A Better World

Chapter 6

The two families left the courthouse. They started walking down the stairs, thinking about what happened in there.

"What on earth just happened in there, Lee?" asked Kenny, still shocked that his friend was just let go in a matter of seconds. That session didn't even last ten minutes, Lee just shrugged.

"Honestly man, I couldn't tell you. Now that things are going back to the way they were, I just don't see events being very normal for a while," said Lee, rubbing his wrists from the cuffs. Kenny looked down in thought. Lee looked at him, he looked like he was thinking about what was to happen in the future. Kenny sighed.

"So, what happens now?" asked Kenny, turning to everyone else. Lee looked back to Carly for an answer. She smiled at him.

"Me and Lee are planning on looking for a house, jobs, and ultimately, looking to adopt Clementine," said Carly, smiling even bigger, but more to herself. She always wanted to have a daughter someday. Adopting Clem was going to be a good way to start. Lee smiled at Carly in response, as did everyone else for that matter, it was great news.

"Well, congratulations to you both, and we wish you the best of luck with your plans. Finding a house isn't going to be easy. We figured since we both decided to find a place next to you and Carly, we can help you with fixing up both the houses. I guarantee that there's going to be a crap load of fixer uppers regardless of where we look. But hey, itll be worth the work for both our families," said Kenny. Lee nodded, agreeing with the statement. It was going to be a lot of hard work, but Kenny was right, it was going to be worth it.

The two families looked around for houses for a little over a month. They ended up settling on two houses that were across the street from one another. Kenny was right, these houses were in desperate need of attention, the whole neighborhood really. The next couple of days were pretty boring for Lee. He didnt have anything to do, no job, and he couldnt just go and see Clementine. He had thought about her during that time. He couldnt take it anymore, he was ready to have Clem back, and as soon as possible. He needed to talk to Carly about it though.

"Carley, honey?" said Lee.

"Yeah, Lee?" asked Carley, who was in the dining room, sitting at the table, looking at something on her laptop.

"I'm ready for Clem to be here, it feels so lonely without her, honestly," said Lee, looking down slightly. Carley looked at him sympathetically. She wanted Clem to be home really bad too.

"Trust me Lee, I am too. Thats why I just scheduled a meeting with Clem's adoption supervisor. She gets here today around two O'clock," said Carley, laying a comforting hand on his. Lee looked up shocked.

"Wait, really?"

"Yes, shes coming to survey the house, and make sure that we would be good parents for her. I really feel like things are going to work out Lee," said Carley, as she got up, and hugged him. Lee had a worried look on his face as he hugged his wife. Things better work out. They have to.

Two hours passed, leaving the couple with nothing much to do. They were sitting on an old couch that was in the house. They would have loved to get a new one, but finances were really tight at the moment. Things were going to be much harder with Clem around in terms of how their money was going to be routed. They were snuggling when out of the blue, a knock came to the door. Lee jumped.

"Jeez! That scared me," said Lee, while Carley started to laugh at him.

"Haha, you jumped so high!" laughed Carley, as she got up to head to the door. Lee sighed as he couldnt help but smile back. He watched as Carley opened the door.

"Hello there, are you Lee and Carley Everett?" asked a woman, who Lee and Carley assumed was Clems adoption organizer. Lee smiled as he walked up next to Carley.

"That's us," said Lee. The woman smiled as she stuck her hand out for a handshake, which Lee and Carley obliged to.

"My name is Melissa Rigby, Im here because from what I understand, your looking to adopt Clementine?" asked Melissa. The couple nodded.

"That's right, we would love for things to work out for her," said Carley.

"I'm sure they will, especially since Clementines been asking me to see you guys. She practically begged me to come with, which, if Im being honest, I really wanted to, but unfortunately due to our policy, I wasnt allowed to bring her with me. Should we get things started?" said Melissa.

"Of course, come on in," said Carley, as she and her husband stepped aside to let her in. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Thank you. This is just a meeting about the safety of your house, as well as an evaluation for you two to see if you would be a good fit for her. If you dont mind, I'd like to start with the house inspection first, if thats alright?" asked Melissa.

"Yeah, sure, right this way," said Lee, as they started the tour of the house. The building was surprisingly well kept. It was clean, and had almost no damage, apart from minor repairs that he and Kenny still had to do. The basement was unfinished, which was going to be a heck of a project for the pair of friends. To add to the projects, landscaping the property was going to be the most tedious of tasks. Carley decided to take on the work with Katjaa to make sure both of their homes looked good on the outside. They still had a lot of planning to do though, they had no idea what they wanted their yards to look like, they would get there eventually.

The house tour was finished and now it was time for the questions, oh boy the questions. Lee was not looking forward to the many different things that Melissa was going to ask him.

The house passed inspection and now we move on to the next step, said Melissa, who sat on the couch with Lee and Carley. They looked at her as she pulled out a folder.

"This is Clementines folder, it gives information on her personality, her likes, her dislikes, ect. Really the only things I need to know are your confidence in your relationship with her, as well as your relationship with each other," said Melissa.

"Well, our relationship is very positive I would say. We have never fought with one another and we look to each other in almost everything," said Carley, as she looked at Lee, who smiled at her. She smiled back.

"That's right, and our relationship with Clem has been the best. We both love her very much and want the best for her now that the world isnt covered in oceans of walkers," said Lee.

"Yeah, I get that. Going back to work feels almost like a luxury now. I took it for so much granted before, but after everything thats happened, I just cant be more grateful for the things that we all had beforehand, said Melissa. Well, I think thats all I need for now, I can tell that she will be very happy here. Ill pass along this information to our adoption team, and lets hope that she can come home with you soon," said Melissa, as she got up and walked out the door. Lee and Carley waved goodbye to her and closed the door.

They couldnt express how happy they were at this moment. They shared a brief kiss and hugged one another tightly. Their biggest hope right now was that Clementine would be coming home.