I grab another stone and toss it into the water, watching it skip across the waves. I keep listening, trying to follow the conversation.
“Well, hello there. It’s so nice to meet Noah’s new family,” says the lady I don’t recognize. “My name is Sophia Adamos. I’m the social worker filling in for Mrs. Delgado today. She was called away last minute for some kind of emergency.”
I don’t really like Social Worker Sophia. She doesn’t seem as nice as Mrs. Delgado.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” she adds quickly. “This is only my third week on the job, and I’m still a bit disorganized. You wouldn’t happen to have your paperwork with you, would you, Mr. Jarrell?”
The tall man hands her a large envelope. “No worries, Sophia. Everything you need is in here. My wife made sure we were fully prepared for Noah’s adoption.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Social Worker Sophia presses both hands to her chest. “I haven’t had the chance to stop by the office today and grab Mrs. Delgado’s files. This emergency of hers really threw everything off.”
I bend down and scoop up another handful of rocks, tossing them one by one into the shallow water. A sudden wave rushes in, splashing over my feet and almost stealing one of my sandals. I leap up from the bench just in time to grab it before it floats away.
It’s the purple one—the one that’s too big for my foot. The other sandal is white, and it fits better. It looks newer too. I wish I had another white one.
“Is Noah’s brother with you?”
My ears perk up.
“I was told you also have a son—Alex, I believe? Noah’s very excited about having a big brother.”
“Yes, of course…” The tall man glances over toward the bench. I quickly look away and toss another stone into the waves.
“…and Alex is also very excited to have a brother. Unfortunately, he wasn’t feeling well, so we had to leave him behind.”
Social Worker Sophia shakes her head, her voice floating on the ocean breeze. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope he feels better soon. Well, let me get Noah, and then you can be on your way.”
I toss the last of my rocks into the sea and hop down from the weathered bench. Hiking up my shorts, I tug on the yellow shoestring and tie it tighter around my waist, so they don’t fall down.
Mrs. Delgado says I have skinny legs, and it’s hard to find shorts that fit me. I think these ones used to belong to the old man at the orphanage because I saw him wearing them once, and now he has a new pair.
My shirt definitely belongs to me though. I found it first, tossed on the ground by the trash bin. It’s pink—my favorite color—and it hangs off one shoulder. I think it looks pretty. I have another shirt, too, but I like this one the best.
“Noah, sweetheart, come meet your family,” Social Worker Sophia calls out.
I dust off my hands and carefully drag my feet across the rocky shoreline toward the dock. I hope my purple sandal stayson. I stuff my hands into my pockets and walk straight over to the man with blond hair.
“Where’s my brother?” I ask.
“Mon Dieu!” he says, crouching down and pulling my hands out of my pockets. “Those are the most striking eyes I’ve ever seen. Clear fucking blue,” he adds, then quickly covers his mouth. “Oops.”
He said a bad word, but it’s not the first time I’ve ever heard one.
“Pardon,” he mutters, sounding a bit silly.
“You talk weird,” I tell him, not recognizing the language. I only speak English. Some Greek too.
“Noah, that isn’t polite!” Social Worker Sophia snaps. Mrs. Delgado would never snap at me.
“It’s fine,” my new dad says, tousling my hair. “Hi, son.” He finally smiles, and I think I might like him. His teeth are really straight—and super white. Like my sandal. Maybe he’ll get me another one.
“We’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Noah.” His fingers are long and feel kind of moist, like a wet towel, which grosses me out a little. He gestures toward the two people standing beside him. “This is your mom and your sister, Teya.”
“Where’s my brother?” I ask again, looking away from the lady and the smiling girl. Teya looks a lot older than me, and her eyes are strange—bright green, like lasers. But they don’t match, kind of like my sandals. “Mrs. Delgado said I would have a brother.”
My dad stands up, still holding one of my hands. My fingers look so tiny next to his. Only Mrs. Delgado has ever held my hand before; her fingers were small, like mine, and soft.
“Noah, do you like boats?” Dad asks. He squeezes my hand, and it hurts—but just a little. I can handle it. I don’t think heactually means to hurt me. “I have a rather large boat. Would you like to go for a ride?”
