“Badly,” I said. “But I’m still here.”
The first time I met the kids was in a visitation room with ugly chairs and fluorescent lights. All four sat on one couch, shoulders and knees touching.
“Are you the man who’s taking us?” Owen asked.
I sat down across from them. “Hey, I’m Michael.”
Ruby hid her face in Owen’s shirt. Cole stared at my shoes. Tessa folded her arms, chin up, pure suspicion. Owen watched me like a little adult.
“Are you the man who’s taking us?” he repeated.
“If you want me to be.”
“All of us?” Tessa asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “All of you. I’m not interested in just one.”
Her mouth twitched. “What if you change your mind?”
“I won’t. You’ve had enough people do that already.”
Ruby peeked out. “Do you have snacks?”
I smiled. “Yeah, I’ve always got snacks.”
Karen laughed softly behind me.
That day, my house stopped echoing.
After court, a judge asked, “Mr. Ross, do you understand you are assuming full legal and financial responsibility for four minor children?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” I said. I was scared, but I meant it.
The day they moved in, four sets of shoes lined the door. Four backpacks dumped in a pile.
The first weeks were rough. Ruby woke up crying for her mom almost every night. I sat on the floor next to her bed until she fell asleep. Cole tested every rule.
