“Daddy,” Greta whispers as I cover her back up, but she sits back up.
“Yes, princess?” I whisper back.
“I’ve been waiting for you. You have to get your uniform on. We have to save Julie.” At first, I am not sure if she is just talking in her sleep, but when she grabs my tie, I know she’s awake.
“Julie? From school?” I know they are friends, but I don’t think she has been over here to play in a long time. I’ve been so busy at work, I didn’t stop and think about it.
“Yes. Julie. You know Julie, Daddy. She never has any food. I hear her tummy. I share mine with her every day, but it’s not a lot,” she says yawning.
“Go back to sleep. We will save Julie tomorrow, how’s that?”
“Don’t forget, Daddy.” I lean down and kiss her cheek and close the door halfway. I meet Summer in the hallway.
“Boys, okay?” I ask.
“Yep. Sleeping like logs. Desmond and Angelo are on the floor in Ben’s room, but they made a fort. Adam is with my mom. She said he was fussy, but finally fell asleep on her chest.”
“Should I go get him?”
“She said he was fine. She still has a bottle over there from earlier.” Adam is only five months old.
“What do you know about Julie McKinney’s home life?” I ask as we are getting undressed.
“That’s a sad story. Breaks my heart. She used to come to the hospital a lot with her mom. They told us she was “accident prone,” but I knew better. She’s in foster care right now. Dad’s in jail, mom split. Why do you ask?” With everything that has been going on since the kids were born, it’s no surprise we haven’t talked about her time in a group home since she first told me, but now I want to know everything.
“Greta says we have to save her. She’s been sharing her lunch with her. I am not one hundred percent sure she wasn’t asleep.”
“That makes sense. There was never enough food in the group home. Tori and I used to steal food.” I let that sink in. I hate that my wife and her best friend had to go through that. I hate that my seven year old has to witness it with her best friend. Climbing into bed, I lay and stare at the ceiling for a long time. I don’t hear Summer’s soft snores, so I turn to find her already facing me.
“We are going to save her right,” she asks me softly.
“Yes. I will make some calls in the morning,” I assure her.
“Good.”
Two weeks later, after fast-tracking our foster license based on our careers, we welcomed Julie into our home. Greta and Julie have been inseparable. Julie calls Greta a superhero. Two months later, Julie was flourishing. No more hunger pains. A year later, we adopted her. We had to. Though, the guys and I are outnumbered now. I don’t know what I’ll do when these girls start dating, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.
I hate to think that a car accident brought Summer to me, but it did. While the circumstances were less than ideal, I knew without a doubt that she was mine and I am looking forward to seeing what the next fifty years hold in store for us.
The End