Four Months Later

Four months had gone by in a flash, Mika and Miles's 18th birthday was celebrated just as Bose's was, even smaller. Even though Miles had been traveling, he and Mika had never been apart on their birthday. Mika just wished that Chapa was there with them as Bose and Isadora were to celebrate. T

hey had dinner at a casual dining restaurant. They ordered a half strawberry and half red velveted cake. Strawberry for Mika and red velvet for Miles. They also got a small blended cake on the side for Isadora to suck on. She was only six months now, but she did prefer pretty solid foods to mushy ones.

Mika had felt very pretty that day because she had time to actually do her makeup, she use to do it every day. She hadn't been able to get all dressed up and splash her face with pretty colors since her life had turned upside down.

Once the waiter finished singing happy birthday to them, they blew out their sparkler candles together as Bose cut the cake. Instead of triangle pieced he cut them into trapezoids which everyone found odd but didn't comment on it. They spent the night taking pictures, reminiscing about good old times, and talking about what the future would hold for the new legal adults.

Bose gifted Miles with rare oracle cards that took him months to find and Miles really appreciated it. The gift may have seemed like something you would get a silly crystal child but Miles was still very much a spiritual dork.

Bose's was a gift to Mika and was more sentimental. He got a gift card of three hundred dollars from her favorite store in the mall, but that wasn't the sentiment gift. Bose gifted Mika a jar of flower petals. But it wasn't such any flower petals, the flower petals were from every bouquet of flowers he had gotten for her since they started dating.

The petals were dull, wrinkly, and dying but they looked as vibrant as the first day she laid eyes on all of them. Bose had put a lot of thought into the gift and it wasn't just something you could put together in a week, he's probably been saving them for years and was waiting for the right time to present it to her.

Bose had hoped that when he was ready to give it to her that they'd still be together. Now that they weren't, he wasn't sure he should have given it to her for fear that he might turn the night awkward. But he and Mika had been doing really good being just friends, at the beginning, they had moments where they forgot they were apart and would share impulsive kisses here and there but they moved on. They were still into each other but Bose understood why Mika called it quits and he wanted to respect that.

Mika became teary-eyed it was the sweetest and most valuable gift she's ever gotten. "Oh, wow,", she didn't know what to say.

"This is so sweet and genuine of you," Mika pulled him into a hug, "This means a lot to me. Thank you," She whispered into his ear.

"Well, you mean a lot to me," He hugged her tighter.

They pulled away from their embrace and Mika smoothly wiped a tear from her eyes and started fanning her face. "You made me cry you jerk, i don't know if my mascara is waterproof," She uttered.

Bose laughed and passed a napkin on the table, and Mika carefully tapped her eyes. Bose noticed a tangle in her hair and worked his finger through them, they got lost in their own little world making small jokes about the situation and forgetting that Miles was still there. Miles cleared his throat, "Not in front of the child," he covered Adora's eyes and she giggled slapping her tiny hands on the table. Mika and Bose blushed and Miles handed Adora to Bose.

The small birthday bash lasted for a good while before they decide to call it a night. Adora was becoming hard to please and her bottles for finished. Bose drove Mika and Adora home and Miles teleported elsewhere instead. Mika and Bose weren't comfortable with the Idea of teleporting with a baby because they didn't how it would affect her so they steered clear of it. The drive home was calming and resembled the end of a movie.

))

A couple of days later, Mika, Bose, and Isadora were at the Macklin household. There were a bunch of crayons, colored pencils, paintbrushes, and different shades of skin pain on the table along with clear sheets of paper. Adora sat in her high chair as Bose tried to wipe paint stains from her fingers. To the side of them was a backdrop, a life-sized cup big enough to fit Adora, fake large marshmallows, and a camera stance.

Mika had gotten into photography lately and thought it would be fun to do their own little photoshoot of Adora while also bonding with her. Not that the three of them needed to bond even more, they attached to the hip. Mika looked through the camera with her artsy outfit and snap a picture of Bose and Adora as a quick test run.

Bose then lifted a paper splashed in colors that Adora had conquered up, "Awh, look at this, the nugget is a natural, this is going to be framed and mounted on my bedroom door,". Mika laughed and came over to them. Adora clapped her painted-stained hands and then started rubbing the non-toxic, child-friendly paint on her belly. To save them time from doing laundry they removed all her clothing except for her diaper.

Mika took out a list of her overall pockets and read through it to see what they would do next when Bose started talking to her.

"I'm going apartment hunting this Saturday, I was talking with this realtor that Willard set me up with, and there is this condo I'm interested in. He could get me a good deal," He informed, "So if you're not doing anything, you should come with me".

Mika lifted an eyebrow, "Sounds like a marriage proposal,".

"Me? Marry you? Sorry, but you're not really my type," He teased.

Mika chuckled. Bose hadn't been looking for a place for a while now and nothing had caught his attention so if he was saying he was interested in this condo, he would most likely claim it. "But seriously, it would be cool if both you and Adora could come. When i do find a place, I'm hoping that you two will be over a lot, almost like a second home," He smiled at her and she gave him a wistful one.

"Besides I want your opinion," he added. "I'll see what's on my calendar," she assured. "Great," he replied, "Shall we move on to phase 3?" he asked and Mika nodded.

Bose picked Isadora up and Mika brought over a bucket of pink paint and then laid a try of molding clay in front of her. "Wait lemme get the camera," Mika said then reached for it across the table. Bose took the baby's small hand and gently dipped it in the paint while holding her to his rib cage. "Okay, I'm ready," Mika said excitedly.

"Okay baby girl, I'm gonna put your print right here," he spoke softly to the child then stamped her hand in the clay after the paint. "Look it's so small and fragile and cute, "Bose gushed. "I know right," Mika squealed. She took Adora from Bose and started rapidly kissing her chunky cheeks. Bose took the clay to the window had let it sit there.

After some time of showering Adora with admiration, they started to clean up. Mika's mom would have a fit if she saw what they had turned her kitchen into.

)

Bose went home soon after and Mika turned on Adora's favorite animation for her to watch. Mika decided to pass the time by cooking an old family recipe and she cursed herself for forgetting to tell Bose to stay longer so he could take some with him. Mika saved him some for the next time she saw him. As Mika was cooking she started thinking about her and Bose's conversations about apartment hunting. It hit her that they were really grown-ups now, moving out was a major milestone that every young adult looks forward to. It's usually the first milestone into adulthood, they just however skipped a couple of steps.

The front door opened and Mika's parents came in. "Hey pumpkin," her Dad greeted. "Hey Dad," Mika responded but then she saw that he was heading toward Adora, "Oh you meant the baby,". Mika playfully rolled her eyes. Angela laughed and then asked, "What did you guys do today,". "Oh you know, just some family stuff," Mika threw some eggshells away. Angela put her bag on the table next to the closet and Herm picked Adora up. "Well we've had a long day, I'm gonna go upstairs and freshen up," Angela stated.

Herm pulled out his phone from his pocket and started going through his camera roll, "And I'm gonna show Adora some pictures I took at the farmhouse today,". He affectionately caressed her silky curly hair and went with Angela.

Right when they left Mika heard a ringtone coming from Anegla's bag. "Hey Mom you left your bag," Mika called out as she went for her bag. Angela didn't hear her. Mika opened the bag to find her phone and when she reached to take it out a stack of paperwork fell out. "Mom, your phone," Mika called again.

Mika bent down to pick up the papers but as she was organizing them something caught her attention. An I-600 form. It was an adoption file and a whole bunch of legal forms. Mika stared at them confused when the ringing from the phone stopped. Her eyes scanned the paperwork and her vision began to blur slightly zooming in on keywords.

Why would her mother have these? What exactly was the plan here?

Mika's breathing pick up and she wasn't sure what to do next. She took a deep breath and then quickly took her phone out to snap pictures of the files. Mika quickly put the papers back in the bag along with the phone and pretended as if nothing had happened.