Two-bit
"Do you think we're ready for this?" Olivia asked me nervously as we drove down the interstate. I swallowed hard and shrugged,
"I don't know Ollie… But we have to try. We owe that to ourselves." She nodded in agreement and took my hand tightly. We had barely gotten in the door from Johnny and Elena's house warming party when we got a call from the agency in which we had our interview and they had asked us to come to Kansas City to meet them.
Just as we pulled up at a tiny, one bedroom house it was almost one in the morning. It was an extremely rough looking neighbourhood and I couldn't help but feel an odd sense of comfort. I knew Olivia felt the same way but I still didn't know what was in store for us.
I took her hand and locked the car, going up to the door. Just as I went to knock the door opened and we were greeted by Kimberly.
"Hello you two. Have you had time to think about what I told you?"
"We have… We've talked about all aspects of it and… We want to take all three siblings."
"You both realize that it is a big responsibility, correct?"
We nodded, "We may only have three bedrooms, but for now the boys could share a room and Raven can have her own room. Once the boys get bigger we're thinking about converting the basement so it'll have another bedroom."
She smiled, "That is wonderful to hear. I'll let you read over the file, and once you've signed the forms to foster them we'll bring them in and pack their things to go home with you."
We both nodded and we sat down in the living room. She handed us each a form explaining what had happened: their father was killed in an explosion at work, and their mother had always been addicted to drugs and it had gotten worse once her husband died. The children were taken away and put into this foster home but they weren't planning to adopt them- we were. We wanted to foster them until we were allowed to adopt. Their mother signed over her parental rights and hasn't asked about them since.
Xavier was the oldest at ten, Clayton is the middle child at five, and Raven is only three months old. It was scary how quickly these kids' lives went to shit.
I looked at Olivia and I could tell just by the look in her eyes that she was sure she wanted to do this. I nodded at Kimberly,
"We're sure Kimberly… We want to adopt these little ones. We'll love them as our own… God we're going to spoil them rotten." I said, I just wanted to hug these kids and protect them from any harm that tried to come their way. She handed us the forms and we both signed them before a younger woman came out carrying a baby carrier in one hand, holding Clayton's hand and Xavier was walking in front of them. I knew that stance, the stance that he'd protect his little siblings no matter the cost.
"Xavier, Clayton, this is Keith and Olivia… And they want to adopt you. They live in Oklahoma and they want to bring you home and spoil you." Xavier gave us a wary look and I grinned,
"Shoot, I forgot something in the car. I'll be right back." I went to the truck and came back in carrying two gift bags. Kimberly told us that Xavier had always wanted to play hockey but his foster Mom wouldn't let him, and Clayton loved drawing but didn't have the right tools. Olivia and I stopped on our way here and we got Xavier a pair of ice skates and we got Clayton some paint and canvases.
The boys started grinning eagerly when they saw the presents and started opening them. Olivia also insisted we get them each a teddy bear, and I'd never seen two kids so happy over such a minuscule gift. Xavier gave me a tight hug and I grinned,
"I hope you know how to skate kiddo because I sure don't." He giggled and I kissed his head,
"I know it'll be hard to trust your siblings with us… But we want to give you, Clayton, and Raven everything you've ever wanted. We want to spoil you three until you're sick of it."
He nodded and hugged Olivia and she grinned, I knew she was teary eyed.
Clayton giggled, holding his bear tightly,
"Thank you!" I grinned and hugged him,
"You're very welcome buddy." Xavier stayed against Olivia's side and the lady smiled, passing Raven to Olivia. Olivia sniffled and used one hand to wipe her eyes,
"She's beautiful… Oh you are all perfect." She said, sitting on the couch.
I sat on the couch opposite with her with Clayton, "You and Xavier will share a room for a little while okay? But that's just until you're older and we build another room."
He nodded and moved into my lap. I felt terrible knowing that these kids were desperate to be loved- but I'd do my absolute best to make sure they had nothing but love, maybe too much. I saw an elderly woman come in and give us a watery smile,
"Thank you for taking them… I can tell how much they already love you and how much you love them… And that's all I wanted for them."
I smiled and stood up, holding Clayton, "Thank you… Thank you for allowing us to adopt them." She nodded and I sat down, tickling Clayton's side. He giggled and Kimberly smiled at us,
"Okay, Keith, Olivia, would you mind following Jamie into the kitchen so I can speak with Xavier and Clayton alone?" We both nodded and went into the kitchen. About twenty minutes later Kimberly called us back in and we sat on the couch opposite of the two boys and Kimberly sat on a chair next to the couches.
"Okay. There are some concerns… Based on previous foster placements. Should the boys need to contact me without your knowledge, how could they do that?"
"Well, we have a home phone, so we can set your number and emergency numbers as speed dial numbers to make it easy for them." Olivia said, gently bouncing Raven.
"Okay perfect." Kimberly said, "Now how do you both feel about pets, such as cats, hamsters, rabbits, dogs?"
"We're open to all of them, as long as we're all responsible with the animals and they get the proper care that they need." Olivia said, but I knew this would mean she would have to take allergy pills.
She nodded again and glanced at the boys. They seemed happy, but again I felt terrible that they felt the need to make sure they could reach Kimberly.
"Will you be putting the children into the sports or activities?"
Olivia nodded, "As long as we can afford it and they want to we will."
"How often will the boys be with a babysitter?"
"For the first year or so.. I want to say hardly ever. I will take my maternity leave and Keith can take some time off work to make sure that the boys grow comfortable around us and trust us."
"And for schooling?"
"Well… we'd prefer to have both kids put into classes as soon as possible so they don't fall behind. Home schooling is an option but… We'd prefer the kids go to school and have some time away from home and make friends and learn in a different environment."
"Can I play hockey?" Xavier asked shyly and I nodded,
"Yeah you can play hockey kiddo… Kimberly said you already know how to skate so… We want you to play hockey and Clayton, if you're interested Olivia and I would like to put you into drawing lessons." His eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly.
Kimberly smiled and looked at the boys, "Do you have something you'd like to say to Keith and Olivia?"
Xavier grinned and Clayton started to squirm nervously,
"We…We want to come home with you." Xavier said shyly and I grinned, getting tears in my own eyes. I grinned and wiped my eyes and Xavier looked at me nervously.
"Thank you buddy… Thank you for trusting me and Olivia enough to come home with us."
"I want you to be my dad." I grinned and sniffled, opening my arms. Both Clayton and Xavier came over and hugged me tightly. We went upstairs and packed what little they had before installing their car seats into our car. They each hugged their foster mother before hugging Kimberly and we grinned at Kimberly,
"Thank you so much."
"Of course you two. I'll be in touch with the both of you soon." We brought the kids out to the car and started the long drive home. We got home around five in the morning and put the kids to bed in the spare room. If they were up to it we would bring them shopping for furniture and toys today and get the nursery a little more prepared.
Olivia was out like a light when we got into bed, but I slept most of the way home as well as the kids so I felt wide awake. About three hours later Raven started crying so I went into the nursery and picked her up, gently rocking her. I kissed her forehead, god she was absolutely perfect. All three of them were, and I couldn't believe that their mother would just give them up like that. God there were families out there, people out there that would treat their kids right, raise them to be amazing human beings and couldn't have kids… And there were families like these where they were not only blessed to have one kid, but three.
In a way I was thankful that their mother sucked- because they were now my children and no one was going to convince me otherwise. These three already had me wrapped around their finger and I would die for them- and I'd only known them maybe six hours.
I brought Raven downstairs and started preparing her formula. No one in the family knew what had happened, so we decided that if the kids were ready we would have the family over and introduce them. We all knew there was a good chance they'd bring gifts for the kids and I couldn't wait for everyone to meet.
I started feeding Raven, I hoped that the kids would still be sleeping because they seemed absolutely exhausted.
She eagerly ate from her bottle and I kissed her head softly, whispering,
"I can't believe I'm finally a dad… I promise that I will do my very best to protect you… I won't let anything or anyone hurt you or so help me God they'll be dead… Thank you for letting me become your dad. I will do anything for you and your brothers." I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and I looked up to see Olivia standing here with her phone out- recording me. I smiled, seeing Xavier and Clayton on either side of her. I grinned,
"Ain't you two supposed to be sleeping?" Xavier grinned,
"We're too excited to go shopping!" I laughed and nodded,
"Okay, let me finish feeding your sister and then I'll make some breakfast and we'll go shopping for you!" They giggled happily and Olivia got them both some juice and she kissed me before starting to make breakfast.
I burped Raven and adjusted her so she could sleep against me and I moved my chair so I was sitting at the table with the kids.
"How did you boys sleep?" I asked and they both grinned,
"The very best!" Clayton said giggling. Olivia grinned and gave them each a plate of pancakes, putting a plate down in front of me and her spot.
She sat beside me and sipped her coffee, "So… Tonight we usually have a family dinner, with my sister and… Keith's brothers and their children… Would you be interested in meeting everyone?"
I watched at Xavier and Clayton looked at each other and seemed to silently communicate, the same way Johnny and Ponyboy used to when they were younger.
"Okay, that sounds like fun," Xavier said with a grin. I grinned and we ate, and once we were done we all got dressed to go. When we got outside Olivia grinned,
"Why don't you three take Raven and sit by the tree, and I'll get a picture of you!" The boys looked up at me eagerly and I grinned,
"Alright, hand me the little princess and I'll have a seat with these handsome young men." They giggled and went over and sat down, and I sat between them. I think we got one mature photo before they started carefully climbing on me and tickling me. I took some of Olivia with the kids before our next door neighbours came over and took some pictures of the five of us as a family.
It was the picture of me holding Raven and Clayton on my knee, Xavier standing behind me hugging me and resting his head on mine that I sent to the group chat,
Looks like I'm a dad! You guys available to come by tonight and meet my children?
My phone practically blew up, and I was beyond happy when I saw how happy they all were for me. We got to the furniture store first, we let the boys pick out their mattresses but we picked most of the furniture- we still had a rather tight budget to stick too. We decided the best way to go to save space for now was bunk beds, and thankfully both Xavier and Clayton liked superheroes so we stuck with that theme. I kept getting questions of what the kids liked and what size of clothes they wear and I sent the information, thankful they were getting presents to help out.
We bought new furniture for the boys and a rocking chair to put into Raven's room before heading to the mall with the kids. We bought them all new clothes and toys; stuffed animals, action figures, barbies, cars, and remote controlled toys. We also picked up a new tablet while we were at the mall so Clayton and Xavier could play one at the same time. By the time we were finished at the mall the kids were starving so we went straight home and I made burgers and french fries for lunch. The doorbell rang and I went to open the door, and family by family my brothers all showed up.
It warmed my heart how open and welcoming they were to the kids. Once all of my friends were here we were sitting around the back yard- Olivia was holding Raven and Clayton was tucked into my side and the twins, DJ, and Xavier were all playing football.
"Do you want to open your presents?" I asked Clayton and he looked up at me grinning. I chuckled,
"Xavier, can you come over here kiddo?" He came over along with his new cousins and he sat on my other side between Olivia and I.
"Alright kiddos, this is from your Uncle Darry and Aunt Charolette." I said, handing them each a bag. They opened it and grinned when they saw some more action figures and warm clothes that were super hero themed.
"Thank you!" They both said on their own, going over and hugging them tightly.
Gift after gift the boys would run over and hug the giver tightly and thank them. I could tell they had never been this privileged ever, they seemed like kids on Christmas morning. Then for the last gift Johnny went to get boxes from the car and came over carrying two large boxes.
Johnny and Elena had gotten Clayton a easel, a top of the line one that I had briefly looked at on line this morning. Along with it came a gift card to an art store and some top quality paints. He was so excited he was practically bouncing up and down.
Then when Xavier opened his gift he started crying. They had bought him all of the necessary hockey equipment such as padding and helmets (they gave us the gift receipt incase it didn't fit) as well as a gift card for him to pick a stick.
They hugged Johnny and Elena a little longer than everyone else and Elena kissed Xavier's head,
"Don't cry baby… Your parents told us that you were dying to play hockey so… Now you can." After the gifts were done the kids went to play and I went to start grilling. When I came back out I went over to Johnny and Elena with Olivia,
"Guys… We can't thank you enough for the hockey gear."
"Of course, Ever used to play hockey and I know how pricey it can be, not to mention while he's growing." Elena said and we hugged them tightly. I heard Xavier start talking and I turned to see him talking to Steve about Steve's car, and he started talking performance of things I didn't even know about. Steve grinned and looked absolutely over joyed that his soon to be nephew knew cars.
Just as lunch was finishing Olivia's parents walked into the back yard and I could tell that it made Tessa and Steve uneasy so most of us figured we'd run interference.
While all of the kids went to play soccer her parents sat with us.
"I don't know why you'd do this to them, Olivia." Her mother said after we all made small talk for a little while.
"What are you talking about? We're giving them the life that they deserve. They lost their father and their mother is addicted to drugs."
"Not that. I don't know why you'd bring a family of black children to a place like this. They don't belong here or with you. Couldn't you find a nice white baby?"
I felt my blood boil and I felt livid. Before I could open my mouth Olivia went red,
"Get the fuck out of my house. Don't you ever fucking talk about my children like that, ever again. They mean the absolute world to Two-bit and I and if you don't fucking respect that I don't care if you never come back into my life. If you want to be a racist prick then don't ever, I mean ever, come back here. These little boys and Raven are my entire world. They are my children and I will love them regardless of what your closed minded head fucking thinks. Get out."
Everyone seemed shocked and even the kids had stopped playing, looking over curiously. Even her parents seemed extremely shocked and she cleared her throat,
"I'm not joking. I won't let you treat my family like this. Get off of my property unless you are going to respect us." They looked at each other briefly before nodding,
"We are very sorry…" They looked at Steve and Tessa before their mother cleared her throat,
"I've been seeing a therapist… To try and help me. I know I've been extremely hard on you girls and for that I am really sorry. Tessa… I'm sorry for the way I've treated you and the comments I've made on your weight. You are beautiful and one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Olivia… I'm sorry for my hurtful words towards your family. Your children are beautiful… And they're lucky you found them and love them. You girls are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm sorry I've ruined our relationship." Their Mom said. I think all of us were in awe. Then Tessa sniffled and got up, going to give her Mom a hug. Olivia followed in suit and I looked at Steve. I knew Steve hadn't forgiven them still, and knowing Steve he probably never would.
I smiled anyways, I was glad that the kids saw this conflict resolved. I knew (from being Tessa's brother in law) that she really struggled with her weight and just as she started losing some of her weight she had gotten pregnant and gained fifty pounds. Steve loved her anyways, but having a mother like theirs never made it easy on Tess.
Later that night once everyone had gone home the kids were excited that they had a whole new room and set up, I know it made them feel more at home. Olivia and I surprised them and put a television in there for them so they could watch a movie before bed. They eagerly went to bed and Olivia put Raven to bed and she came into our room,
"I can't believe we got this lucky Two-bit… I can't believe it," She said, changing into her pajama's. I grinned from my spot on the bed and shrugged,
"I can't believe it either.. I can't believe we got this lucky."