“Yes?”
“Do you remember the bus stop?”
“Every day.”
“I thought no one was coming.”
Alexander crossed the kitchen and sat between them.
Lily leaned against one shoulder.
Chloe leaned against the other.
“You were right about one thing,” he said.
“What?”
“The person who left wasn’t coming back.”
Chloe’s eyes lowered.
Alexander put an arm around each girl.
“But you were wrong about no one coming.”
Outside, rain covered the city in silver.
Inside, pink and green cups rested beside a stack of adoption papers, and the home Alexander had once kept perfectly untouched was filled with crumbs, laughter, and two children who no longer slept beside his door to make sure he stayed.
He had promised them forever before he understood what the word required.
Then he spent the rest of his life proving he meant it.
