The Way of Fate (Book 1)

36. Home

Chapter 36: Home

Allen

I placed the last box next to the front door for the movers to grab. The house was officially empty now, which was weird. I haven't seen it this empty since I moved in years ago.

Mika wasn't too happy, though. It's been two weeks since the child services woman - Rachel - came by to talk to him, and we still didn't have Amy. I knew he wanted to move with her, but sometimes things don't always happen that quickly.

I wanted to cheer him up, so badly, but I knew waiting to tell him would be so much better. I've been in contact with Rachel these past two weeks, who I told not to tell Mika anything, especially not the fact that Amy would be ours as of Tuesday.

Let's just say a have a friend who has a friend who was able to pull some strings and convince the Dunhofts to give up Amy for a decent sized check.

The main reason I didn't want to tell Mika was the slight chance this might not happen. If for some reason, something fell through, I didn't want him even more upset than he already was.

But Tuesday was the goal, as of right now. It was currently Thursday, which gave us the rest of today, tomorrow, and the weekend to unpack, get settled, and find a suitable daycare for Sam to go to since neither one of us will be around during the week anymore. Then Monday, Mika starts his classes, and, in theory, I start work. Technically, I'm not starting until Wednesday, but that was so I could get everything Amy-related situated.

When Monday night finally came around, I couldn't sleep. Mika was out almost immediately, exhausted from his long day (which included christening yet another room of the new house), but I stayed awake thinking about tomorrow.

This house was smaller than the old one, and older, so I could hear every creak of the walls whenever the wind blew. There was definitely a storm coming in tonight. Hopefully it blows over by the morning. I wouldn't know how to go about this plan if Mika's classes were cancelled or it snowed too much for me to get Amy.

A loud bang echoed through the house. I figured it was the shutters or maybe a tree branch slamming against the side of the house. Mika, however, woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed.

"It's okay," I said softly, wrapping my arms around his waist. "It's just the wind."

He slowly looked at me, still looking like he was half-asleep. "Did I wake you? Sorry."

"No." I tugged at him gently, making him lay back down with his head on my chest. "Just go back to sleep."

I thought he had fallen back to sleep, laying there while I slowly ran my fingers through his still-damp curls. But then he shifted positions so that he was looking into my eyes.

"Allen? Have you slept at all tonight? You seem too awake."

I smiled sadly. "I've been thinking about things. Don't worry about me, though. Just sleep."

He sat up slightly. "Thinking about what? You're not regretting moving here, are you?"

I pulled him back down to me. "Of course not. I just love watching you sleep sometimes."

Mika scoffed, burying his face into my chest. "Fucking creep," he muttered.

A few moments later, his breathing slowed and I knew he was asleep again. It still took me a while to sleep, but I finally did, falling into a dreamless sleep, not waking until my alarm went off in the morning to find myself still wrapped in Mika's arms.

*

She was bouncing on her heals from the moment I walked through the door. I wished I could too, with how happy I was, but that wasn't exactly appropriate for me to do. Instead, I shook hands with Rachel Barnes before greeting Amy with a hug (which she initiated).

"Have a seat, please," Rachel said to both of us once Amy finally let go of me. "There's just a few things we need to discuss."

Once we were seated, Rachel pulled out a file full of paperwork. "This is Amy's file that we've kept on record since she was brought into the system as an infant," she told me. "Really, there's nothing too bad in here, just the usual - the trail of foster parents, school records, hospital records. That kind of stuff. Allen, I need you to fill out these forms, which will be added to her file."

She handed me a clipboard with three or four pages attached. It was asking for my basic information and my insurance details. Nothing I wasn't expecting to have to answer. The last page contained questions about my current living arrangements, how Amy will be situated into my family, and information regarding her schooling. I was glad I spent yesterday getting everything settled with the school she'd be attending. I had even contacted her current school to get a copy of her records sent over.

When I was finished, I handed the clipboard back to Rachel, who had been typing something on her computer the whole time. She read over everything, then looked up at me with a smile.

"Looks like everything seems to be in order," she said. Then she looked at Amy. "I'm going to ask you this one more time, okay? Do you want to Allen to officially adopt you? You'll be living with him and his family from now on."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Amy cheered, bouncing in her seat.

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her enthusiasm. I was excited too. Who knew that I'd be the father of two children in less than a year? I could never have expected it, but I couldn't imagine not having either of them in my life anymore.

With a few more minutes of Rachel telling me everything I would need to know about the process, I finally signed one last piece of paper, officially making Amy mine.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Amy cheered the entire way across the parking lot to my car.

I laughed. "There's no need to thank me, Amy." Opening the trunk, I placed her small suitcase and her backpack in. I then had her get into the backseat before getting into the driver's seat. "Now," I said, turning to face her. "It's a two hour drive from here. Anytime you want to stop for lunch, just let me know, okay? We can stop anywhere you'd like."

Her face lit up. "Anywhere?"

"Yup. Anywhere you want."

"Like a McDonald's? I've never been to one before."

"Absolutely." Looks like we were going for fast food today. And, while I didn't usually choose places like that, I was more than willing to take Amy there, if it made her happy. I knew already that I'd do anything to keep that smile on her face.