Elizabeth smiled at the crib that was now set up in the master bedroom. They had officially moved into the house the day before and now, they were waiting for Abigail to bring their new foster daughter, Mercy.
Elizabeth thought of all that the baby girl had gone through in her short eighteen months of life. Her parents had both been arrested and incarcerated for drug dealing and trafficking and would likely be in jail for at least the next eight years. She had been placed in her grandmother's home six months before but she had passed away, so now, she needed stability and Abigail thought Elizabeth and Jack were the ones to provide it.
"Give me strength and wisdom," she prayed as she heard the doorbell ring downstairs.
She and Jack walked down the stairs and to the door.
Elizabeth opened it and smiled. "Hi there. Come in, please."
Abigail stepped in and set a bag on the floor with Mercy's belongings. "Elizabeth, Jack, this is Mercy."
Elizabeth smiled gently and held her hands out. "Can I hold you, sweetheart?"
Mercy hesitated and then started crying, burying her face in Abigail's shoulder. "She is a bit shy sometimes. She has had a rough go of it."
"Aww. It's alright, Mercy." Elizabeth rubbed her back until she calmed. Abigail gave her a kiss on her dark hair and handed her over.
"I'll give you a call later," she said as she walked out the door, making Mercy cry louder.
Jack looked through her bag but didn't see any toys at all. "Good thing we have toys for her. Let's go upstairs."
They walked into the nursery which was devoid of much except toys and sat down on the floor. The moment she was on the floor, Mercy headed over and sat in the corner, tears running down her face.
"Sweetheart, it's okay," Elizabeth told her. She waited as she cried in the corner, obviously distraught with being in a place she didn't recognize.
Jack sat down facing Elizabeth and put a teddy bear in his lap. Eventually, Mercy stopped crying and just watched them.
"You know, we have a little girl named Autumn that lives here. I bet you will like playing with her," Jack told her. "She has blonde hair and blue eyes. She's at school right now but we are going to go get her soon. Do you want to go with us to pick her up?"
Elizabeth grabbed a book from the bookcase. "Want me to read a story?"
Elizabeth asked her.
"Book," she whispered.
"Yeah, come read with me, Mercy. This is Autumn's favorite. It's about a little puppy."
Mercy crawled over and sat next to Elizabeth. "Book."
"Yeah." As Elizabeth read, Mercy eventually ended up on her lap and helped her turn pages, repeating words and smiling at the pictures.
After reading it three more times, it was time to go pick up Autumn. So they put Mercy in her car seat and took her diaper bag that Elizabeth had stocked and headed to the school in the big truck.
"Maybe we can go to Vera's for lunch? I bet both girls will be hungry," Elizabeth mentioned.
"Sounds good."
"We have two girls, Jack. Can you believe it?"
"It's fast but yes, I believe it. And in just a couple weeks, Autumn will be our daughter officially."
"I thought we could maybe give her a middle name."
"Do you have an idea what that will be?"
"Maybe Lynne?"
"That's pretty. Autumn Lynne Thornton."
"Great." Elizabeth smiled and slipped her fingers inside Jack's hand.
"Juice?" Mercy said from the back seat. "Juice."
Elizabeth looked at Jack and frowned. "After we eat lunch, we need to go to the store. I need to get her juice and diapers and maybe some macaroni and cheese."
"Sounds good."
"Juice?" she said again.
"I don't have juice, sweet girl. After we pick up Autumn, we will get you something to drink."
Elizabeth was learning that taking care of a younger child was a bit different than even Autumn. She needed to foresee anything that she might need, including juice and be prepared.
Jack walked in to get Autumn and they returned just a few minutes later, Autumn, grinning and hopping around next to Jack.
"See baby!" she told him. He opened the door and helped her up. She smiled as soon as she saw her. "Baby pretty."
"She is, isn't she? Just like you, pumpkin."
"What baby's…name?"
"Her name is Mercy."
Jack gently placed Autumn in her seat and helped her buckle the belt.
"Hungry Daddy."
"So am I. Let's go eat."
"Autumn, did you have fun in school today?"
"Yes."
"What did you learn?"
"AB…C's!"
"Oh yeah? Did you learn the song?"
"Song…hard!"
"If we practice, it will be easier. A-B-C-D…." She stopped. "What comes next?"
As they drove back to Vera's, they sang the song over and over, giggling when Autumn started putting random letters in the wrong order. "You are a silly girl, Autumn Thornton."
"Autumn….silly."
A few moments later, they were sitting in a booth, both Autumn and Mercy in booster seats on either side of the table.
"Hi, Thornton's!" Vera said, walking over, a pen behind her ear and a pad in her hand.
"Hi, Vera."
"It seems you have an extra Thornton here today."
"This is Mercy. She is going to be staying with us for a bit."
"Juice," Mercy told her.
"I have apple juice," Vera suggested. "Is that what you would like, sweet pea?"
"Juice," she said with a nod.
"Alright. What can I get everyone else to drink?"
"Milk," Autumn announced.
"Milk what?" Elizabeth prompted.
"Please?"
Vera brought out their drinks a few moments later and then took their orders, leaving some crackers for the kids to eat to help them wait for their real food.
Jack held the cup and straw for Mercy. He smiled at her. "Can you say thank you, Mercy?"
"Juice."
"We will work on that," he told her, kissing her hair.
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing family things. Elizabeth and Autumn ran into the store to get the things they needed while Jack stayed in the truck with a full and very sleepy Mercy.
Jack took a picture of her angelic face sleeping and sent it to his mom. "And now we are four," he said with a smiley face.
"What's my second grandbaby's name?" she asked, calling him instead of texting.
"Mercy."
"She is so beautiful. Her skin looks like warm coffee."
"She is beautiful."
"I can't wait to meet her. Maybe this coming weekend?"
"Sure, Mom. Bring Dad too though. He hasn't met Autumn and you can stay in our guest room which I will have done by then."
"Sounds good. See you soon, son. Love you."
"Love you too."
…..
After the kids were down for a nap, Jack told her about the coming weekend.
"Jack, I love your parents, but I was hoping we would have a bit more time to ourselves. Mercy just got here and you and I haven't had time together in a while."
He walked over and sat next to her on the bed. "Babe, I want Dad to meet Autumn and Mom wants to meet Mercy. They will just stay the weekend."
"And then you will go back to working on the house on Monday and we won't see each other much until the next weekend."
She sighed and walked into their bathroom. PMS. It was kicking her butt this time. Mood swings, headaches.
"Baby, I'm sorry," he told her wrapping his arms around her. "I didn't think you would mind."
"You didn't ask either," she told him quietly. "Please don't invite people to stay over without asking me. I need time with just you and the kids sometimes."
"I can tell them not to come."
"Then they will know that I didn't want them here. Great."
"No, I can just tell them that I forgot you and I had plans."
"It's fine. They can come."
She walked back out and headed downstairs, grabbing the baby monitor on the way.
"It's not fine," Jack said, following her. "I can tell you don't feel that it's fine. Let's talk about this."
"Jack, I'm not going to stop your parents and the girl's grandparents from seeing them."
"Is this our first argument?"
"No argument. Just asking you that next time, you make sure you run it by me first before telling them they can stay here."
"I will."
"Alright then." She sat at the table and opened her laptop. "I'm going to submit my story to Tabletop."
He squatted next to her chair. "Hon, please look at me." She turned her head. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"I'm sorry. We are going to have time together. I want it as much as you, believe me."
"Do you?"
"Yes. I do. In fact, this weekend, maybe Mom and Dad could watch the girls and we can go out."
"I would really love that."
"Then that is what we will do."
….
That night, not only did Autumn end up between them in their bed but Mercy woke up three times. She was wet one of the times and the others, she was just unsure of everything. Elizabeth took her into the nursery and curled up in the comfy chair with her, falling asleep there around four in the morning.
At six, Elizabeth's internal alarm clock woke up, so she changed Mercy's diaper and took her downstairs to drink a bottle by the fireplace.
As she gazed down at the little angel in her arms, she wondered how long she would be with them. Abigail had said probably long term, but would it be? Would she be better off moving sooner rather than later so that she wasn't so miserable when she moved on? Or would they get to keep her, possibly adopting her later?
She didn't feel the same pull toward adoption that she had when she first met Autumn, but she certainly loved taking care of her.
"Is your bottle good, Merce?" she asked, tracing her round cheeks with her fingertip. Mercy smiled up at her, her dimples prevalent. "You are so sweet. I'm sorry your life has been so hard. But you know what? Jack and I are going to try to make sure you are happy and safe for as long as you are here."
"Mommy!" Autumn said as she ran over to the couch. "Autumn have….food?"
"You are hungry?"
"Yes. Pancakes."
"Ask Daddy. He's the pancake maker."
"Daddy!"
"Go find him, hon."
"Who was yelling down here?" he asked in a booming voice but a smile on his face.
"Autumn yell!" she tattled on herself.
"Well, you, my little pumpkinhead, are supposed to be quiet in the morning. Don't you know that?" He picked her up and made her squeal, kissing her face all over.
"No no!" she giggled. "Tickles."
Mercy decided she was going to be nosy and sit up to see what was going on. Jack put Autumn on the counter and handed her a bowl so she could stir and Elizabeth brought Mercy in too.
Jack stopped, gave Elizabeth a kiss and then another and then gave Mercy a kiss on her head. "Hi, pretty ladies. Boy, am I lucky. I have three beautiful girls in my house."
