September 2026
"Surprise!" Bella's little voice fills my office as she runs to me. Nothing makes my heart happier than her constant excitement to see me.
Annika trails in behind her. "Joining me for lunch?" I say as I left Bella onto my shoulders.
She leans over, looking at me upside down. "I want chicken nuggets."
"Then, you can have chicken nuggets."
I take Annika's hand as we walk to the cafeteria. "Days like today, I wish the boys weren't in school." I miss the days of all the kids jumping in my lap, surprising me for lunch.
"I know. She will be joining them soon."
"I don't want to think about that." I pull her off my shoulders so that I can see her face. She clings to me like a spider monkey—arms around my neck, legs around my chest. My left hand supports her bum holding her up. Nik gripping my other hand. "You can never leave me, capeesh?"
"Capeesh."
"No boyfriends, either."
She pouts and holds up one little finger, "just one."
"Nope. You're my little girl. No boyfriends."
"But daddy... I just want one. You can pick him." She won't like that idea in ten years.
"Fine, only if I pick him. But not till you're in high school. Capeesh?"
"Capeesh." Nik, let's go of my hand when her phone rings.
"Hi, Becca." She says. Who the heck is Becca? Maybe another mom in the boy's class. You do have a play date tomorrow. "Yes, we will be there. See you soon."
"Becca?"
"Kal's social worker." Fuck. "She wants to see us in 45 minutes. You can leave, right?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Why?" Kal's birth mom will not be allowed to see him. My dukes are up.
"I don't know. She said it was time-sensitive and that she wanted to have that conversation in person."
"Looks like you are getting chicken nuggets at McDonald's."
"Yaaay!"
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"Thanks for coming on such short notice."
"Of course." Bella eats her nuggets and colors quietly in the corner of Becca office on the kid's table.
As soon as we set in front of her, she cuts to the chase. "Something has come up with Kal's birth mother-"
"She can't meet him." I interrupt when my heart drops to the floor.
"No. No. It's not that."
"We don't want to open the adoption. He is my boy, and I won't share him. Silas is lucky I share him with him."
"It's not that I promise. She gave birth to a baby girl a week ago. She doesn't feel like she is fit to be a mother, and she is putting her up for adoption. She has the same biological father as Kal. So, she is Kal's only full sibling."
"And the father? He is okay with this?"
"He is incarcerated and will be for a very long time. The mother wanted to give you two the chance to have her first so that the brother and sister could be together." Holy Shit. I don't even kind of see this coming. I was ready to have the flight of my life. "I noticed that you reapplied for an infant a year and a half ago. I hope that is still-"
"She won't change her mind?"
"She can't. She and the birth father have relinquished their rights."
"I would like to put on the record that after this we are done adopting, but if she has another baby for adoption we would like to have them. To keep the sibling together."
"Of course. I'll add that to your file."
"How soon till we have her."
"I'm guessing you don't want the weekend to think about it." We both shake our heads. "Later today, then."
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"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad!"
"How was school?" I always come home early on Friday, so it's no surprise that I'm here to pick them up with Nik.
"Good. I got 100% on my vocabulary test."
"How did you do Kal?"
"100%!"
"Good job, boys!" Like Nik and Jamie, these boys are in the same grade. Same teacher. They are so different, but they are hip to hip.
Ezra is all sass, where Kal is a lover boy, so sweet.
"Where are we going!" Kal asks when we don't go home.
"We have a surprise for you." Bella laughs. I told her if she keeps it a secret, I would take her to frozen yogurt after. "We are almost there. 10 minutes."
"I'm thinking of an animal the has strips." We play this game in the car a lot. You think of an animal. Then, you give a clue about that animal. And we guess with yes and no questions.
"Zebra!" Kal yells.
"Nooo."
"Tiger!"
"You're right, Bella. It's a Tiger. You're turn."
"I thinking of a...um... it's a dog."
"Honey, you can't tell us what it is, we have to guess."
"It a KIND of dog."
"Is it small?"
"Yes."
"Chihuahua?" We take turns. "Beagle?" Going around the car. "Toy Poodle?" Each taking a turn. "Shih Tzu?" Ten breeds later, and I can't think of anything else. I don't think anyone else can either. "We give up Bella. What is it?"
"It's a puppy."
"Of course, it is."
"Try again, sweetheart."
"Okay. This time I'm thinking of an animal that lives in the woods."
"Bear?" Nope. "Fox?" Wrong. "Deer?" Wrong again. As we pull in, I say again, "we give up."
"It's a dinosaur."
"Freaking heck." She's lucky she's cute. "Okay, we are here."
I start recording. I'm going to want to relive this moment. When we walk in, Becca is holding our daughter waiting for us.
"Who's the lady?" Ezra says at the same time as Kal saying, "who's the baby?"
Annika kneels in front of Kal. "Honey, you know how you were adopted, right?"
"Duh. I'm black, and you're not."
"You're right; I'm not." She picks up our daughter. Takes a moment to look at her. Tears well in her eyes as she smiles down at her. She kneels down again. "This is Zoë."
The kid's circle around her. "She's so cute!" Bella yells in her little high pitched voice.
"She looks like me," Kal says, touching her little curly black hair. She has just as much hair as he did as a newborn.
"She is your biological sister. Do you know what that means?"
"The same lady gave birth to us?"
"You're so smart, honey. So Kal, you and Zoë are brother and sister by blood. Ezra and Bella, shes your sister too because we adopted her."
"We have a new sister?" Ezra asks. I nod. "Can I hold her?"
"Yeah, have a seat." He sits on the couch here in the lobby. Nik places her in his lap. "Support her head."
"She's so small."
"She was born on September 18th. She's one week old."
"My turn!" Kal says, sitting next to him on the couch.
I end the video with Kal holding his little sister.
"Okay. It's daddies turn." I take her in my arms.
She looks around with wide eyes, taking it all in. Nik stands in front of me, resting her head on my head as we look down at Zoë. I feel Bella wrap her arms around my legs. This is one of my favorite memories. When I die I hope I can watch this. I'll hit replay over and over again.
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Zoë (as a toddler)