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“Exactly,” she stated, crossing her arms. “He needs to go to a loving home. Parents who will love him unconditionally for the rest of his life.”
“I’m sure there is a family out there for him.”
Her gaze fell upon her lap, unable to look me in the eye. I moved closer to her, lifting her chin gently while trying to understand her feelings.
“What’s really wrong here, Amelia?” I asked softly.
“Why can’t we foster him, to adopt.”
I stilled my movements, unable to piece my thoughts together without coming across insensitive. My eyes blinked slowly as a heaviness weighed down my limbs.
“For starters, this is the first you’ve ever mentioned of wanting to foster or adopt. I just assumed we’d have our own kids one day when you finished law school.”
“I do want to fall pregnant again one day, but why can’t this baby be part of our family? Luna is adopted, that never stopped Julian and Adriana from wanting her or growing their family.”
Adoption and fostering a child is beyond a foreign concept to me. Never had I ever thought about it, let alone considered it to be part of my future plans.
“Okay, but Amelia, it’s not that simple. You’re still studying.”
“So, I’ll defer.”
I shook my head, disagreeing. “You can’t defer.”
“Why not?”
“Because you worked so hard to get where you are.”
Amelia’s lips pinched together as her eyes fought back the tears. “Yeah, and inside a hospital in Orlando is a baby who has no family to take care of him. Now, you tell me what is more important? Yale or that child’s life?”
I shut my eyes, trying to stay patient. This could easily spiral into an argument that may tear us apart, so I made sure to think about my actions, knowing just how emotional she was.
“We can barely find time for each other. How are we supposed to raise a baby?”
I could see the disappointment across her face and how her shoulders collapsed against the bed head. There are not many things Amelia is passionate about or willing to argue over, so I knew this was important to her. I just wasn’t expecting her to want us to start a family this way.
“And say we work all that out,” I mentioned mildly. “There’s a lot of legal hoops to jump through. There is no guarantee we can become foster parents or adopt the baby.”
“But are you willing to try?” she pleaded, holding her breath.
“Is this what you want?”
“I want you, Will. And you are right. I never expected to start a family this way. But that little boy brought us together. There is a reason he came into our life all those weeks ago. There is a reason why Ashley walked into that bar that night.”
I reached out for her hand, kissing her knuckles softly. There was a huge part of me that wondered why it all happened. I took it as a test to see how strong we were and if we could reach the other side.
“This is not a decision for just me to make,” she confessed, lowering her voice. “It’s for us to make. As husband and wife. We both need to commit to providing a loving home for this child if we are blessed to be his parents one day.”
I remained quiet, thinking about the whole situation. There were so many things to consider, but the pressing thought was, am I ready to be a father? And to a child who is not biologically mine.
“We would need to move to LA to be closer to your Mom.”
Amelia’s lips slowly curved upward into a hopeful smile. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s a let us take one step at a time. There are a lot of hurdles to get through. I need you to be strong because there is no guarantee at the end,” I warned her.
She threw her arms around me, tears springing from her eyes. “I love you.”
My arms wrapped around her while I kiss her hair. There is nothing much that terrified me until now. I’d seen it all to get to where I am. But losing my wife would top the list without a shadow of a doubt, and second would be raising a child.
