Saturday morning, moving day

They left Augusta about eight in the morning after eating one last breakfast at the coffee shop in town.

Jack drove the moving truck, Elizabeth her old Volvo, and Charlotte and Tom drove Jack's truck.

The three hour drive went by quickly and before they knew it, they pulled into the circle drive at 121 Spruce St.

"Home sweet home," Elizabeth said to herself as she got out.

"Wow! I love it!" Charlotte said, clapping her hands. "It will be beautiful when it's all finished."

Jack and Tom started moving everything from the moving truck to the house for storage when another vehicle pulled in.

"Hello!" a man about their age called out as he helped his very pregnant wife out of the car.

"Hi," Elizabeth greeted. "I'm Elizabeth Thornton."

"Jesse Flynn and this is my wife Clara."

"Oh! Nice to meet both of you. Vera's nephew, right?"

"That's me."

Jack and Tom came out of the house and walked over. "Hi, I'm Jack. This is my Dad, Tom."

"Jesse Flynn."

"Oh great! It's good to meet you."

Jesse went to help the men move the heavy items while the women headed to the fifth wheel where there was air conditioning.

Elizabeth suggested Charlotte and Clara sit on the benches by the table while she grabbed bottled water that she knew was in the fridge from two weeks before.

"Its good to meet you, Clara. I'm excited to meet someone so soon after moving here."

"Me too. We've only been here about a month so I don't know many people yet."

"Vera told us you're staying with her?"

"Yes. Hopefully we will find a place to stay soon, but Vera said we are welcome to stay no matter how long it takes." Elizabeth watched her wince and rub her tummy.

"When are you due?"

"Three weeks but I'm ready. This little princess can come any time she likes."

"A girl? That's great! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks. That house is pretty big for two people, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Yes, well, we are going to be foster parents and adopt too. So it won't be just us forever."

"Aren't you afraid you'll get attached?" She covered her mouth, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I tend to speak before thinking."

"Don't worry, dear," Charlotte told her. "We all do."

"Honestly, Jack and I want to provide a home for children that need one. Temporary or not, we will love each one as if they are our own."

"That's a really amazing thing to do," Clara said. "Really amazing."

"Thank you. Its just something we have always wanted to do. Any names picked out for the little princess?"

"We are naming her after both of our mothers. Sophia Rose."

"That's a beautiful name."

Inside the house, the men had moved the furniture into a room just past the stairs and covered it with sheets. Then they stacked boxes on top and around it.

"This house has great potential," Jesse told Jack and Tom.

"It does. I can't wait to get started."

"Me either!" Jesse and Jack had agreed that they would start demo the next day.

"I'm glad to have your help. Do you happen to know of anyone else that needs work?"

"Not at this point but since Aunt Vera knows, she will pass it along."

"I can stay for a few days, son," Tom offered.

"We don't really have a guest room yet, or I'd take you up on that."

"There's Riverton Inn on the west side of town. Its looks pretty nice from what I can see," Jesse told them.

"Maybe your Ma and I can make a week out of it."

"That would be great. Elizabeth would love having Mom around."

"I'll go mention it to her."

….

That evening, Tom and Charlotte got a room for the week at the Riverton Inn while the two young couples headed to Vera's for dinner.

After ordering their food, Clara asked how long Jack and Elizabeth had been married.

"Six weeks," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Pretty perfect weeks," Jack agreed, slipping his arm around her shoulders. "What about you two?"

"Three years, four next month," Clara told them.

"Where did you meet?" Elizabeth asked.

"In high school. We started dating our senior year and got married two years later."

"We met in high school too. We liked each other for a few years but didn't date until I graduated. Jack was a sophomore in college."

"Oooh, dating an older man," Clara joked.

The foursome laughed. "Something like that."

"So how do you become foster parents?" Clara asked.

They ate as Elizabeth explained the process.

"So you might be able to adopt one of the foster kids you take in?"

"Its possible. It depends on their circumstances."

As Jack and Elizabeth were driving home, Elizabeth's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello. May I speak with Elizabeth Thornton?"

"This is Elizabeth."

"Hello. My name is Abigail Stanton. I'm the social worker in the Riverton/East Portland area. Do you have a moment?"

"Of course."

"I got your name from Sally Reynolds in the Augusta office. She said you and your husband had your foster training and are open for placements?"

"We did train, yes, but we just moved to Riverton today and are living in a fifth wheel until our home is done being remodeled."

"Does the fifth wheel have a second bed?"

"Let me ask." Elizabeth put her hand over the mouth piece of her phone. "Hon, does the fifth wheel have a second bed?"

"Yes. You move the table down and fold the cushions over."

"Mrs. Stanton? My husband says it does."

"I'll keep that in mind. We should get you set up for a home study. Now the reason I'm calling today is because I was wondering if you'd be open to helping out at Haven House."

"What is Haven House?"

"It's a girl's group home run by Molly Sullivan and Florence Blakely. Two lovely women with a lot of patience, however, they need a break. There are five little girls, ranging in age from ten years old down to eighteen months."

"I would love to help."

"Great. How does tomorrow at eight am sound?"

"Its perfect. Can you text me the address?"

"I will do that shortly. Thank you, Elizabeth. "

"You're welcome."

Elizabeth squealed when she hung up.

"What's up, babe?"

"I'm going to help out at Haven House. It's a girl's group home! Oh, I'm so excited!"

"That's great."

"I wonder what I'll be helping with? I'm open for anything."

Jack grabbed her hand and smiled. It made the whole move and uncertainty of starting a new life completely worth it to see Elizabeth so happy.

….

Elizabeth woke up early, showered, and dressed in comfortable clothes. Then she made them eggs and toast on the tiny stove.

"Babe, breakfast is ready," she told Jack who was stirring in bed.

"Aright, thanks." He sat up, ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in six different directions.

"You're so cute when you do that," she said, giggling.

He walked down the two steps wearing just his boxers, a grin on his face. "Oh yeah? How cute?"

"Pretty darn cute." She kissed his lips and handed him a plate. "Eat up."

"So why did Abigail want to know if we have a second bed?"

"She said they need to schedule a home visit but I'm thinking we might be able to do a weekend placement or something."

"Wow. That would great. A good way to test the waters."

He held out his hand to her and they bowed their heads. "Dear, Heavenly Father. Thank you for this food and bless the hands that prepared it. Please help us to recognize your will in our lives as we get situated here in Riverton and to work along with it. Please bless Elizabeth as she helps the children at Haven House today. Through your son, Jesus' name. Amen."

"Amen."

As soon as she finished eating, she stood and washed her plate. "Alright. I'm going to go."

He stood and gave her a hug. "I love you, baby. Have fun."

She kissed him and smiled. "You too. I know how much you love demo day."

"It's the best!"

"Love you," she said, grabbing her keys and purse and walking out the door.

….

Haven House, outskirts of Portland

"This binder will tell you what you need to know about the children," Abigail told her, handing her a big, thick book. "Allergies, medications, a short family history, reason they are in foster care, any behavioral issues. Things like that."

"Alright, thank you."

A red haired woman, about Abigail's age walked in, a dark brown haired toddler on her hip.

"This is Molly Sullivan and she has Taylor in her arms. Molly, this is your helper for the day, Elizabeth Thornton."

"Nice to meet you," she said with a pleasant smile.

"You too. How can I help?"

"Well, we need to get breakfast on the table."

"I can cook that, or if you'd rather, I can hold Taylor."

"Why don't you take Taylor and we can talk a bit."

Elizabeth walked over and held her hands out to the little one. "Hi, sweetie. Can I hold you?"

Abigail smiled as the girl immediately went to Elizabeth. "Okay, I can see everything will be just fine here. Let me know how everything goes, Molly."

"Will do. Thanks, Abigail."

Elizabeth leaned against the counter and cuddled Taylor as she laid her little head on her shoulder. "So, what are you making for breakfast this morning?"

"We are going to make scrambled eggs and then fresh fruit salad."

"Do all the kids eat the same things? I mean, does Taylor eat what the older kids eat?"

"Yeah. It's easier to feed them all the same. Otherwise, we'd be making five different meals and it would take forever."

"That makes sense."

A dark haired woman walked in with the four other children. "Good morning," she said as she helped the children into their seats.

Elizabeth could see the light haired child with pink glasses who was about five had Down's syndrome and was about the happiest of the group.

Elizabeth walked over and smiled at everyone. "I'm helping out today. My name is Elizabeth."

The happy girl waved at her and grinned. "Well, hi there. What's your name, sweetie?"

"Autumn," she told her with a giggle and a slight hesitation of speech.

"That's a beautiful name. It's nice to meet you. How old are you?"

"Um, twenty….five!"

"Oh yeah? Are you sure?"

She shrugged but the smile stayed on her face.

"She's five," the oldest girl told her. "She doesn't know a lot."

Florence squatted next to the older child. "Carrie, that was uncalled for. You owe her an apology."

"Why? She doesn't even understand what I said!"

"Please go sit on the stairs. You know the drill. Ten minutes time out."

Thankfully Autumn seemed oblivious to what was happening because she was giggling with the remaining two girls.

"If they misbehave and don't change their behavior, they get a timeout on the stairs. One minute for each year. She's ten, so ten minutes." Florence watched as the girl stomped off to sit on the stairs.

Elizabeth met the blonde sisters, eight year old Ellie and seven year old Joy and then helped fill milk cups and gave everyone fruit.

Then she helped little Taylor and Autumn fold their hands for the blessing.

"Men!" Taylor yelled when the prayer was done.

"Good job, Taylor," Elizabeth told her. She clapped and smiled, a dimple showing up in her cheek.

Elizabeth smiled back. She couldn't help but imagine her and Jack's table filled with children just like this one day in the not too distant future.

"Thank you," she whispered, sending her appreciation skyward. "This is wonderful."