“Thanks,Martha.”
“No, thankyoutwo for adopting!” she said. I just noticed now that she had tears of joy inhereyes.
We hunkered down at a nearby table to fill out all the paperwork. It took us almost an hour, and by the time we were done I was shaking with nerves again. Filling out the forms made everything feel so official andreal.I couldn’t wait to see our new baby and takethemhome.
“Finally done,” I said as we brought up he filled forms back toMartha.
She took them with a great big smile. “Great! Give me a minute to go through these - actually, you know what, you two can go on ahead to the playroom. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll call ahead and let them know that you’re interested in adoptingtoday.”
Exchanging excited looks again, Vincent and I almost ran to the playroom. It felt surreal to be here again, holding Vincent’s hand. This is where we first met, and now this is where we were adopting our first child. It was like adream.
The inside of the room had a bright, sunny quality to it. Waiting for us were a few employees, who approached us with smiles as big asMartha’s.
“Welcome to the playroom, John!” one said. I recognized him as my omega friend Nathan. He gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re taking one of these littlepupshome!”
“Me too,”Isaid.
“Here’s a sheet of all the adoptable children,” Nathan said, handing Vincent and I a black binder. “Each child has some basic information listed, but honestly, the best way to learn about each child is to just spend time with them.” He grinned at me. “Although I think John already has a lot of experiencewiththat.”
Vincent and I mulled over the information in the binder, but in the end, I think I knew in my heart who I wanted totakehome.
I glanced at Vincent with searching eyes. He seemed to understand immediately what I intended. “You know who you want to adopt?” he askedquietly.
“I do,” Iconfirmed.
“Alright.” He put a hand over mine. “I’ll love any child we bring into ourfamily.”
I nodded, then put down the binder and scanned the playroom. I know who I was looking for - and she was in the back corner, sitting on a little plastic chair and coloring with crayons the same way shealwaysdid.
Tabby.
I approached her slowly, the way she liked to be approached. She was quiet and behind on speaking for her age, but kind and incredibly creative, and out of all the employees and volunteer, the way she looked up at me was different. It wasspecial.
I knew if I was going to bring a child into our family, it had tobeher.
“Tabby,” I began softly as I sat next to her, like I always did. I knew she could understand words even though she couldn’t quite speak yet. “How would you like to come homewithme?”
She glanced up with herbigeyes.
“Ga?”shesaid.
I nodded. “You would live with me and Vincent. Do yourememberhim?”
I glanced over my shoulder and called Vincent over. As he approached, she smiled at him - I knew sherememberedhim.
“Me and Vincent are a family. I want you to be part of our family, too,” I explained. “Is that okay with you? Would youwantthat?”
Tabby nodded her head vigorously and I started laughing. I gave Nathan a thumbs up. Martha, who had entered the room while we were talking, looked like she was about to cry withhappiness.
“That settles it then,” I said. “Tabby, you’re officially ourdaughter.”
Without speaking, Tabby got up, threw her crayons across the floor, and ran into Vincent andI’sarms.
