Finding Home

Chapter 1: The Kings

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"The results came back, and I am sorry to tell you this, but your previous doctor was correct." The doctor told the couple in the room, "You are unable to have a child. The tests show that it is a genetic issue, most likely coming from Amelia's mother because Amelia's chart shows that her mother had a history of bleeding while pregnant. It is not impossible for you to conceive, but it is very unlikely that it will happen. Usually, I would recommend sperm donation, but that wouldn't work for your situation because in order to do a sperm donation the mother needs to be capable of giving birth. But that doesn't mean that you still can't have a child. There are multiple different ways to grow your family. So I am going to give you these pamphlets; one tells you about adopting from overseas and the other talks about the foster care system. Both are great options, but please don't feel pressured. Take your time and think it through."

Amelia King could barely breathe, let alone form words to reply to the doctor. The only good thing her mother ever did for her was show her what not to do as a mom, and now her mother most likely took being a parent away from her too. Amelia was on the verge of tears, not sure if her tears were out of anger at her mother or sadness over her loss. She could not believe that after all these years of her trying to forget her mother, fate brought the woman back into her life. The woman who never loved her and always tried to change her.

Parker King, being the wonderful husband he was, picked up on that fact quite quickly. He thanked the doctor and escorted his wife out to the receptionist desk. After that, everything was too much of a blur for the Kings to recall. They could not believe that the information was even remotely correct. It pained them to consider it. Their glimmer of hope was snatched from their hands and torn right in front of their eyes.

The following days did not ease the pain. It only let it sink in and linger. The young couple still had to work and teach the very beings that they could never obtain. The first couple days they went back to the school that they taught at, one tormenting minute after another. Amelia and Parker had to pretend that everything was fine, that everything was not falling apart right in front of their eyes.

A few weeks after the devastating news, the Kings had an irregular day from the normal routine that they had made for themselves. The principal of the school requested for Parker King to come and meet with him. Normally, Amelia would have waited for her husband if he had to stay after school, but today was the one exception in the few years of their working together. When she got home, she let all of her emotions out. The emotions that she had been bottling up had finally over flown into ugly sobs. Heart-wrenching sobs were soon followed by tears of anguish. After a while, she ran out of tears to shed, but the mourning never stopped. She fell into a fitful sleep before she was able to collect herself for her husband's arrival.

Parker was met by his wife's tear stricken face. He picked his wife up off the floor and carried her up to their bedroom. He placed her gently into their bed. This was the first time since they received the heart-breaking news that his wife looked peaceful . Parker carefully shut the door behind him in hopes of not waking up his sleeping wife. Quietly, he continued down the hall to the stairs until he noticed that room.

The room that they usually kept shut, to keep the unwanted memories at bay, was open for some unknown reason. He caught a glimpse of the crib that they bought online not knowing that they had to assemble it, and the pink curtains that his wife insisted on buying instead of just painting the walls because, 'she won't want pink walls forever.' No longer able to look at the room, he closed the door and hurried downstairs, leaving behind all the memories.

Parker went downstairs with the thoughts of their lost child still fresh in his mind like an open wound. Instead of dwelling on it, he went back to the checklist of things he needed to get done. He started by going through the papers that he had set down prior. When he got to the bottom of the pile, he realized his mistake. He had grabbed the adoption and foster pamphlets that were given to them by the doctor. Just as he was about to get rid of them, an idea surfaced in his mind. He briskly reached for his work bag to retrieve his laptop out of it. He moved quickly in order to make his ideas a reality.

Time flew out the window, just like Parker's checklist. He looked up at the clock and realized that he should make dinner. Their dinner consisted of leftover chicken, frozen green beans, and microwavable mashed potatoes. It was not the homemade meals that Amelia used to make, it had been that way for a while now. When he finished, he went upstairs to wake Amelia up. Minutes felt like decades while they ate the bland food. Parker's voice broke the silence that was normal to their new dinner routine.

"Amelia, I have been doing some research on fostering. Before you shut this down, hear me out, okay?" he continued hurriedly, "I read through the pamphlets that the doctor gave us and I feel like this is a great opportunity that is in our budget. The pamphlet explains everything we would need to do, and it also tells you what the purpose of foster care is."

Amelia gave an exasperated sigh, and at that point Parker knew that it was going to be hard to convince her. After her sigh, Amelia spoke in a motherly tone saying, "I love your big heart, but what happens if the kid is suddenly taken away from us? I want a kid that we could call our own. I don't think that fostering is for us, Parker."

"Fostering would be a chance to change a kid's life. Even if we aren't able to keep them, we still have a big effect on them. And if not us, then who? There's a lot of kids in foster care for bad reasons. I believe that we can provide a kind, caring home that can give a child everything they need." Parker all but pleaded with her.

"Parker, I'm really going to need time to think this through." Amelia explained.

Parker was not willing to test his luck further, so he ended the conversation with, "Thank you, Amelia! Take as much time as you need, I'll be here every step of the way."

The King's household that was once silent was now filled with research. The research had its ups and downs, but in the end they decided that the highs outweighed the lows. Over the spanned of months, they signed up and got verified for their foster license, which consisted of getting background checks done and professionals meeting with them and reviewing their home. They took all the necessary classes plus some extra just to make sure that they would make a perfect family for their foster child. And when the time came that the agency called over asking if they were willing to take in a baby girl, and of course they accepted.

The young couple was finally going to have a child to show love to. The time could not move fast enough for the day that they would be able to hold the little baby. There will no longer be a void that needed to be filled. The Kings were well aware that this might not be permanent, but that did not matter to them. For the time being, they were content with being parents, a dream they were finally making a reality.