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“How did you handle that?” I ask, amazed. Cole is so close to his sister, it’s hard to believe there was a time he didn’t want her around.
“Easy. We took him to the next scan. They wanted to keep a check on things since I had some minor problems during the pregnancy. High blood pressure,” she explains when she catches my frown. “He was so fascinated. He stared at those ultrasound pictures for weeks after. He’s still got them actually.”
I beam at that, finding it adorable that Cole would keep such sentimental items.
“So he was happy?” I ask.
Tears gather in her eyes but she doesn’t let them fall. “Yeah. He helped with everything and kept promising to protect her and not let anyone ever hurt her.”
“This is going to sound really rude, but these are the questions that people will want to know,” I warn her, wanting to back out. “Do you love Mia more because she is yours biologically?” I ask.
Jackie doesn’t flinch at the question, like she was expecting it. “I love them both equally. I don’t care what anyone says to me, blood or no blood, there is never a person or a thing in this world that can make you love your child less. They are both ours. The second I had Mia and held her in my arms for the first time, I had the exact same feeling I had when I held Liam for the first time at five years old. It felt like I was being handed the world, the most precious gift anyone could ever receive.”
“What about other people in your life?” I ask.
“No one really treats them differently, love wise. Yes, Mia gets a lot more attention now, but I think it’s the age gap between the two. Mia did get spoiled a lot too, but I think that’s because she’s the only girl in the family. Both Frank and my side of the family all have boys.”
“What about Cole? Did he change towards her or did anyone change towards him?”
“My god, he wouldn’t let anyone near her. I knew I’d have trouble with the men in my life protecting her, but a fifteen-year-old Liam was not the one I was expecting to be the worst. He helped bathe her, feed her, and even helped some nights when I would struggle to get her to sleep. He was so good with her. He has always been such a quiet boy, reserved and standoffish. But I think that has more to do with his time before he came to live with us,” she admits. I feel as if she confided that last part to me, and I have to cherish her honesty and confidence in me, so I don’t bother writing that part down. It gives me an insight into Cole, even if I don’t know what happened to him before he moved in with them. Maybe one day, he’ll confide in me and tell me his side of it.
“Do you know what happened to him before he came to you?” I ask, gulping.
“No. We were told he was neglected and had no other living relatives. He remembered though. He suffered with nightmares afterwards and never trusted a lot of people. He could only be around me, Frank, and close family.”
I shake away the disturbing thoughts of what his life was like before, not wanting to go there. “Okay, so if you could give advice to couples in a situation where adoption was their only choice, who were having trouble deciding, what advice would you give them?” I ask.
“I’d ask them to think about the reasons why they want a child. Is it for appearance’s sake, just because it’s the next step, or because it’s what they want? For us, we wanted a child to shower with our love. We wanted to raise a family, knowing we created such a beautiful, kind, honest person. We wanted to be able to share our life with another part of ourselves. Secretly, I also wanted the love a child has for their mother, and Liam gave me that and more the second he stepped into my arms. It sounds selfish, but I couldn’t help but breathe in his love. And my god, the memories we have shared over the years… There’s nothing that could compare to that. I can’t imagine life without him.
“For someone to want a child so badly, it shouldn’t matter how the child is conceived, but how he or she is loved. The bond between Liam and I is just as strong as the one I have with Mia, and nothing could break that. Not DNA, not adoption papers, or even other people’s remarks. We’re a family and that’s all we ever wanted to be. Liam made that happen.”
“Woah,” I breathe out, utterly stunned, and silently glad I recorded the conversation so I could take better notes later. I’ve never heard anyone speak so strongly about adoption before, and it warms my heart knowing he was given to such a loving couple, one that gave him unconditional love.
“So there you go. That’s our story. I don’t know if Cole will be okay with the story being published though,” she tells me, frowning.
“Be okay with what?” Cole asks as he steps into the room, causing us to jump.
“What is it with you guys? Do you tiptoe everywhere you walk? Bloody ninjas.” I gasp, holding my hand over my heart again.
Cole glances down at me like I’ve grown two heads, but I wave him away. He sends me a small, secretive smile, and I feel my face flush. When his gaze reaches his mum, he takes a step closer, his expression morphing into concern.
“Hey, you’ve been crying. What’s wrong?” he demands, his body turning rigid as he scans the room for threats.
My lips twitch at seeing his protective side. I can see the love Jackie was talking about moments ago in his eyes, and in the way he’s worried about her. He has a huge heart underneath that rough exterior.
“Willow has a project she needs to complete for class and needed some help finding a story. I was telling her about the adoption and our past, so she could do a story on that. But I wanted her to talk to you first. Would you be okay with her writing it, son?”
“Um,” he begins, rubbing the back of his neck.
I butt in, needing to support his wishes if he doesn’t want to have it out there for people to know. Knowing what I know, this story is everything I was looking for.
“It’s okay. I can change the names and have Professor Moby agree to keep my references quiet.”
“No, it’s fine. Just don’t use any last names. People won’t guess it’s me you’re writing about if you call me Liam and my mum Jacqueline,” he admits. His words say one thing but his tone says another.
He’s not comfortable talking about it.
“I can find something else,” I assure him, dismissing the story.