A Chosen Life (Hard Time Series Book 4)

A Chosen Life-Part I

"Come on baby girls! Breakfast is going to get cold and it won't taste good if I need to microwave it! Hurry up please. And you too Noah!" Lena yelled from the kitchen for all her kids who were slow at getting ready for school in the morning. Each and every single one of them for mornings could be a challenge but the slim woman ran a tight ship and had everyone in order as usual, even her wife.

It was now going on ten years  since Stef and Lena's release from Chowchilla and by now it was almost a distant memory. Of course it would never be something either of them would forget along with Callie, their children and grandchildren but it was no longer as present as it use to be in their lives. Prison was something they wanted to keep as far back in their brain as possible as they focused on living the bet life they could despite some restrictions they still faced as ex cons. 

One thing that had not changed during the last decade was the love these two women had for each other.  That love was intense almost stronger then it originally was and was growing stronger by day. Yes at times they had their issues like any normal married couple but they  remained committed, faithful and refused to let anyone or anything come between their marriage again.  Almost a year ago Lena had finally been offered the job as head of the center taking over Katelyn and Devons positions. It was really a job she deserved and worked hard to get as her wife still worked at the center as well but  also at juvenile hall. During Stef years working at the center she had helped countless teen girls and was continuing to help them get their destroyed lives back on track. Alice Jacobs was one of her success stories as the girl had changed her life around and lived with Miss Rose and Stuart often coming over to see Stef and hang with Callie. No one had seen that coming but it was factual and Callie was more grateful then ever.

Callie Adams Foster had grown significantly in the past decade into a beautiful young woman who was soon approaching her 30's. Many of the issues that plagued her early on in life she had dealt with and was living happily with Pete and their little four year old son, Andrew.  In the beginning baby Stef of course had lived with them but the transition away from Stef and Lena proved to not only be challenging but heartbreaking. The little girl could not adjust, her grades in school were suffering and she was crying endlessly night and day. After a few months Callie moved her back in with her moms and she had stayed ever since and was happy as ever. Sure it made the young mother upset that her little girl didn't want to live with her but Callie accepted that she was so close to Stef and Lena that she just couldn't part with them. Regardless she saw her little girl everyday, ate dinner with her every night and helped her with her homework along with taking her out on weekends. The family made it work just like they did everything else.

Nonetheless the transition for Callie when her and Pete first moved in together after the birth of their son Andrew had not been easy either. She had struggled horribly and entered into a period of postpartum depression and anxiety. Being the woman she was Stef immediately took over and stayed with Callie and Pete until the girl recovered. Thankfully she did and had no problems since. However, it still remained to be seen if the two would marry for the girl was still in no rush and Pete seemed to be ok with that. But they loved being parents to little Andrew Jude Adams Foster and the boy was happy, shy and adored by everyone. Especially by his grandmothers.

Frankie had been doing well herself regardless of her early teen years when she had made very poor choices. Yes at times she still did and could be very impulsive, and stubborn but that sweet girl Stef knew her to be was continuing to resurface more and more.  However, from age twelve through fifteen it had been her most difficult years and at one point Stef was going to nearly kill the girl if she didn't get her act together.  Fortunately she had and steered away from drinking, smoking weed and having a new girlfriend every week. Now at almost 17 she was focusing on music, figuring out what major she wanted to study once she got to college and just enjoying being 16 since her four year punishment was finally lifted. Unless she started to act up again.