Silent Voice

Chapter 18 - The End

One night, Claire's dads called her in after a serious conversation.

"CLAIRE!" John shouted.

Claire came barreling into the living room, feet skipping and hopping to a stop in front of the sofa, long black hair flying behind her.

"Claire," her dad said, "your pop and I have been talking... Did you mean it when you told Glitter you wished we could adopt her?"

Claire let out an affirmative coo, and suddenly her dads were talking at the same time and hugging her and showing her photos of Glitter and suddenly, Claire realized that what she thought was impossible really could happen.

All of the happiness was so much that tears streamed down her face and her mouth let out a big sound, like a wail, but fueled by excitement and anticipation and love for her future little sister. Her dads stopped their talking and looked at each other in alarm like they were scared they had upset her and she didn't want a sister, so Claire grabbed a photo of Glitter and kissed it so they knew she was happy about this.

Her dads laughed and hugged her and brought her teddy bear to calm her and told her that they wanted her help picking out furniture because her pop's office was going to turn into a second bedroom.

Claire was so excited that she cried on and off for the rest of the day, and her dads had to make her take it easy. Because getting a little sister was some of the best news she had ever had.

Much later

"WELCOME HOME, GLITTER!" the girls' pop exclaimed. He wore a party hat, and the dining room was decorated with streamers and handmade posters and rainbow colors everywhere. An ice cream cake (chocolate, of course) sat on the table with the words "Welcome to the family, Glitter!" written on it in icing.

Glitter stamped her little feet on the ground in rapid succession, her enthusiasm too big to contain. She'd passed it on to Claire, who was rocking and waving her hands, face hurting from smiling so much.

"I'm so happy I got adopted!" Glitter shrieked.

"And you even learned to say it right!" the girls' dad said with a laugh.

"Dad, you are my real dad!" Glitter told John Fields. Turning to Patrick Fields, she said "And you're my real pop!"

Claire let out a big wiggle, then switched to rocking, happy stimming so much it was hard to type. "Or is he... your... real... SODA?"

The girls' dads exploded in laughter while Glitter rolled her eyes, thinking her new big sister was such a dork.

Soon

A new family member resulted in a lot of shopping. They bought a loft bed, so they could set up a play space underneath. They got a desk for Glitter to use for homework and arts and crafts, and John taught the girls how to use a screwdriver as they assembled it. (Patrick's desk was moved to the fathers' bedroom.) Since Glitter was a mover and a wiggler, they bought her sensory-friendly seat cushions and an exercise ball to use as a desk chair. They put an enormous whiteboard on one wall for Glitter to doodle and practice her handwriting.

Patrick built a little cardboard house to play dolls in, and the sisters spent hours at the dollhouse. Glitter was taught emphatically that she could wiggle as much as she want, and that all stimming was permitted unless it damaged objects or people, or invaded personal space. Glitter began doing her happy dance more often, and got some stim toys. She always carried one around with her when she went out, choosing the one that best suited her mood at the time.