The Question About Forever
Chapter 19 - The Question About Forever
Ethan and Mia sat alone in the study.
The same room where he had once hidden behind work.
Now school drawings covered one wall.
A pair of Mia’s sneakers sat beneath the desk.
Nothing matched the furniture.
Ethan loved it.
He placed the adoption papers between them.
“You do not have to say yes.”
Mia stared at the pages.
“Would I still be Mia Ruiz?”
“Yes.”
“Could I keep my mom’s last name?”
“Yes.”
“Would Clara really be my sister?”
“She already thinks she is.”
Mia smiled.
Then her eyes filled.
“If I say yes, does that mean I’m replacing my mom?”
Ethan’s chest ached.
“No.”
“What if I love you?”
“You are allowed.”
“What if I still love her more?”
“You are allowed.”
Mia began crying.
Ethan stayed where he was.
He did not reach for her until she reached first.
Then she wrapped both arms around his neck.
“I want forever,” she whispered.
The adoption process took time.
There were background checks, hearings, paperwork, and waiting.
Mia complained that forever involved too many forms.
Clara said that was how America worked.
On the day the judge finalized the adoption, Mia wore the same gray coat Ethan had found her in.
It no longer fit.
She insisted anyway.
“Why that coat?” Clara asked.
Mia shrugged.
“So I remember.”
“Remember what?”
“That I was cold.”
Clara looked confused.
Mia smiled.
“And then I wasn’t.”
After the hearing, they returned home.
Snow had begun falling.
Not hard.
Just enough to cover the front steps.
Mia stopped outside.
Ethan stood beside her.
“This is where everything started,” she said.
“No,” Ethan answered.
She looked up.
“Where did it start?”
He thought about Elena fighting to be heard.
Clara refusing to stay helpless.
Rebecca turning love into control.
His own years of absence.
Then he looked at Mia.
“It started every time someone had the chance to look away.”
Mia took his hand.
“And didn’t?”
Ethan smiled.
“And didn’t.”
Behind them, the front door opened.
Clara stood there on crutches.
“Are you two coming inside or planning to freeze for sentimental reasons?”
May you like
Mia laughed.
Then she ran toward her sister.
