“I think we might have a future Kyler and Faye in the making,” Selena says.
“Nope.” Kent shakes his head. “Do not start that shit, Sel.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Mom hollers, and we all traipse into the dining room. Mom got rid of the formal living room a few years ago, knocking down the wall so she could enlarge the dining space to accommodate her expanding family. We always use the larger, more casual living room anyway, so it was a good call.
It’s sheer bedlam getting sixteen kids and twenty adults seated for dinner, even if Mom had two long tables custom made to fit us all and she brought caterers in today, but eventually we manage it.
After dinner, the kids disappear to the game room while the adults enjoy a more leisurely dessert. The women are drinking wine while the guys drink beer. Sel sips a mineral water, which isn’t unusual. My wife isn’t a big drinker. We are all staying over tonight, which is something we haven’t done in a long time.
“Faye tells me you two are thinking about adopting a teenager?” Rachel says, her gaze bouncing between me and my wife.
I nod. “It’s more than just thinking about it. We began the process a few months ago, and we sign the paperwork to adopt Jett in three weeks.”
“That’s great news,” Brad says, resting his arm along the back of his wife’s chair.
“I’m happy for you guys,” Rachel says. “There are so many kids who need a good home. You will make great parents.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Selena says, looking at me with dancing eyes.
“I’m pleased it worked out,” Keven says, leaning his elbows on the table. “I had a feeling when I was sending Jett your way that this kid was special.”
“He was sex trafficked?” Rachel asks in a low tone.
Selena nods. “His family was attacked while they were on vacation in Mexico. He was taken and sold. His family was found burned in their car. It was staged to look like an accident.”
“No one knew Jett was missing,” Keven continues explaining, “because there were no IDs on the family. By the time the maternal grandparents came forward, Jett was long gone. We found him a year later when we busted this ring in a joint mission with the Mexican authorities. Poor kid was in a bad way. There was something about him that made me take a special interest. I looked him up a year later. He was living with his grandparents, but they couldn’t handle him. They are old, and he was out of control. I knew I had to do something. If I left him there, he would turn to a life of crime or end up hurting himself, so I called Selena, and she took him in.”
“He reminds me a lot of myself,” Sel quietly says. “He rarely speaks, and he’s very withdrawn. He flinches from touch. He has made progress in the months he’s been at Moonlight, but he still has a long way to go.” She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “When we couldn’t conceive, we agreed to adopt, but we hadn’t planned on taking in a teenager until we met Jett.”
We have spent five years trying to have a baby. Attending specialist visit after specialist visit when nothing happened month after month. We discovered there is some damage to Selena’s uterus from the abuse she suffered as a young child. The doctors said we could still conceive but it would be difficult.
“No one wants to adopt teens,” Lana says. “I conducted research for a book I’m writing, and I spoke to an adoption agency recently. They said everyone wants babies, and couples are reluctant to adopt teens, especially troubled teens. I think what you are doing is wonderful. Jett is lucky he crossed paths with you when he did.”
“I’m sorry you weren’t able to have a baby of your own, Selena. I know how much you both wanted that,” Sandrine says, “but I speak from experience when I say adopting a child is one of the most incredible things a person can do.” She plants a hand over her chest. “What I feel in here is no less than what I would feel if I’d had a biological child. I love you as much as I would have if I’d given birth to you myself. You two have an infinite supply of love to give, and I know you will love that boy as if he is your own flesh and blood.”
“Thanks, Mom. And I love you too.” Selena gets up and hugs her mother, and it’s a tender moment. Mom clasps my hand. I know she gets all emotional seeing how freely Selena shows her love now. There were many years where she couldn’t handle touch, and we had to be careful not to overstep a line and trigger her anxiety. Watching her doing something simple as hugging her mother is magical because it highlights how far she has come and how hard she fought to truly live.
I hope one day we can be that for Jett.
Selena looks up at me, nodding and smiling. “We actually have more good news to share,” I say, standing as Selena comes back around to me. I pull her to my front and wrap my arms around her. “The week after we began the adoption process, we discovered Selena is pregnant.”
There are two seconds of shocked silence, and then everyone erupts, jumping up to come and hug us and offer their congratulations. Both our moms are crying. “Oh, honey.” My mom envelops us both in a hug, pressing a kiss to our brows. “This is the best news ever. I’m so happy for you.”
“We’ve gone from a family of two to a family of four practically overnight, and we couldn’t be happier.”
“It’s wonderful you are still going ahead with the adoption,” Mom says. “I can’t wait to meet both my new grandchildren.”
“Absolutely,” Sel replies. “We made a commitment to Jett, and us having a baby doesn’t change that.”
“How far along are you?” Cheryl asks.
“We had our sixteen-week ultrasound during the week,” I say. “We were bursting to tell everyone, but we wanted to wait until we were sure everything was okay.”
“That’s understandable,” Eva says. “Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?”
Selena looks up at me, asking a silent question.
“It’s your call, baby,” I say.
