kid and I would get so mad at him. But I didn't want to ruin this day for Sophia, so I took a deep breath to calm myself. "So, you're not going to let us get adopted?"
"I didn't say that," he said. "I'm just saying that I want you to think about it, honey. When I sign those papers, it'll be permanent. Just give it a week or so and think it over. And then, if it's still what you want, I'll sign them. Does that sound okay?"
"I guess so," I said, trying to will away the hot tears that filled my eyes and burned them. If we waited this long, I supposed we could wait a little longer. "One week."
He looked toward the door. "Should we go back downstairs now? Your foster moms are probably wondering where we are, and I have to be going soon."
"Okay," I said, standing up.
We went back down to the living room. When our moms heard us, they came in. "You're leaving already, Donald?" Lena asked. "You're welcome to stay longer."
"Yeah, I have to catch the bus," he told her. "But thank you. And thanks for taking such good care of the girls."
"It's our pleasure," Stef said. "Callie and Sophia have been a tremendous gift. We love them very much."
"I can see that," he nodded. He turned back to us. "I'll talk to you girls again soon. Take care of yourselves."
"Bye, Daddy," said Sophia. "I love you."
"I love you too, Squirt," he said, leaning down to hug her. "Bye."
He hugged me next. "Bye, honey. I love you."
"I love you too," I said. "Bye, dad."
He started to the door, then paused, and reached into his pocket. "I almost forgot. I brought something for you." He took out a bag of candy, and handed it to me and Sophia. "I hope you still like these. They were your favorite when you girls were little."
I looked down at the cellophane bag in Sophia's hands. Sour gummy worms.