{"id":11700,"date":"2026-09-16T17:49:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/risingstoryusa.com\/?p=11700"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:49:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T17:49:44","slug":"we-adopted-two-siblings-everyone-else-rejected-then-their-former-foster-mother-called-and-asked-they-still-havent-told-you-why-they-picked-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/risingstoryusa.com\/?p=11700","title":{"rendered":"We Adopted Two Siblings Everyone Else Rejected\u2026 Then Their Former Foster Mother Called and Asked, \u201cThey Still Haven\u2019t Told You Why They Picked You?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every family before us wanted four-year-old Josie\u2014until they learned adopting her meant taking her 16-year-old brother too. We said yes to both. A month later, their former foster mother called and asked one question that changed everything: \u201cThey still haven\u2019t told you why they picked you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My husband and I spent five years trying to have a child before we finally stopped hoping we would conceive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It wasn\u2019t that we wanted a family any less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were simply exhausted by appointments, tests, medication, and another round of disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One night, after yet another failed visit, Daniel sat with me on the kitchen floor while I cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We finally stopped hoping we would conceive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe still have room,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cWe could adopt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eight months later, we met Josie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She was four, with brown curls, huge dark eyes, and a smile that arrived slowly, as if she still wasn\u2019t sure she was allowed to use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She sat at a little table in the agency family room, coloring a purple dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s a nice dog,\u201d Daniel told her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s a wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThen that\u2019s an excellent wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She watched him for about three seconds, then laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I loved her at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We had been warned not to walk in expecting some instant, magical connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even so, looking at Josie, something in me shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then our caseworker, Rebecca, asked if Daniel and I could speak privately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was something we needed to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie had an older brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace was sixteen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I asked, \u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDown the hall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I frowned. \u201cWhy wasn\u2019t he in the meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That pause told me more than the words that followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA number of families have expressed interest in Josie,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen they\u2019ve learned Jace is part of the placement, they\u2019ve reconsidered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I felt embarrassed for people I had never met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause he\u2019s sixteen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTeen placements are harder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel crossed his arms. \u201cDoes he have behavioral problems?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo more than I would expect from a teenager who\u2019s been through significant instability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a careful answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rebecca folded her hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJace knows why previous families changed their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd he expects us to change ours too?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rebecca didn\u2019t answer right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think Jace expects adults to prove what they mean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That sentence stayed with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few minutes later, Jace walked in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was tall and thin, wearing a gray hoodie even though the room was warm. His hair fell over his forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He nodded once when Rebecca introduced us but didn\u2019t smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie ran straight to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We spent nearly two hours together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie talked enough for all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace mostly answered in one or two words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel asked whether he played sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBasketball sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat position?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace shrugged. \u201cGuard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel nodded. \u201cI played guard in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the first time, Jace actually looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie looked up as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time I thought she was only listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace raised his eyebrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou played guard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel laughed. \u201cI was faster before my knees turned eighty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace gave him a small grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later, when Rebecca mentioned dinner on another visit, I asked Josie what she liked to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMac and cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOf course.\u201d Then I looked at Jace. \u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He seemed surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUnless you\u2019re planning to live on whatever Josie leaves behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He glanced at his sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie was already watching us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI eat everything,\u201d she said proudly. \u201cYou won\u2019t have leftovers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It felt ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was probably why it mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few weeks later, Rebecca called to say the placement was moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We brought both of them home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie cried the first night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then the second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then the fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes she woke screaming for Jace, and he would be in her doorway before Daniel or I could get out of bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d he would tell her. \u201cYou\u2019re okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He never mentioned that Daniel and I were there too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I tried not to take it personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But one morning Josie woke before him and wandered into our room instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She climbed between Daniel and me without asking and fell asleep again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Jace found her there, he stopped in the doorway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For once he didn\u2019t call her back right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stood there a second, then quietly walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace was harder to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was polite. Almost painfully polite. He never asked for anything, ate whatever I cooked, and kept his room unnaturally neat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a week I understood why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He hadn\u2019t unpacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His clothes were still in two duffel bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His books stayed in his backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His shoes sat beside his suitcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know you can use the dresser,\u201d I told him one afternoon. \u201cAnd the closet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wanted to ask why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead I let it go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Something told me pushing him would only make him zip the bags tighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After that I stopped mentioning them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every few days I still checked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bags never moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything else in the house slowly started belonging to Jace \u2014 a basketball by the back door, his cereal in the pantry, his charger permanently claiming an outlet in the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only his bedroom still looked temporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A month passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie started calling our house \u201chome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace stopped calling us \u201csir\u201d and \u201cma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One night at dinner Daniel made a terrible joke about pasta, and Jace laughed so hard milk came out of his nose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie screamed with delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I laughed until my stomach hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a few minutes nobody was careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobody was measuring the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobody was waiting for the next problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then Jace reached across the table and stole a piece of garlic bread from Daniel\u2019s plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel slapped his hand away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGet your own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace grinned and took it anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was such a stupid, ordinary thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it was the first time I had seen him act like he expected to be there tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I remember looking around the table and thinking, This is it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next afternoon my phone rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was Marlene, the foster mother Jace and Josie had lived with before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She had called once already to ask how they were settling in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I liked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She sounded truly glad when I said Josie had started preschool and Jace had joined an after-school basketball program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s laughing more,\u201d I said. \u201cNot constantly, but more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd Josie\u2019s sleeping through most nights now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I told her Jace had cooked dinner with Daniel the night before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe actually cooked with Daniel?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was something in her voice I couldn\u2019t place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYeah. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNothing,\u201d she said, too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was a silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not a normal pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Something changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMarlene? Is something wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo. I just\u2026 They still haven\u2019t told you why they picked you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I smiled at first because I thought I had misunderstood her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy they what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPicked you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My smile disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marlene hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s what I thought. You need to ask Rebecca \u200cwhy they chose your family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before I could get anything else from her, she apologized and ended the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I stood in my kitchen holding my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They picked us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had spent the whole adoption process believing Daniel and I were being evaluated as parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apparently the kids had been evaluating us too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And for some reason Jace\u2019s behavior came back to me at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The packed bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guarded answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Daniel came home I told him what Marlene had said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey chose us?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We called Rebecca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a pause she said, \u201cI thought Jace had told you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTold us what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter your first meeting, I asked the kids how they felt about you. Jace came back to me and said they wanted your family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I stared at Daniel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace had barely spoken to us that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In hindsight I had assumed that was just Jace being Jace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now I wondered how much he had known before we did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe specifically asked for us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes,\u201d Rebecca said. \u201cBut if you want to know why, I think that\u2019s something you should ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After we hung up I thought about the duffel bags still sitting in Jace\u2019s room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He had asked for our family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So why had he spent a month preparing to leave it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That evening I almost decided not to ask him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I saw his suitcase again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What bothered me wasn\u2019t that Jace had kept something from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was that he had asked to come here and then spent every day acting as though we might send him away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those two things didn\u2019t fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I needed to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Josie finished dinner she climbed onto the couch with a coloring book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace was rinsing his plate when Daniel said, \u201cHey, can we talk for a minute?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was tiny, but I saw it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After all this time his whole body prepared for bad news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNothing bad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His eyes moved toward Josie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I hated how fast he checked for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We sat at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I told him Marlene had called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His expression changed immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe said something strange,\u201d I told him. \u201cShe asked if you\u2019d ever told us why you picked us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace looked down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRebecca said you were the one who told her you wanted our family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWould you mind telling us why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He glanced toward the living room, where Josie was coloring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause Josie picked you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of all the answers I had imagined, that wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The person who had barely reached my waist had apparently made the biggest decision in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJosie? But she\u2019s four.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace rubbed his thumb along the edge of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cExactly. Nobody listens to her about important stuff because she\u2019s little. They ask what toy she wants or what color cup she wants, but when it\u2019s something real, adults decide for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He looked toward his sister again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo when Josie told me she wanted you guys, I made sure Rebecca listened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suddenly that sounded exactly like Jace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He had spent a month barely asking for anything for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when Josie wanted something, he made sure an adult heard her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She must have heard her name, because Josie looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace motioned her over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She came running and squeezed herself between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJace says you picked us,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She nodded as if this were obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie pointed at her brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou talked to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I almost smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie frowned at me like I was missing something obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody talks to me,\u201d she said. \u201cThey play with me and give me snacks. But they don\u2019t talk TO Jace. They talk ABOUT him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace stared at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat do they say?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey ask if he\u2019s bad. If he gets mad. If he can stay somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne lady said she wanted me, but her house was too small for Jace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter that, Josie wouldn\u2019t talk to her anymore,\u201d Jace said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe didn\u2019t want my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was nothing childish about the certainty in her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie leaned against her brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo I stopped caring if people were nice to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel swallowed. \u201cWhat did you care about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf they were nice to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou asked what he wanted for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then at Daniel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou talked basketball with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I remembered how surprised Jace had looked when I asked what he wanted to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I remembered Josie watching us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Josie wrapped both arms around his waist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEverybody wanted me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then she looked up at us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I only wanted somebody who wanted him just as much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a moment nobody spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I looked at Jace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was still one thing I didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Josie chose us, and you told Rebecca yes\u2026 why didn\u2019t you unpack?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace went still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause people change their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel leaned forward. \u201cWe weren\u2019t going to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That stopped him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace looked down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople always want her at first. Sometimes they think they can deal with me too. Then they get tired of me being there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My throat tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo I figured I\u2019d wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He finally looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor the moment you decided you didn\u2019t want me anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The worst part was how calmly he said it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He wasn\u2019t accusing us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was describing what he had prepared himself for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And suddenly the packed bags didn\u2019t look like an escape plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They looked like armor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wanted to promise him we would never change our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I suspected he had heard enough promises from adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I nodded toward the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know that dresser in your room?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He looked at me. \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI bought it because somebody lives there. The closet, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His mouth tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut I get it now. Whenever you\u2019re ready, you can unpack,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the next morning the bags were still exactly where they had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So were they the morning after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I made myself stop checking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If unpacking was going to mean anything, it had to be his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A week later I walked past Jace\u2019s bedroom and stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The duffel bags were empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One had been folded into the closet. His books were on the shelf. Shoes were scattered under the bed, and a hoodie hung badly from his chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For anyone else it would have looked like a messy teenager\u2019s room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To me it looked like an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jace appeared behind me with a bowl of cereal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou unpacked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His ears turned red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t make it weird.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou look like you\u2019re going to cry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wiped my cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGo eat your cereal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He smiled and went downstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the first time since he had arrived, there wasn\u2019t a packed bag in his room waiting for someone to change their mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every family before us wanted four-year-old Josie\u2014until they learned adopting her meant taking her 16-year-old brother too. 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