Leanne was so excited to tell Ariel their good news that, when she got home, she could hardly recall how she got there. As she entered the house, she glanced into the kitchen to see if Ariel was eating breakfast, but didn't see any sign of the girl. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she yelled, "Ariel? You up yet?" While she waited for a response, she dropped off her keys and purse in the living room and grabbed the letter confirming the adoption hearing before heading upstairs. Walking into Ariel's room, she said, "Ariel?"
The room was empty, but Leanne found Ariel's cell phone and candy striper uniform on the bed. She also noticed that Ariel's clothes were missing from the top drawer of the dresser. "Ariel," she said again, her voice weaker this time. She was on the verge of panicking when Ariel walked into the room.
Ariel took one look at Leanne and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I thought…I thought you were gone."
"Yeah," Ariel scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I ran away to the bathroom to get ready for school."
"Your clothes are gone and I thought…"
"That I need to do laundry."
"No, I thought maybe you got tired of waiting for this," Leanne explained, holding up the piece of paper that she was clutching tightly in one hand.
"What's that?"
"The notice of your adoption hearing."
"Really?"
"Really." Leanne pressed the paper into Ariel's hand. "Read it."
Ariel slowly unfolded the letter and read it twice. Looking back up at Leanne, she tearfully said, "They're not going to take me away. I don't have to leave."
"You never have to leave," Leanne promised as she wiped away Ariel's tears. She pulled Ariel into a tight hug and whispered in her ear, "You. Are. Home."
When Ariel disentangled herself from Leanne's embrace, she said, "I can't believe this is really happening. I can really stop worrying?"
"About everything except how you want to celebrate, starting with breakfast. I'll make anything you want."
"I don't have time for breakfast."
"You do if you skip school."
The suggestion was so out of character for Leanne that Ariel was immediately skeptical. "You never let me skip school," she remarked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"I will today because it's a special occasion."
"Cool. Can we have French toast?"
"Consider it done. While I make breakfast, think about what else you want to do to celebrate. We can do anything you want."
"Is Ethan coming over?"
"No." Leanne hesitated while she debated whether or not to tell Ariel about what had happened to Rox. Ultimately, she decided not to ruin the celebratory mood unnecessarily and simply said, "He had to go to San Diego, so it'll just be the two of us. Is that okay?"
"It's great. I love Ethan, but it'll be fun to have a girls' day."
Smiling, Leanne confessed, "I think so too." She gave Ariel another hug before leaving the room to let Ariel get dressed.