"Hey Jack..." I say walking into his room a little nervous about how he was going to take this... "Ava! Chris!" He yells his face lighting up and it gave me little hope... "Look i made this for you..." He says holding up a piece of paper with a big smile on his face. I smile back at him and kiss his little head before sitting down next to him on the bed. I take the piece of paper and i smile as i look at the drawing...
"It is beautiful..." I say smiling as he had drawn 3 sort of stick figures and i smile as one of them is holding a shield and the other what looked like a camera... "Is that me?" I ask and he nods smiling... "And that must be Chris..." I say and he nods again with the biggest smile on his face... "And that is you?" I ask and he nods blushing... "It is beautiful bud..." Chris says sitting down on the other side of the bed and Jack looks at us... "Why are you dressed like that..." He says pointing at Chris and Chris chuckles...
"Because today is a very special day..."Chris says and i smile... "Why?" Jack asks curiously but a little hesitant and i look at Chris and smile... "Because Ava and i got married today..." Chris says and Jack's eyes grow wide... "Really?" He says looking at me and i smile and nod... "Yes... We did..." I say and take a deep breath... "That is nice..." Jack whispers looking a little sad...
"Jack... We wanted to talk to you about something..." I say and he looks up at me. "Chris and i spoke with Ms. Jeffries today..." I say and i can see his little mind spinning and he starts to look a little scared... "Was i bad? I am sorry... I didn't mean to be bad..." He says a little panicked and i look at him as he looks at his fingers... "No sweetheart... You have not been bad... Why would you think that..." I say and i can see he is on the verge of tears and i cup his little face rubbing my thumbs over his cheeks... "Because Ms. Jeffries only comes when something is bad..." He whispers and i sigh and move sitting next to him and pull him into me hugging him and i plant another kiss on the top of his head...
"Jack the reason we talked with Ms. Jeffries today is because we wanted to ask you something really important... But before we could ask you, we had to have a grown-up talk with her..." I say and i take another deep breath... "Jack can you look at me sweetheart..." I whisper and he lifts his little head looking up to me... "I am going to ask you a question and i want you to answer honestly... We won't be mad if you tell us how you feel okay..." I say and he nods... "No bud we will never be mad for you telling how you feel..." Chris says confirming that his feelings are valid...
"What would you think about coming to life with us..." I whisper and he looks up to me shocked... "Like in your house...?" He says and i nod... "Yes..." I say and he looks at Chris who is fighting his tears just like me... "But... I am sick... Dont you want a good kid..." He says and i can feel my heart break and a tear run down my cheek... "But you are a good kid... Just because you were sick doesn't mean you are bad kid bud..." Chris says and i nod kissing his little head again...
"How long...?" He asks and i smile... "Forever... Or as long as you want..." I whisper and he looks at me again... "Like a family?" He asks and i nod... "Yes... As a family..." I whisper smiling... "Do i have to call you mom...?" He asks and the look on his face is heartbreaking because i can understand that it is hard for him to call anyone other than the woman in the photo mom as he loves her so much not matter what she did she is and always will be his mom in his eyes... I shake my head... "No sweetheart... You can just call me Ava... You dont have to call me mom. I would never force you to call me mom... We can even take the picture of your mother with us and put it in up in the house... In your bedroom if you want... She will always be your mom..." I say and he smiles a twinkle appearing in his eyes...
"I get my own bedroom?" He says surprised and Chris chuckles... "Yes bud... We can go and buy a bed and toys, some new clothes... You can pick out a color for the walls and make it exactly how you like..." He says and Jack starts to smile even more... "I never had my own bedroom before..." He whispers... "You can even pick which room you want..." I say and he looks at me confused... "There is more than one room?" He asks in total disbelief and i chuckle and nod... "You can pick out of 4 rooms sweetheart..." I say... "4 rooms... Is it a castle...?" He says and both Chris and i chuckle... "No, we life in a big house... With a big backyard for you to play in..." Chris says and i smile as i can only imagine him running around happy and just being a kid...
"So, what do you say bud... Do you want to life with me and Ava...?" Chris asks and he smiles and nods and i let out a big sigh and hug him tighter... "That makes me so happy sweetheart..." I whisper...
A nurse walks in and she smiles... "I am going to life with Chris and Ava..." Jack says all smiles and i can see the nurse is emotional to... "I get my own room with a bed and toys and new clothes, and the house has a big backyard..." He says all excited and the nurse smiles... "Wauw that is amazing sweetie..." She says wiping away a tear... "I have some paperwork for you to sign him out..." She says and Chris stands up and takes the paperwork... I smile as Chris reads it...
"What do you say we go pack your stuff..." I whisper to Jack... "We are leaving now?" He says and i nod... "If you want to you can come with us right now..." I say and he smiles sitting up and turns around and hugs me tight... "Does he have outside clothes here?" I ask and the nurse nods and walks to the closet and pulls out a pair of jeans and a shirt and some shoes...
"That is, it?" I ask a little shocked and she sighs and nods... "This is what he came in... The nurses bought him pj's and underwear as he had none... The social worker never brought him anything else..." She says and i can see from the look on her face she didnt like the woman either. I sigh shaking my head... "We will go get some on our way home..." I say and take the clothes... "Do you need help getting dressed?" I ask Jack and he blushes and nods... "Are you okay if i help you... Or do you want Chris to help you...?" I ask and he points at me and i smile...
I help him to get dressed and in the corner of my eye i can see Chris sign the paperwork handing it back to the nurse... "Bye sweetheart... You be good and have lots of fun with Chris and Ava, okay..." She says smiling and Jack nods... "I promise..." He says and they hug... I sigh as the clothes dont even properly fit him and i shake my head... "We will get him clothes angel..." Chris says kissing my temple and i nod... We help him pack the few belongings he has and it all fits in a small backpack...
"Is it okay if Chris carries you?" I ask him when we are all done. I would let him walk but his shoes are too small and dont fit him... Jack nods and Chris smiles as he lifts him on his arm and with his free hand, he takes my hand... "Ready to go home...?" He asks and Jack and i nod smiling... "Yes... Let's go home..." I say smiling and Jack giggles wrapping his little arms around Chris his neck... "Do you guys have ice cream at home?" He asks and we both laugh walking out the hospital...
