AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did August tell you how we came to start fostering children?”
I shook my head no. She leaned back and let my hands go.
“We got married when we were both twenty five. We wanted to have children immediately. We tried for about eight months, but it never happened. We stopped putting pressure on it and just let it happen. We had been married for about a year before we sought help; we wanted to try IVF. When I went for an exam and some bloodwork to make sure I was a candidate, they discovered I had ovarian cancer.”
My breath hitched. My eyes began to tear slightly, so she grabbed one of my hands again to comfort me. “I’m fine now before you start getting upset. We obviously knew that this diagnosis would take priority over trying for a child. Together, we decided that we would remove both ovaries so we could be proactive. My mother passed away from cancer when I was young, so I didn’t want to take any chances. It was a hard decision, but we knew we had other options. We started to do the paperwork for adoption, and in doing so, we started learning about the system and foster care. Once we realized how many kids were in the system, we knew that would be the route we would take. I wanted to be able to help families that were working to get their children back. I felt like that was my calling. I felt that if we found a child that could be adopted and the time was right, we would. We fostered about ten kids before we found Lincoln. I’m proud to say eight of those kids ended up reunified with their families.”
“Liza, I’m so sorry you went through that. It sounds like God planned to give you something even better. I hope you realize what you did for those kids. What you did for Link.”
“I do, and I hope you realize now just how special you are to us. How grateful we are to know you. You are the miracle for which we have prayed.” I grabbed her and pulled her into me as the tears flowed. She pulled away once we both calmed down.
“A few years after we began fostering Lincoln, we realized his mother wouldn’t be trying to get him back. She was awarded visitations but very rarely showed up for them. At that point, I knew he would be the child who got to stay with us. His mother hadn’t contacted us in two years. We spent the next year trying to get her to sign the paperwork. She dragged it out until he was on the cusp of being eighteen years old. At that point, we sat Lincoln down and asked if he wanted us to continue with the adoption or use the money for his schooling. As a unit, we chose college, which was more important because a piece of paper wouldn’t change what we meant to each other; he is our son, with or without it. Our family was complete… well, until you, of course.”
“I am so glad he found you,” I said.
She leaned into me, “And I am so glad that both the men in my life found you. I have never seen either one of them this happy. August has been so happy knowing he gets to work with and learn about you; we talk about what new things he learned about you every night.” My stomach dropped a little. I feel bad that I am occupying their conversations.
“Lincoln has been a tough one to crack for most people.” She gave me a knowing eye. “I love my son, but he had, and I’m sure still has, some serious hurt to work through, and I’ve never once judged him for how he chooses to do so. I always just hoped he was safe and made sure he knew we were here when he needed us. He’s never looked at a woman the way he looks at you. Aubrey, you’ve shown him how to care. He’s never shown that sort of emotion toward anyone…ever. I knew the minute I saw him look at you that something was different. He studies you. He finally saw someone that was worth changing for. I don’t mean to put any pressure on you. I just wanted you to know I saw it.”
My heart swelled with so much joy. Everything she said made me know that giving Link a chance was the right thing.
“Thank you. Thank you for welcoming me into your life with no questions asked. Thank you for letting me get to know you and sharing all this with me.”
She pulled me into a hug again. Our moment was interrupted when I heard August speak from the hallway, and I pulled away to look at him.
“I’m grateful you spent the time and money to find me, and I’m even more grateful that you are taking the time to stay and get to know me. I know being here takes you away from everything you know, and I know how much courage it took for you to do it.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders and lightly squeezed them as he looked down at me as if to reassure me.
“I will be forever grateful for the miracle of you, and I hope you know we love you.”
Liza nodded her head in agreement with him, and she was sobbing even harder now.
“Meeting you guys gave me a lot of answers to questions I’ve had throughout my entire life,” I said with tears streaming down my face. “We will forever be a family no matter what, I promise.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lincoln
Iheard the end of their conversation when I walked in the door. I felt my heart tugging as I stopped and listened for a moment. I couldn’t explain this feeling, but Mom was right, something in me was changing, and it was all because of her. Last night was a new experience for me too. I’ve never shared my feelings like that. I’ve never cared about giving a woman pleasure. It has always just been getting it done, down and dirty, then kicking them out. I feel different with Aubrey like I can trust her with anything.
I’ve never trusted anyone, which I’m sure has everything to do with my biological mother and the scars she left me. The only people I have really ever trusted fully are Mom and Pops. I know I can trust them because they genuinely love me and have proven it to me time and time again, but even that took a few years for me to realize. I’ve never been able to fully trust most of my friends, either. I have a lot of them, but do I trust them? No, not really. I don’t get close enough. I’m always super skeptical of people, but not her. I’ve never gotten the feeling that I couldn’t trust Aubrey. It was just something that came instantly.
I walked into the kitchen, and everyone was crying; I knew why, of course, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to get sucked into the cry fest. My heart was already doing weird flips and shit. Instead, I made everyone bagels and passed them out as they were ready.
“Thanks,” Mom and Pops said simultaneously, then jinxed each other.
It was seriously sickening sometimes how perfect they were together.
I handed Aubrey hers and kissed her forehead. She looked up at me and smiled. Her eyes were so blue today that they looked like they were actually sparkling.
“Thank you, Link.”
I leaned down again and whispered in her ear.
“You’re welcome, Songbird.”
She looked at my parents to see if they were looking and then pulled my face to hers and kissed my lips quickly. I chuckled against her lips. She turned away and blushed immediately when she saw that they did in fact notice.
