Page 49

“Come in.” Jenni steps away from me, giving the ladies enough room to enter the house. Once Jenni faces me, her eyes about bug out of her head. I know she’s telling me I should have invited them in and I probably fucked up. I’m not the easiest person to get along with, and I know I intimidate the shit outta people. This is proof that my inaccessibility comes naturally. I don’t always try to be a prick. Most of the time I just am one.

“We weren’t expecting you so soon,” I tell them.

“Yes, well…” Maggie says as she takes a seat on the couch, placing her hands on her lap. The other lady follows her lead. I feel Jenni’s hand wrap around mine, tugging me down to take a seat on the opposite couch with her. “We’ve received the background checks, and everything seems good.” Maggie chews on her lip. “But the family where the children are placed have taken an interest in them.”

My stomach drops. I sit forward, ready to lay into these two bitches. I feel Jenni squeeze my hand. “What does that mean?” she asks.

“It seems the family is interested in making the placement in their home permanent.”

“I thought it was difficult to place older children in permanent placements?” Jenni asks.

“Yes, normally it is. Couples tend to lean towards the younger kids because the baggage is less. If the kids can’t remember their birth parents, then it’s easier for those kids to blend with the adoptive family.”

“What do you fucking mean adoptive?” I feel Jenni squeeze my hand again, but there’s no way I’m not asking some fucking questions.

“The family who is fostering them has inquired about their next of kin relationship and status because they would like to seek adoption,” the foreign lady states.

I stand. “Well, that sure as fuck ain’t gonna happen.”

“Tylan–”

I snap my gaze to Jenni, daring her to try to reign me in.

“No, that ain’t fucking happening. We were told that I get those kids. That I’m the best for them seeing as they’ve got my blood running through their veins. She,” I point to Maggie, “came looking for me, not the other way around. I didn’t even know those kids existed until she brought their files to my door. There ain’t no way in hell–”

“Lick, sit your ass down,” Maggie growls, still sitting with her hands in her lap. I open my mouth to spit back an argument, but once I meet the hardness in Maggie’s eyes, I snap my mouth shut. I slowly sink my body back down into the comfort of the couch.

“Now,” she says, “like Terri said, the foster family has shown interest in the kids. This is the reason why we’re pushing up the visit and making this case one of importance so we can get these kids settled. They’ve had so much upset in their lives as of late, and we’d like for them to get setup somewhere and get into a routine.”

“Because of this,” Terri continues where Maggie leaves off, “Maggie and I are going to do our walkthrough, and first thing in the morning we’ll be meeting with the supervisor in this case and making our decision. By lunch time tomorrow, you’ll know the future of your niece and nephew.”

“Do what you need to do.”

“Yes, please look around. Tylan and I will be outside while you do what you need to do.” Jenni stands then turns to look at me, waiting for me to follow her lead.

Maggie gives us a small smile. “We’ll come get you as soon as we’re done.”

Without another word, we head out back. I’m ready to get those kids here with us. I’m ready to let them know the life they’ve lived isn’t the norm. But in order for any of those things to happen, Tylan needs to keep his cool and not fly off the handle every time he hears something he doesn’t like.

“You need to keep your temper in check.” I throw myself on the old patio furniture. The plastic strips that make up the seat creak under the pressure of my bottom. I’m sure it’s been out here for years.

“People need to stop pissing me off.” He walks towards the edge of the patio, staring out onto the yard. The backyard is sparse, more concrete than trees. The grass is dead because of the time of year, and the bushes have long since died.

Growing up in Texas, my mother’s oasis was her flower beds. She spent the early spring prepping the ground, waiting for the moment when her tulips would emerge.

“Why do you put all that stuff in the dirt?”

I’m sitting on my knees next to my mother in the dirt of her flower beds. She has boxes upon boxes of raised flower beds. Every year for as long as I can remember, when the whiteness of the morning frost no longer adorns our front grass, she readies the dirt.

“It’s so the flowers will grow big and bright. Bright flowers are always the prettiest,” she tells me as she continues to work. “With enough encouragement, a little bit of work and a loving touch, anything can be beautiful, Jenni. It’s amazing what a little bit of love can accomplish. The tiniest bit can be anyone’s, or anything’s, saving grace. Love is the most formidable thing on God’s green earth. With it, anything can be beautiful.”

Tylan continues to look at the backyard with his hands stretched above his head, gripping onto the wooden beam of the patio overhang.

“What are you thinking?”

“How nothing seems to ever go easy for me.”

“You know, not everyone’s out to get you.” I watch his body tense. Slowly turning his head, he looks over his shoulder.