###
At home, she removed her clothes, put them in a hamper, and slid on the oversized T-shirt she wore to bed.In the bathroom, she moved aside some of Mike’s things sitting on the countertop and brushed her teeth.
When she returned to the bedroom, she saw Mike’s dirty clothes tossed against the hamper and frowned.
“What?”asked Mike.
“Please pick up your clothes and put them inside the hamper?I don’t like a mess.”
“Sorry,” Mike said.“Guess it will take a while to get used to living together.”
“Might as well deal with it now,” said Hazel.She’d just read an article about the pitfalls of living with someone, and she knew they’d both have to make compromises.
Mike brought up the issue of bras drying in the shower after handwashing.
She mentioned that he put dishes in the kitchen sink, but not the dishwasher.
The back and forth ended with a lot of laughter over how the toilet paper rolls should be hung.
Still laughing, Mike put his arms around Hazel and nuzzled her neck.“We can do this.”
“Oh, yes,” said Hazel.She turned and snuggled up against him.“We’ll make this work.”
###
The next morning, they got up together and hurried over to the tennis courts to meet Jed.
Since they’d talked to Lisa about moving, they’d heard nothing.
“Hi,” said Hazel, giving Jed a big smile.“Ready to play?”
“Yep.Today I’m going to beat you,” Jed told her.
‘You’re both improving,” said Mike.“Let’s work on backhands today.”
While Mike watched, giving them pointers, Hazel played a few games with Jed until it was time for the lesson to be over.
“You’re so talented,” Hazel said to Jed, wiping the sweat off her face with a towel.She handed Jed a bottle of water and took one for herself before sitting on the bench outside the court.
Jed sat beside her.“I want to be a tennis pro like Mike.”
“You’ve got the talent for it,” said Mike.“But it takes lots and lots of practice.”
“Lisa told me that,” said Jed.
“Have you heard anything more about moving?”asked Hazel.
Jed shook his head.“Lisa said not to worry about it.But I don’t want to leave Lilac Lake.It’s the best home I’ve ever had.”
Hazel and Mike exchanged worried glances.
“Just remember, we’re here to help any way we can,” said Hazel, careful not to promise too much.But today she’d follow through to see when she and Mike could sign up for the training course.
###
Two nights later, Hazel sat in on a foster parent training class with Mike.Listening to some of the stories and all that would be required of her, Hazel was feeling overwhelmed until she remembered that all parents with a new baby probably felt the same.
Mike wrote down notes on a paper pad while she underlined things in the printed handouts they’d been given.It pleased her that both of them wanted to get it right.
