Page 119 of When Ben Loved Jace

“Yeah! I mean, I guess so. Eventually. I didn’t think that was possible until we buy another house, since we only have the one bedroom.”

“That’s what I thought too, but then I got to thinking that the trailer is like a second bedroom. Heck, with the bathroom and kitchen, it’s practically a whole apartment.”

I perk up at this news. “Would that work?”

“Not for a little kid,” Michelle says. “They need too much supervision. But for a teenager? Maybe. Could you imagine having a setup like this when you were younger?”

“I would’ve loved it,” I admit. “So we’d only qualify for a teenager?”

She nods. “Even then, I’d have to make a good case.Technicallyyou should be sharing the same roof with them. But for someone who is older and more self-sufficient, it could work.”

I chew my bottom lip without comment.

She notices my hesitation. “I know, everybody wants them to be as young as possible. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping the older kids. They get overlooked all the time, when they have just as many needs.”

“A teenager though?” I ask. “They’ll be all grown up in a few years. That isn’t enough time to form a bond. It would be more like having a tenant. One who doesn’t pay rent.”

Michelle smiles. “Emma has only been with us a few months now, and she already feels like part of the family. I don’t thinkher age has anything to do with that. How long did it take you to fall in love with Jace?”

“A matter of months, if even that.”

“And he was a grown man. In my line of work, children older than eight are much less likely to be adopted. Which is a shame, because I suspect many people feel the way you do and assume it isn’t possible to forge a connection with someone older. And yet we do anyway when choosing a life partner or making friends.”

“You’re right,” I say. “But still… ateenager?”

She laughs. “I know. They don’t have the best reputation.”

“For good reason. The memories are still fresh, because Iwasone a little over six years ago!”

“All the better! You’ll be able to relate more to what they’re going through. Adoption doesn’t have to be the first step. We decided to with Emma because I wanted her to know she had found her forever family. That sort of security is important at her age. Someone older who has been in the system for a long time needs a different kind of support—a platform to launch their adult life from. Foster care would already be enough to provide that.”

“I feel like I only recently got my own life together.”

“That’s okay. Maybe it won’t be this year or the next. But when youareready, I want you to know that it’s an option.”

I consider the trailer and try to imagine someone living there. A teenager who would join us for breakfast, maybe need a ride to school, and show up again in the evening to hang out. That doesn’t sound bad. Having another person around might be nice. Especially with Jace out of town so often. “Have you talked to my husband about any of this?”

Michelle shakes her head. “I don’t need to.”

“Because he’s your brother?”

“Because he’s Jace. I know exactly what he’ll say.”

She’s right. He would immediately agree, thinking with his heart instead of his head. That’s just the kind of guy he is.

We walk to the backyard. Allison and I sing a harmonic rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ to him, the others joining in at the end. Jace smiles at me after blowing out the candles. I try to picture us as foster parents, but that vision of the future remains elusive. At least until he begins unwrapping presents.

“I claim a birthday tax,” Emma declares, glancing at Gregwith uncertainty before he nods in encouragement. "Payable immediately.”

“A birthday tax!” Jace says in shock. “Hmm… Let’s see.” He carefully considers the wrapped presents, putting on a big show of deliberating before handing one to his niece. “It’s just a bunch of boring socks anyway. My mom gets them for me every year.”

Emma stops tearing the paper off to narrow her eyes in suspicion. Then she keeps going and gasps in excitement. “A friendship bracelet maker! Just what I wanted!”

“Oh darn,” Jace says, pretending to pout. “That’s what I wanted too.”

“I’ll make you a bracelet,” Emma promises.

She rushes over to hug him. I’m baffled by the entire thing. Who ever heard of a birthday tax? And how did Jace know to be prepared?