A few weeks after the girls had turned five Adrian and the girls went to pick Trudy up from her volunteer job at the orphanage. When they got there the kids ran off to play in the back. Adrian followed the long hallway into the newborn room where he found Trudy holding a beautiful two-day-old girl.
"Uh-oh," he said affectionately.
Trudy looked up.
"Uh-oh, what," she asked, "What uh-oh?"
"I see you're holding a baby," he said.
"I hold babies here all the time," Trudy replied, "What's the point?"
"I saw the same look in your eyes when you first held Hope," Adrian said smiling.
Trudy paused. This baby was special to her, and she loved her.
"Well," she admitted, "That may have something to do with the fact that this baby is Hope's sister, meaning they have the same mother… and father," she added quickly.
Adrian sighed.
He knew that he couldn't argue.
The new baby looked up at him and he didn't want to argue anyway.
The foster-to-adopt program had Trudy and Adrian take the baby home on a temporary basis. It was a formality, but they needed to follow the procedures and it was important to work with the biological parents. With Hope, it had not worked out, but the parents still would be given a chance. Change in their situation was always possible.
Trudy laid the new baby down to sleep that night. She said to Adrian "I am still kind of afraid that she may not be staying and that I would get too attached."
"I know what you mean. Still, I guess we should think of a name for her. She'll be staying here for a bit, and we'll have to call her something."
In the end, Hope ended up calling her Faith. That day Hope and Faith's biological mother came to the door. Her name was Emily.
"Don't worry," she said, "I'm not here to take the children away from you. You are their family. I was just hoping I could see them from time to time… so they know I love them and that I haven't abandoned them. The children are better off with two parents who love them… not just one."
"You're a single mother?" Adrian asked.
Emily nodded.
"Their father is a friend of mine," she said, "But he doesn't want the responsibilities of parenthood."
"You can see them," Trudy said, "But only when we're around."
Adrian nodded.
"Trudy's right," he said, "These children are better off with three parents who love them rather than two. But one of us or both has to be around… at least for awhile"
Emily agreed that was fair. There were no problems or concerns with how they worked out her visits. The girls understood how Emily had carried them and given birth to them and Trudy and Adrian were looking after them each day.
One day about two years later Trudy came to Adrian looking a little concerned. "Adrian I have news but I'm not sure what you'll think."
Adrian swallowed nervously. "Okay well, I can tell you that I know what you're going to say."
Trudy couldn't help laughing. "Adrian I know we were thinking our family is complete…"
Adrian said, "Yes."
"I didn't finish."
"Well, we know because we have been through it before. This is a child from the orphanage?"
"Actually two. They're twins, Ava and Ella. Their father is dead and their mother is sick. So, they're an emergency placement."
"How sick is their mom," Adrian asked.
"She has stage 4 cancer," Trudy replied, "It's spread all over her body."
"How old are Ava and Ella?"
"They're about 4 months older than Faith," Trudy said, "So they just turned 3."
Adrian nodded.
"They need a loving and safe home," he agreed.
The next day the twins came home with them.
"Would it be alright with you if we called you momma and daddy," Ava asked.
"It's just that we call our mother mommy… and we don't want to replace her even though she's going to heaven."
"Of course," Trudy said, "Momma is just perfect."
"We love you," Adrian said gently, "and we're not trying to replace your mommy. She'll always be your mommy."
The twins fit into the family well. They all became fast friends and sisters.
One day about a year later Adrian came home to the entire orphanage in their backyard.
"Okay," he whispered to Trudy chuckling, "I don't remember adopting the entire orphanage."
"The carbon monoxide alarm went off," Trudy explained, "It should be fixed in a couple of hours."
"That's fine," Adrian replied smiling.
Adrian and Trudy turned their attention to their children who were playing on the trampoline with their friend Annie. Annie was a few days older than Faith was, and she and all of the kids had become great friends.
"That would be so awesome," Annie said, jumping.
"I know," Hope said laughing, "Right?"
"Do you think they'd go for it," Annie asked, casting a subtle glance at Trudy and Adrian.
"What do you think they're talking about," Trudy asked
"Pretty much the same thing Hope and Bella were talking about 3 years ago," Adrian said, "Only now they're talking about Annie joining the family."
"How did you know that," Trudy asked.
Adrian smiled.
"Well it's been another pattern."
Trudy laughed.
"That's true enough."
They talked it over.
Annie had been taken from her parents at an early age. The orphanage had tried to reunite her with her parents but it had not worked. They would send her for a weekend visit and she would come back unsettled, more prone to tantrums. The last time, she came back on a Monday and it was obvious she hadn't had a change of clothes or help to bathe and the overnight bag the worker had packed for her was nowhere to be found.
The process for Annie to be available for adoption moved forward. Her parents did not attend the next appointment and they didn't respond to messages. After the waiting period was over Annie came to live with Adrian and Trudy and their daughters. The day they signed the papers was the day Annie turned five. It was a sunny summer day and they had a barbecue in the backyard with games for the kids including water games with sprinklers.
A clown came by to make balloon animals and do some tricks.
There was a cake and candles, and they sang Happy Birthday to Faith and Annie. Once all the guests had gone home Adrian and Trudy tidied up. Everyone in the house slept well.
On the day Hope turned six Dr. Richard called Trudy up.