Together (Sequel of 'Broken Hearts')

Chapter 1: Nazar

A smile appeared on my lips as I heard the front door being opened. I put the slices of cucumber into the bowl and stirred the salad. I felt two arms wrap around my waist and a pair of lips on my neck, making my smile grow bigger.

"How was work?" I asked, placing the wooden spoon inside the bowl that was on the counter and turning around. I kissed Ante's lips softly before pulling away slightly.

"It went well. I'm making great progress with a few children... Do you need help preparing dinner? I have to talk to you about something." He announced as he removed his arms from around my waist. I frowned a little at these words, not knowing what to expect.

"I made some ham and cheese toasted sandwich and a salad. Do you want something else?"

"No, it's fine. I will set the table." He answered and I heard the noises of the cupboards. I took the food I prepared and put it on the table, anxiously waiting for what he needed to tell me.

As we sat around the table, I bit my lower lip slightly as I was waiting for him to start the conversation. "You know I've been working with a lot of children in needs and mostly with children that are in orphanages..." He started and I listened to him with attention. His voice was firm and I could detect how determined he was. "Imogen and I got approached by an orphanage, the main one that we are working with, who thanked us for the great job we are doing with the children. We've been told that, if we ever wanted to, we could foster a child..."

My eyes widened at these words. "Wait, you're trying to tell me that you want us to foster a kid?" I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"I would like us to consider this option, yes... It would be temporary while the child gets adopted and it would allow me to work with the child at the same time to make them feel better in their own skin."

I bit my lower lip at these words. I understood why he wanted to foster a kid: he wanted to help the ones who needed it and fostering one would be even more impactful on the kid's life but I wasn't sold on the idea. Having my own kids never really appealed to me and I wasn't sure I would enjoy being around one 24/24.

"That's not a decision that can be taken lightly... I'm not sure how it would work..." I started to say before stopping myself to put some food on my plate. "Would it be a baby or an older child?"

"It would be an older child. One who probably wouldn't have had an easy life before us... I know that it's not really how we imagined our lives but I would really appreciate it if you wanted to start this new chapter with me."

I stayed silent a few minutes, processing what he told me. "This is a big life change... How would we organize ourselves? There're not many things I could do to help with childcare..."

"I know and I'm not going to ask you to do things you can't do. You don't have to take a decision right now. You can take your time to really think about it." He told me and I smiled slightly.

We continued to eat in silence and my mind wandered toward the conversation we just had. I had been happy when I learnt I couldn't have kids with Jessica and I never imagined having kids at all. I had mixed feelings about this situation. I liked how quiet and peaceful our lives were and I knew it would inevitably change with a kid in the house. Plus, he had told me it would probably be a kid who hadn't had an easy life which meant we would probably have difficulties with the kid or their behavior. But, on the other hand, I knew he was right and the kid would probably have a better life with us than in an orphanage while waiting to be adopted. I also knew how important it was for him to help people who needed it, especially kids. His childhood and teenage years weren't the best and he wanted to prevent them from suffering as much as he did.