Unexpected Family

The Answer

Billie's POV

I wasn't expecting the call.

Not today. Not on a Tuesday afternoon when Mackenzie was painting the dog and Skylar was trying to eat Play-Doh.

I'd stopped hoping it would come. Or maybe I hadn't stopped hoping just stopped believing.

We were in the kitchen. Mackenzie had blue paint on her nose.

Skylar was asking if we could bake cookies again, even though we'd already made a batch that morning. The house was loud. Lived-in.

Home.

And then my phone buzzed.

Nina.

I froze.

"Hold on," I said to the girls, and they both immediately said "Why?" in perfect, dramatic unison.

I stepped into the hallway and took a deep breath before I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Billie. It's Nina."

"Yeah, I saw."

She laughed a little. Then paused. "I won't drag this out."

I held my breath.

"The agency has completed its final evaluation," she said. "You've been approved."

The world stopped.

I leaned against the wall, hand over my mouth, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my fingertips.

"You mean-"

"They're yours," she said gently. "Official guardianship. And if you're still committed to adoption... that process starts next."

I didn't realize I was crying until a tear hit my wrist.

"I want them," I whispered. "I want them forever."

"I know," she said. "We see it. They feel it. That's what made the difference."

When I hung up, I didn't even try to wipe my face.

I walked back into the kitchen, shaking, tears still falling.

Skylar looked up. "Did someone die?"

"No," I said, voice breaking. "Someone lived."

Mackenzie blinked. "Huh?"

I crouched down and pulled them both into my arms.

"You're staying," I whispered. "Forever."

Skylar didn't say anything for a second.

Then she whispered, "We don't have to go again?"

"Never again," I promised.

Mackenzie screamed. Like... actually screamed. And then started jumping.

Skylar just held me tight and didn't let go.

And me?

I sat there on the kitchen floor, surrounded by spilled juice, blue paint, and two wild, perfect little girls...

And I felt like everything had finally been worth it.