“Family does.”
Robert left.
The door closed behind him.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then my sister began crying.
I looked at her.
She wiped her face.
“I’m sorry, Claire.”
I didn’t answer.
She continued.
“I should have helped you.”
I looked at the woman who had once told me she couldn’t take two children because her apartment was too small.
“You should have.”
She lowered her eyes.
One by one, the relatives began leaving.
Nobody mentioned the inheritance anymore.
Nobody talked about Robert’s company.
Nobody called me selfish.
When the room was finally empty, only the four of us remained.
Elena placed the adoption petitions back in front of me.
“You don’t have to sign tonight,” she said.
I looked at Mason.
Then Noah.
“Do you really want this?”
Mason smiled through tears.
“We’ve wanted it for years.”
Noah nodded.
“We just didn’t know we were allowed to ask.”
I picked up the pen.
My hand shook.
I signed my name.
Claire Bennett.
Mason hugged me first.
Noah joined seconds later.
For a moment, I was twenty-six again.
Two frightened little boys were clinging to me in a house that suddenly felt far too quiet.
Except now they weren’t little.
They were eighteen.
And they were choosing me.
Elena quietly gathered the documents.
“The court hearing is next month.”
Mason laughed.
“Does that mean it’s official?”
“Assuming the judge approves it.”
Noah looked at me.
“Then we’re taking you out to dinner.”
I smiled.
“You don’t have to.”
Mason shook his head.
“We know.”
He squeezed my shoulder.
“That’s the point.”
Later that night, after everyone had gone, I walked into the kitchen.
The birthday cake was still sitting on the counter.
Three pieces remained.
I opened the refrigerator and found the note I had written earlier that afternoon.
It said:
Happy 18th Birthday, Mason and Noah.
Underneath, I had written:
No matter where life takes you, you’ll always have a home here.
I stared at it for a long time.
