“Hey, sweetie. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Rella.”
His smile comes slower and is tentative, revealing a
missing canine tooth. “Hi.”
“I really like your shirt.” I point to the Avengers logo.
“Thanks,” he mutters.
“Which Avenger is your favorite?”
He scuffs his shoe on the floor, his eyes pointed down. “Captain America.”
“He’s my favorite too.” He looks up, interest lighting his expression. “I bet you want to be just like him when you grow up, huh?”
He breaks into a smile and he nods enthusiastically. “Uh-huh.”
My grin grows. “How old are you, Joseph?”
He holds up one hand, revealing all of his fingers. “Five.”
“Wow! That’s a lot. Before you know it, you’ll be getting little whiskers on your face.”
He giggles and my heart melts into a puddle at his feet.
I stand, my eyes moving back to the little girl. She’s absolutely beautiful and so tiny.
My eyes jerk up to Aziah when I remember something. “You said her name is Angelina. Is she…?” I trail off, refusing to say my thoughts in front of Joseph. The last information Aziah gave me about the baby that Gabriela and Marco were trying to adopt was she still wasn’t given a home. There was never any mention of her having a brother though.
“Yes.”
I look back down at her, my heart racing in my chest, desperate hope making itself known. Before I can even ask, Aziah’s moving Angelina into my arms. Her sweet baby scent fills my senses.
“I need to grab a couple of things out of the car,” Aziah announces. “You want to help, bud?”
I barely register them walking away, leaving the front door open behind them. I’m utterly captivated as I stare down at the beautiful little girl in my arms. I can’t stop looking at her cute chubby cheeks, the tiny red veins in her closed eyelids, her thin lashes, and her little button nose. Everything about her is perfect.
I carry her over to the couch. When my butt settles on the cushion, she releases the cutest little yawn I’ve ever seen and slowly opens her eyes. They’re blue, matching her brother’s.
I smile down at her, running the pad of my finger down her smooth cheek.
“Hey there,” I coo softly. “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing ever.”
She stares back at me, seemingly just as transfixed with me as I am with her.
I reluctantly pull my eyes away from her when Aziah and Joseph come back into the house. Aziah carries a bouncy chair and a couple of brown paper bags, setting them down beside the couch, while Joseph, bless his heart, carries a box. It’s clearly too big for his little arms, but there’s a determined and proud look on his face. Aziah takes it from him and sets it to the floor before glancing at me, amusement written in his eyes.
He shrugs. “I told him to carry the bouncy chair, but he insisted on carrying the box.”
I giggle, moving my eyes to Joseph, who looks like he’s trying to stand taller. I’m already in love with the little man.
Aziah approaches me, a small smile on his face as he looks from me to Angelina and back to me. I gaze at him, my eyebrows raised, wondering exactly what’s going on. I refuse to give myself hope, but I feel it seeping in.
“Hey, Joseph, you mind watching your little sister while Rella and I talk a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
I set the little girl down in the bouncy seat, making sure the buckles are secure and not too tight. Joseph sits down beside her cross-legged, already twirling one of the toys hanging from the bar on the seat.