"Patrick, can you set the table for me please? People will be here any minute."
"Sure," he says. I smile and thank him as he rolls his eyes.
That's Patrick, the oldest of the bunch. We adopted him first when he was three, and now he's fourteen. He was in foster care, and I was his social worker. He was such a great kid, and I couldn't bear to see him grow up in the same community that I did. So Harry and I decided to adopt him. We didn't expect that we would do the same for three other children, but that's another story.
"Hey," Harry scolds. "Don't roll your eyes at your mother."
I smile and kiss him.
"I have so much to do. People will be here any minute and I still need to get the kids ready. I'm not even done with dinner and I-"
"Okay. Take a deep breath," Harry instructs. I stop and do as told. "You need to relax."
"I know. I'm just stressed."
"I can see that," he chuckles. "I'll take care of the cooking. You go handle the kids. Don't worry. Everything is going to be great," he guarantees, kissing me once more. I smile and take a deep breath.
"I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Your head would probably explode."
"Probably."
I run upstairs to find Daniella and Max in their rooms.
"Come on. It's time to get ready. The family will be here soon," I tell them.
Daniella and Max are the related siblings. Daniella is the sweetest little girl I've ever met, and previously ranked as the youngest only being seven years old. Max can be the devil child at times, but we love him anyway. He's nine and likes to remind everyone that he's almost the oldest. Only a five year gap between him and Patrick Their mother abandoned them at a train station when they were infants. Again, I was their social worker. It didn't take long for them to join our family.
"Max, you need to wear your nice shirt for dinner tonight. And Daniella, did you pick out the dress you want to wear yet?"
"This one," she says, holding it up to me. I smile.
"Nice choice. Hurry and get dressed. I have to get ready too," I say, kissing each of them on the head and rushing out to get dressed myself. I quickly switch out of my food covered clothes and into a presentable outfit. Just as I finished, the doorbell rang.
"The family's here! Styles front and center!" I call through the house as I hurry down the steps. Daniella, Patrick, and Max all filed into the room. Harry followed with little baby Sophie in his arms.
Sophie is our latest addition. In fact, tonight would be the first time she would meet the entire family.
I took another deep breath and opened the door.
"Hello," greets Jamie with a big smile. I grin and hug her.
"Come on in," I say.
"Where are my favorite grandchildren?!" she asks, smiling as she hugged Patrick, Daniella, and Max all at once.
"Did you bring gifts?" Max asks excitedly. She laughs.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I brought gifts. But first, where's my newest little snowflake?"
"Right here," says Harry, offering up Sophie. Jamie smiles warmly at the sight of her.
"She's beautiful," she says, taking the small infant in her arms.
"The adoption was finalized not long ago. She's officially ours," I tell her.
"And I can't think of a more loving home than this one," she says. I smile and take Harry's hand, resting my head on his shoulder. "What about the others? Is Melissa coming?"
"Yup. Her and her new husband should be here soon," I say.
"Oh and what about Adam and Brooke? Their little boy is just so adorable," Jamie squeals. "But of course not as adorable as my beautiful babies," she coos, wrapping Patrick, Daniella, and Max in another group hug.
"Ugh, Grandma," Patrick complains while the other two laugh.
"What's wrong? Too old for a little grandma love? Ya know just because you're fourteen now doesn't mean you can avoid my affection."
I laugh as my son attempts to struggle out of her embrace. Just then the doorbell rang.
"We're here!" announces Melissa, walking in before I had the chance to open the door.
"Melissa, always good to see you," I say with a smile, offering a hug.
"Oh, of course it is. And is this you're new one?! Oh my gosh, I don't know how you do it. At this rate you'll have like a million kids by the time you're forty," she says, taking baby Sophie. I smile and roll my eyes.
"I would adopt them all if I could," I admit.
"Well, we're happy for you," Owen says.
"Thank you," Harry replies.
Yes, Owen and Melissa are now married. I always said they would get along great, and little did I know how right I was.
"What time is your brother getting here?" Harry asks.
"He might be a little late."
"What a surprise," I mutter. "What about the boys? Are they coming together?" I ask Harry.
"Yeah, I think Lou's driving everyone over. They'll be here any-"
"Uncle Louis is home!" shouted the tommo himself as he burst into the room. Daniella smiled. He's always been her favorite. "Where's my princess at?!" he asks as he spots her. He rushes over and lifts her up while she giggles uncontrollably. "Now I have two princesses to look after. But between you and me, you're still my favorite."
"Louis," I reprimand.
"Hey, it's the truth."
Daniella laughs as he lets her down. Niall was in the process of meeting Sophie while Max talked to Zayn. Patrick was catching up with Liam.
"Hey man," Owen greets as Adam walks through the door. He smiles and nods, balancing two year old Evan on his hip. His wife Brooke was close behind him.
If you hadn't noticed, Adam and I are on great terms. We're both happily married to different people, and we both have families of our own. It's almost like all hard feelings have been erased and our relationship never even happened. And to be honest, I'm completely okay with that.
"Adam, Brooke," I greet. "So good to see you guys!"
"You too," Adam says, hugging me.
"And look at you! Oh my gosh, you're so big!" I say, speaking to Evan. He smiles and buries his face in his father's shoulder.
"He's being shy," Brooke says with a smile. "Evan you wanna go play with Max, Daniella, and Patrick?" she asks.
"Play!" Evan squeals, extending his arms out to his mother.
"Who's ready for gifts?!" Jamie exclaims, drawing all the kids' attention. They all ran over as she opened up her bag. Another knock sounded on the door, and I opened it to find Gemma, Anne, and Robin standing there.
"Hey sista!" Gemma squeals, hugging me. I laugh and hug her back. "Where's those little munchkins? Max! Daniella! Do I get no love over here?!"
"They're getting gifts from Grandma," I inform her. "Good luck catching their attention."
She smiles and rolls her eyes, saying hello to her brother. Harry and I greet Anne and Robin as well. Soon enough our entire living room was filled with people. I just stood back and watched.
"We have a pretty great family," I say to Harry as he leans down to kiss me.
"Yeah," he agrees. "We really do."
We weren't very normal as far as families go, but that didn't matter. We weren't all blood related, but being a family isn't about biological connections. It's about love and support. Family is the most important thing in the world, and I wouldn't trade mine for anything.
It's weird to think of us as grown-ups now. We're all old with spouses and kids. I could easily say that these are the greatest years of my life. Everything is perfect. The perfect husband, the perfect kids, the perfect family. The perfect mother, the perfect house, the perfect career.
It's hard to remember the time when I was the foster girl. The one who moved houses every year. I didn't know where I came from or where I belonged. Now I do. I know where I belong. It's right here with the people who love me.
I guess that's why they call it home.
~The Foster Girl, over & out~