Home Is Wherever You Are (26 page)

I looked over at my wife, who was signing with vigor. I was surprised she didn’t break the pen. She nearly threw the clipboard back at him, but he didn’t complain. He just hurried out of the room.

Dr. Stewart walked over and patted Addy’s hand. “I’m sorry, honey. I tried to keep him away as long as I could.”

Addy just shook her head. “It’s over. I don’t want to dwell on it.”

“Good girl. You have other more adorable things to worry about,” she smiled, as the nurse brought the baby over.

As Addy nursed our daughter, Dr. Stewart did some basic tests on her, and she passed them all with flying colors. My girls were going to be fine.

Chapter 44 - Just One More

Six months after the birth of my daughter, Giulie, life was good. Tamera recovered and married Reed a month after she was released from the hospital, but my girl didn’t attend. I was not sure if she regretted it or not, but Josh told me about it, and I let him know not to expect us.

Addy was still working through a few things. Slowly, through her therapy sessions, more and more stuff was brought out about her life growing up. My girl had had it rough, and having children of her own changed the way she felt about her mother. I understood why Addy felt like she did toward her mother.

I didn’t know how Addy had turned out so well with such a messed-up past. A lesser person would have ended up a drug addict or a hooker, and no one would have been surprised.

The girls doted on little Giulie, and even Adam thought she was pretty cute. Of course, Abraham was none too pleased to have his baby status taken, but we had expected that. I did my best to give him a little extra attention to adjust to the change.

Daniel had taken us all out fishing at a little creek. He had been finding new fishing spots, since his fishing buddy and he were no longer talking. I was now his new fishing buddy, along with Adam and Abraham. The girls had come along on this trip, though, and brought a picnic. The day had been perfect. The weather was sunny, and the kids loved running around catching bugs and skipping rocks. They picked wildflowers and made little flower crowns, and Addy sang silly songs for them to dance to. Life couldn’t be more perfect.

“I’ve never seen her so happy,” Daniel whispered to me and looked over at Addy.

“I do everything in my power to keep her happy. I think the kids really are the ones who bring it out in her.”

“You do, too,” he said.  Just then, Addy looked up smiling at me and waved.

The wind tossed her hair, and she held down her flower crown laughing. “She’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Daniel just patted my shoulder and smiled. “You’re a good man, Matthew, thanks for loving my baby.”

“It’s impossible not to,” I answered.

We headed back to the house late that evening. I was carrying Abraham, and Addy had Giulie in the car seat fast asleep. We heard a car drive up, and I watched as Genny and Gabby suddenly grabbed my legs. “Don’t let her take us, Daddy!” Gabby begged.

I looked over my shoulder to see Ms. Jordan coming up the walk. “Addy, Matthew, may I speak with you?” she asked. I looked over at her car to see a little blonde head that didn’t quite reach the window.

“Girls, go get in the bath,” Addy said, walking in with Giulie.

“Just let me put Abraham down,” I said, nodding to the sleeping boy.

“Adam, put your shoes in your closet,” I heard Addy call and then stepped back outside. I looked at our house. It was getting so full already, but I wasn’t sure if I could turn a child away.

I lay Abraham in his bed and popped my head in the kid’s bathroom. “Use soap and take the flowers out of your hair before you wash it,” I said and grabbed a rubber ducky off of the counter. It was neutral, and I didn’t know if the child was a boy or a girl yet. I hurried down the steps and out to the front porch to meet with Addy and Ms. Jordan. Addy had the file and looked up at me with sad, but hopeful eyes.

“Her name is Grace, honey. She’s eighteen months. She fits in right between Giulie and Abraham.”

I looked down at the little picture in the file. She was a tiny little thing, with blonde curls and big blue eyes. I pulled the pen out of Ms. Jordan’s hand and started signing the adoption papers, before they could even say another word. I knew Grace was supposed to be in our family. She even had a “G” name.

“Our house is officially full,” I said, as I signed the last spot and passed the papers to my wife. She hugged me, kissing my cheek and got to signing.

“I brought a portable crib for her to sleep in, but she’ll need a toddler bed.”

“I’ll pick one up in the morning.” I wondered if little Grace would want to come help pick it out. I walked over to the car door and opened it.

Grace’s little eyes went wide, but when I smiled at her and held up the ducky, she seemed to settle down. “Would you like to go meet my girls?” I asked.

She looked at me unsure, so I held my arms out to her and waited. I knew she would come to me eventually. After a few moments, she climbed into my arms, and I carried her inside. Addy was quick on my heels, talking to the new little girl.

I heard Ms. Jordan call to us, and we waved goodbye. I took little Grace upstairs, and the girls all squealed and clapped, laughing when I introduced their new sister. Grace seemed to relax a lot more, once she saw the girls all happy and excited. Addy announced it was bedtime, and I took Grace to Giulie’s room across from ours. I opened our door and pointed, “This is our room, so if you get scared or sad, you can come find us, okay?” I offered. I grabbed the portable crib and set it up. I used some of Giulie’s bedding for her. She was still holding the ducky, so I decided to let her keep it.

“Do you need a sippy cup?” I asked, and she nodded her head, finally communicating with me. I pulled out a pink one for her and filled it with milk. I scooped her up and sat in the rocking chair with her. She looked at me curiously as we rocked. Her eyes had finally started to droop when Addy came in to put Giulie to bed. She stood in the doorway waiting for me with a smile. When Grace finally fell asleep, I tucked her in and went to my wife’s open arms.

“You are the sweetest man in the world, you know that?” she said, kissing my lips.

“Only because you make me that way,” I replied, sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to bed.

The next morning, Addy pulled me into the nursery. Little Grace had woken up and had climbed into the crib with Giulie.

“Giulie must have woken up last night, and Grace went to comfort her. She usually wakes up to nurse, but she didn’t wake me.” I noticed my wife was heavy with milk. I kissed her neck, because yeah, that was hot. Big boobs were always hot.

She smiled and pushed me away and headed over to the crib. She picked up little Giulie and took her over to the rocking chair to feed her. I pulled the blanket over Grace and smiled. “She’s going to be an amazing big sister.”

Later that morning, when I was getting the kids settled with breakfast, Addy walked Grace in, and Adam looked at her wide-eyed. “I KNEW IT! Come on, Dad, we’re totally getting overrun by girls. I thought you were on our team.”

“He’s on my team,” Addy said, kissing my cheek. “Now, smile and say hello to little Grace.  She’s just a baby, honey, don’t make her cry.”

Abraham kept looking at Grace like she was an alien. I guess he wasn’t used to kids being adopted.  They had all been a part of the family by the time he’d shown up.

He finally asked, “Where’d she come from? Mom didn’t get fat wiff her.”

“Sometimes Ms. Jordan brings us babies for our family,” Addy explained.

His face screwed up, confused. “Why’s she giving away her babies? Don’t she like ‘em?” he asked.

“They aren’t her babies,” Gabby snapped. “Ms. Jordan brought me and Genny, and Adam, too.”

“Nuh uh, yoose guys were here,” he argued.

I picked up Abraham and set him on my lap. “Does it really matter how anyone came to the family? They’re your brother and sisters now, right?”

He nodded and then looked at Grace. “Is she my sister now, too?”

“Yup, she’s your sister, and she needs a big brother to help her out. Can you be her big brother?”

He shook his head no. “Adam’s the big brother.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his innocence. “Yes, he is, but you’re bigger than Grace and Giulie, so you’re their big brother. Do you think you can handle that?” I asked.

He tapped his chin for a minute, like he was thinking. “Yeah, I guess so,” he finally said, and then he wiggled off my lap to go back to his chair to eat.

After breakfast, the girls took Grace into the backyard to play on the swing set, and Addy called Daniel to tell him about Grace coming to live with us. He came right over and brought a doll for her. He showed her his squad car, and the boys ran around it, jumping and squealing playing cops and robbers, making us all laugh.

After another few months of adjusting, we all got into a routine. After Addy dressed the kids, I fed them and myself breakfast. I kissed my wife, Grace and Giulie goodbye and ran the kids to school before work. It felt like we had it under control.

I started to notice how small our house felt at dinnertime, or when the kids were all trying to find quiet spots to do their homework.  I loved our house, but it was just too small.

I called Jason and asked him if he could draw up an addition to the house, including a large family room, a dining room and maybe a study for the older kids to do their homework in. He told me he would get right on it. I found Addy and asked her what she thought about the idea. She loved it, but requested we not expand into her designated garden area.

My girl started talking about growing more vegetables once Giulie was a little bigger. She was still at the clingy stage, where she didn’t really let Addy get much done. I had a feeling Grace would have been the same, but Giulie was already in Addy’s arms.

Little Grace quickly found her way into my arms, as soon as I stepped in the door. I loved that she was a daddy’s girl. Addy was busy with dinner, and the kids were running around like mad, fighting over the pencil sharpener. Abraham somehow became the official sharpener and wouldn’t let anyone else use it. I sharpened a few pencils with a kitchen knife and passed them out, much to his dismay. He wasn’t happy with me and stormed off to his room. We heard some crashing, and Adam was about to run upstairs and start something with his brother, but I grabbed him by his collar. “Let me handle this.”

He pouted, but he let me take care of it. Then Gabby started yelling at Genny to stop singing so she could concentrate, and Grace started crying. I felt like we were all stepping over each other to get around and had no space, making everyone overly sensitive and tempers flare.  I didn’t know how much more if this I could take.

I hoped Jason could figure something out soon!

Chapter 45 - Growing Pains

I was so thankful for Jason!  He was a genius and was able to design the addition and have it look and work well. He changed the master bedroom into the new dining room. Our old closet was the perfect nook for a china hutch. The back windows were closed off and new windows were added to the side, leaving the one bedroom in the front of the house. The laundry room, which led to the back door, was now a hallway with a huge pantry. Let me tell you, with six kids, we needed it.

The hallway opened into a large family room, and on the right was an oversized laundry room that made Addy squeal when she saw it, especially when she saw it could handle two washers and dryers.  Then there was another bedroom and a small study.  On the other side of the family room was the new master bedroom and bathroom. It was just downright awesome. 

As soon as Addy had okayed the plans, I got right to work. It only took three months to get the majority of it done. There was just a little finishing work to do here and there. I started teaching Adam and Abraham how to do it. They were both excited to use their little toolsets, as they put the covers on the light switches and outlets. They also helped me put the shelves in the closets. 

By the fourth month, I was finally done, and we were all moved into the new section of the house. Well, not completely. Addy moved the nursery into the bedroom at the back of the house, so the baby girls would be closer to us. The big girls decided they wanted to move downstairs, so they wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with the boys. In the end, the addition provided the perfect amount of space for everyone.

Come Thanksgiving, Addy decided to invite everyone over to our house. The kids were excited to play with their little cousins. Kelly’s twins were doing great and were just a few months older than Giulie. Grace decided to play toy referee and made sure the twins and Giulie stayed happy. They were just on the edge of that “mine” stage, and it was really obvious.

Abraham had turned into a talker. He would recite anything and everything he had ever heard if you just gave him your attention. When he ran out of stories, he started making them up. Genny, however, wasn’t far behind and often competed or butted into his conversations, doing her best to “correct” him. Most the time, they were both wrong. I had to stop their heated argument about how plants processed sunlight. Abraham was sure it was called photography. Genny was sure it was synthetics. Of course, they didn’t believe me when I said it was photosynthesis, until Addy and Leon had backed me up.

The whole time that was going on, Adam was snickering. I hadn’t figured out why, until a frog started hopping across the table. Gabby screamed and slapped it with a plate of mashed potatoes. All the commotion upset Giulie, so I picked her up, while Addy took Adam to his room and told me to supervise Gabby cleaning up. As soon as I sat down, Grace made her way over, and I let her sit on my other knee. Giulie didn’t like sharing, but if she started to push on Grace, I would threaten to put Giulie down, which would make her quickly concede to sharing my lap.

Genny decided to be helpful and give Gabby a hand on the cleanup. My mom coddled the girls, helping them as well and took them into the kitchen for some pie. I was kind of laughing, when Abraham started talking to Kelly about how he had scratched his knee, and it got infected, because he kept taking the bandage off. She looked positively sick, when he explained how the puss looked like buttered mashed potatoes with a little ketchup on them. Yeah, that was exactly what was on his plate, and he took a big bite out of it, not even cringing. Kelly jumped up and ran to the bathroom.

Jason stood to follow her, but he stopped before he did. “I had a scrape just like that. They leave cool scars, but let’s not talk about them at the dinner table anymore, alright, buddy?” he asked.

Jason gave me a wink and walked off. Later that afternoon, Kelly announced she was pregnant again. When Addy asked if it was IVF, she told us no, it had just happened. Jason, of course, was beaming.

He asked if we were going to have any more kids, and I think I looked at him like he was nuts. “I have six, you know that, right? I know Gabby and Genny look a lot alike, but they do count as two,” I pointed out, causing Leon to laugh. 

“Well, I just assumed you would, that was why I added the extra bedroom for you,” he pointed out.  Honestly, we hadn’t been using the empty upstairs bedroom for anything.

“Maybe when the babies get into school, we’ll consider taking in more,” Addy said, flooring me. Did she know how many hours I spent on homework? I wasn’t in school, but I had four kids in school who all had a mess of homework.

Leon must have seen my distress. “You know, Matthew, when I first started in the homebuilding business, one of my first clients was a doctor who had nine children, and they were expecting their tenth. I asked how he handled so many kids, and he told me he had a schedule. He planned to take each kid out once a month, and in the evening, he made sure he tucked in and spoke to each kid before bed. He also pointed out that a lot of the things he and his wife did for the first couple of children were things he had those older children help the younger ones with as they came along.”

“That’s a good idea,” Addy chimed in, tapping her chin. “I think we should do that, too,” she said, looking at me. “We can take turns going out with the kids, and the older ones can help the younger ones with their homework and be chore buddies,” she said excitedly. I just nodded okay, not really sure what I was getting into.

My first night out was with Adam, because he was the oldest. We went to the park and played catch. He told me about a girl who liked him, but he didn’t like her. I told him not to be mean, but not to get her hopes up, either. It was okay to hurt her feeling a little, because there was no way around it. If you told a girl you didn’t like her like that, it just hurt. He asked if I could buy a candy bar for him to give to her, so when she got upset, she would feel better. When I asked him why he thought that would help, he pointed out he always saw me giving his mom candy when she was upset.

Ah, yes, it was true, but the chocolate was to help her PMS, not cheer her up, though it tended to do both.  I wasn’t up to explaining that to Adam, so I just bought him the candy bar. He was a sweet boy. That candy bar would probably only keep the girl hoping. Maybe he would like her when they were older, but now was just not the time.

When I took Gabby out, I thought I was going to die. She liked a boy. Lots of them, actually, and two liked her, and her friend, Camry, was trying to help her decide which one to kiss. Yeah, that night ended badly with me flying off the handle, saying no one was kissing my little girl and bugging her for addresses, so I could put the fear of God into those boys.

Needless to say, Addy stepped in and calmed me down. Apparently, Daniel had received a call about us from the ice cream shop we had been at, because we had caused a disturbance. Once I explained to Daniel what Gabby had told me, he promised to look up the boys and make sure they knew who her grandpa was.  That made me feel a little better.

Genny was much easier, she didn’t like boys like that yet, so a little picnic in the forest for some cloud watching was perfect. She talked to me about wanting to go to school to be a scientist, so she could grow clouds into different shapes. She also wanted to learn to make bubbles into animals like they did on Sponge Bob. “Maybe you should try painting them,” I suggested. “I think you can see a lot of good things other people can’t.”

She could, too. She had an eye for art and often would make things out of old stuff we were going to throw away. Genny was very impressive for an eight-year-old. I took her to the store and bought her some paints, and we set up the easel in the study, overlooking the backyard.

Abraham was easy. I took him to the park, and we played catch. We talked about him growing up to be a fireman and how he would have to eat all his vegetables and practice being nice to girls, because he had to save them, too. He finally decided he could practice being nice to his sisters. I took the ladder off of my work truck we had driven to the park, and I timed him, letting him climb it with me holding it.  He was excited that I was letting him practice, and I promised we would get to do it again soon.

Grace was sweet. I took her to the park and pushed her on the swing. She was three, almost four now, and didn’t have much to say. She did sing her ABC’s for me and told me not to pick the flowers in the garden, because they were going to grow into food. I took her for ice cream and just held her on my lap, letting her know she was loved.  I didn’t think I spent enough time with her, but she didn’t complain. I suppose she was pretty good at finding her way into my lap at home when she needed me.

Giulie was almost two. I took her for ice cream, and she smiled widely, as she smeared it all over herself. She was happy, so I suppose that was all that mattered. When I was walking back to the truck, she saw a baby doll in a store front and gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes. It was a second-hand store, so I was quick to relent and paid the fifty cents to make my baby girl happy. I took out a family picture Addy had given me, and I helped her practice saying everyone’s names, teasing her by mixing up the boys and girls, making her laugh. I finally took her home and gave her a bath.

I went about my routine of tucking everyone in and kissed Addy in passing, as she was doing the same. I loved having a set bedtime. It was perfect for when I wanted alone time with my girl. Things seemed to finally be under control.

I led my girl back to our room and kissed her softly. We had dates weekly on Friday nights, since I spent Saturdays with the family, and Sunday was my kid date. I had noticed Addy was being quiet, but she hadn’t told me what was bugging her yet.

“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?” I asked.

She looked up at me surprised. “I…” she started, but then sighed. She climbed on top of me and crossed her arms on my chest. “Ms. Jordan called,” she said nervously.

“We’ve adopted all of our kids, so there’s nothing to worry about, right? I mean, she can’t take them.”

She shook her head no.

“Then what is it?” I asked.              

She chewed her lip a little. “Grace’s mom, Charlotte, called her Thursday. It turns out she’s pregnant again. She just found out and needed Ms. Jordan to help her get clean, so she could have a healthy baby to give up for adoption. She asked if we wanted the baby. She’d give us first consideration, because we have their sister.”

I took a deep breath, trying to process everything. “You want another kid,” I finally stated.

She dropped her face to my chest, hiding from me.

I lifted her chin. “Hey, it’s not that I don’t want it, it’s just…I mean, money’s tight, and I know if Mrs. Baker didn’t come help you from time to time, you’d go nuts. Are we really sure we could handle one more?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I told Ms. Jordan we’d talk about it. She told me not to worry. We have another six months before the baby comes.”

I nodded okay. A lot could happen in six months, so I wouldn’t upset her and flat out tell her no. We weren’t overwhelmed, but I had a feeling we were on the brink of it. To prove my point, Giulie came in and crawled between us. I kissed her head and told Addy I would take care of her. I sat silently in the nursery, rocking her to sleep. I looked over at Grace, and my heart broke a little. I couldn’t imagine our family without her. How could I even consider saying no?

Addy and I spoke more about it and decided we would take the baby. We had never adopted a newborn. We were just as excited, anticipating the arrival, as if my wife was carrying the baby. When we called Ms. Jordan to tell her the good news, she didn’t seem as thrilled as we were. She asked us to come see her. We were nervous about what was going on. I worried Charlotte might have changed her mind. I would have never guessed the real reason for her stress and hesitation.

I was surprised to see a woman sitting next to Ms. Jordan. She had Grace’s blonde hair and blue eyes, and I knew exactly who she was. She looked worried. Her eyes flickered down to our wedding rings and how I held onto my wife. Charlotte chewed her lip and nervously glanced at Ms. Jordan.

“The reason I called you in was because something’s changed. This commitment has suddenly become a lot bigger,” Ms. Jordan stated.

“Is the baby alright? Is there anything we can do to help? If it needs medical care, I’m okay with that. We can work it out, right?” Addy asked, looking to me.

I nodded in agreement. “We don’t want Grace’s sibling to go anywhere else,” I insisted.

Charlotte burst into tears, and Ms. Jordan slid a tissue box to her.

“So far, the babies are fine, though being twins, there are more risks, especially considering their mother wasn’t in the best of health when they were conceived.”

“Twins?” Addy confirmed, because I was still a little dumbfounded.

“You see now why I called you in. This would be a lot more work. With six kids already, I didn’t know if you were up to taking on newborn twins, possibly with special needs,” she spoke gently.

Addy looked at me nervously. I wasn’t sure if she was second-guessing herself as a mother or what. I would support her in any decision she made. I wanted the twins. Grace was already our family, and so by default, so were they. I didn’t want them to go to anyone else.

“Can I speak with my husband for a moment?” Addy asked.