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Part 32

Nearly five minutes had passed since his sister had left the room to go to the bathroom, so Tyler sat up in bed, wondering what had happened to her. He was about to climb out of bed, when Tiegan returned.

"What took so long?" he asked, but not so quietly.

"Shh," Tiegan put her finger to her lips, but the gesture was lost due to the darkness of the room, "Be quiet…Follow me, I want to show you something."

Tyler did as he was told and quietly followed his sister out of the room, down the darkened hall and down the first set of steps. Once they were on the bottom landing, he copied his sister as she ducked down and crawled up to the banister, where they peered through the slats.

"Look," Tiegan told him, quietly, showing him what she had discovered, a few minutes before.

On the way out of the bathroom, she had heard quiet music and had gone searching, wondering if their Dad was home, yet.

"When did he get home?" Tyler asked his sister.

She just shrugged, "Don't know. His meeting wasn't supposed to finish until late, so maybe not that long ago…Why do you suppose they're cuddling?"

Tyler stared at the two figures of his parents for a second. They really did look like only one figure, they stood so close to one another and moved so well together. They seemed to be acting like he would do, if he was upset and was in need of comfort. Maybe that was what it was; maybe they were both a little upset and were trying to make each other feel better. It had never before occurred to him before that maybe the adults weren't happy. He'd never seen either of them cry.

"Do you think that maybe they aren't happy because we're with them?" Tiegan was having the same thoughts as her brother.

"I don't see how," Tyler reassured her, "They always say that they're very happy that they've got us. They told us again, just this morning, at breakfast. Do you remember how tightly they hugged us both? No, maybe it's something else."

"Like what?"

"Well, maybe they're worried that they might not get to keep us…they want to adopt us, right?"

"Yeah," Tiegan nodded, "You think that maybe they're worried that they might not be allowed to?"

"Could be…" Tyler pondered.

"But why wouldn't they be allowed? Why would the courts say no?" Tiegan sounded a bit worried

"I don't know," Tyler shrugged, "Timmy's Mum wasn't allowed to keep her. The courts told her no."

"But Mrs. Walker was sick," Tiegan argued, "and she was also on her own. Plus, we don't have ADD."

"Hmm," Tyler was silent in his musings.

As they both watched in silence, their parents slowly turned, until they could see their Father's face. His smile suggested that he was happy and they gathered as much when he dropped his face to their Mother's and kissed her.

"What are you two doing out here?" Mattie suddenly appeared beside them.

She wasn't able to stay quite as low and hidden as they were, but their parents were too wrapped up in each other to notice any of their children.

"Shouldn't you two be getting some sleep, ready for tomorrow?" Mattie asked

Both children nodded, but looked to each other, unsurely.

"What is it?" Mattie asked, gently.

"Are Mom and Dad happy that we're living here?" Tyler asked, quiet and unsure of himself.

"Of course they are," Mattie told him, "We're all so happy that you guys are a part of our family, now. Mom and Dad have both told you that…"

"Then why are they upset?" Tyler asked.

"They aren't upset," Mattie told him, asking, "What makes you think they're upset?"

"If they weren't, how come they're hugging each other better?" Tiegan interjected.

"You think they're hugging because they're upset?" Mattie asked, to which both children nodded.

"Tieg, Ty, I promise you, they're not upset at all…" Mattie paused to find the words to explain such a concept to two seven-year-olds, "When two people haven't seen each other in a long time, even if they're grown-ups, they sometimes feel like they need a little time alone together, so that they can cuddle and express how much they love each other; that's what Mommies and Daddies do. And just because they want to be on their own, it doesn't mean that they don't love or want their kids. It just means that they want to set aside a little bit of time for the person they love as a partner. Do you understand, now?"

Both children looked back to their parents and as they took in the contented smiles on their faces, the penny finally dropped.

"Like how sometimes, we don't want to go out with our other friends, we just want to stay in and play with you guys?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, it's just the same," Mattie nodded, "It doesn't mean playing with your friends isn't fun or that you don't like them anymore, it just means that you'd like a little bit of time with somebody else, that's all."

They sat and watched for a moment longer.

"Don't they look happy?" Mattie asked the two children.

Tiegan and Tyler nodded.

"They love each other," Mattie continued, "They loved each other before any of us lived with them and I think that they love each other even more, because now we're a part of it, too. It's a different kind of love, loving your kids and loving your husband or wife, but you can feel both kinds of love. You don't need to worry about them not loving you, because they do, so much. I know, I've seen how much they love you two and they love you just the same way as they love me. Okay?"

The children looked to her and nodded, then looked back to their parents, for a minute or two.

Once she was confident that both of the children were secure in the knowledge that they were very much loved, Mattie guided them both back upstairs and into their beds.

"Matt?" Tiegan asked, before Mattie had completely left the room, "Do they want to adopt us?"

"Yes, they do," Mattie told her, "Very much so. And I can see that they're both very excited about it. I caught them talking about it this morning in the kitchen, before you two got up!"

"Is there any chance that they won't be allowed to adopt us?" Tyler voiced his earlier concern.

"No," Mattie assured him, "Nana Moon is going to recommend it to the courts. That's what my caseworker did, when Mom and Dad applied to adopt me and the petition went through just fine…I'm sure that there won't be any problems. Dad will make sure of it. Don't you worry about it, anymore, okay? It'll all be just fine, I promise."

"Okay," Tyler nodded, "Goodnight, Mattie."

"Goodnight Ty, goodnight Tieg…Get some sleep," Mattie told them both, "You have to be up early tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Mattie," Tiegan murmured, almost inaudible, for she was already half-asleep.

Mattie closed the door and returned to her own room.

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