Love doesn't have to be hard

Chapter 50: Good reports

One Year Later:

It has been a year since Xavier came to live with us. Things are going great. He adjusted well to the new school and made friends within a few weeks. 

He got a job working at the mall, and his grades are really good. He has a girlfriend, her name is Katrina, and they have been dating for several months now.

We bought him a car, and he was so happy. Sasha hasn't been involved. After six months of him ignoring her calls, she stopped calling. He is fine with that and now just calls me Mom.  

He will be seventeen in three months. That's hard to believe. I mean, he was fifteen when we found out he existed, but now it's as if he's been here his whole life.

He loves to read and often helps me out in the office, and everybody at work absolutely adores him. He is a very good-looking young man. 

We go to his oncologist every three months, and everything looks great. He is in remission, which is great news. 

The conversation we had the other day. "Hey, Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, sweetie, what's up?"  

"I have a question, and I don't want you to feel obligated because if you say no, I understand."

"Okay, son. What's on your mind?"

"Well, since I got out of the hospital, I really haven't talked to Sasha, and I really don't want to. I was just curious if you would be interested in making it official and adopting me?"

Tessa stopped what she was doing and froze. She turned and looked at Xavier with tears in her eyes. Full-on streaming out now.

"Are you serious? You want me to adopt you? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I mean, you already take care of me and everything, but I don't want anything else to do with Sasha. You have been an amazing mother to me, and I just want to officially be yours and Dad's. I know I am Dad's, but I want to be yours as well."

"Honey, even without me adopting you. You have been mine, but if you are really sure this is what you want, then I would absolutely be honored to adopt you officially."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Oh, sweetheart, you just made my day. I love you so much." She ran over and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. He sat there smiling; he loved how excited she was. 

He had started staying in the basement because he had more privacy. Tessa was so happy and bouncing around when Zed came home. She ran to his arms and kissed him.  

"I like that; welcome home, my beautiful bride. Why are you so happy?"

"Xavier asked me if I would adopt him so he would officially be ours. I'm so happy, baby." 

"Oh, sweetheart, that is great news. He talked to me about it a few days ago and asked me what I thought you would say. So, he asked you, and I am assuming you said yes."

"Yes, of course, I did after I balled like a baby. We may have only planned on four kids, but Zed, I love him as if I carried him and gave birth to him. I would fight for him and give my life for him. I think his cancer was the Lord guiding us to him, and now he's happy. I wished we would have found him sooner, but the minute we found out about him, everything changed. The minute I met him, I loved him. He belongs to us." 

"Tessa, to hear you talk about him like that makes me so happy. I told him when he asked that you would say yes because you loved him as if he was yours. A paper wouldn't change anything because you already loved him and looked at him the same as you do the other four."