Wolves

Chapter 3

We were so excited; we arrived thirty minutes before the plane landed. This gave me time to change quickly in the bathroom. Thankfully, there were no reporters, as neither of us posted on our socials. At first, I wasn’t expecting much. It wasn’t summer but also not quite fall yet either. New York leaves were just turning, especially at the orphanage, where we first met Melina and Leigh. At first, both of them were so shy they barely talked to us, but I always noticed them never holding hands. Taylor and I both kept our eyes on them and had asked the head of the orphanage about them. The girls came to the orphanage when they were both six years old. They are twins who had a wonderful father and mother, both very good-looking. It was winter, and the girls had a heater in their room to keep them warm. Something went wrong with one of the heaters. A spark from the plug, and the fire started. The girls did what they were taught and ran out of the house. They went to their "spot" where they played hide and seek. Their parents, however, did not make it. It was said that the mother was found on the staircase, trying to make it to the girls. The father was right behind her, on top of her, trying to protect her. Those poor girls, lost so much in one night. I can't even imagine their pain and sadness, which explains why they were always quiet. Once we heard their story, Taylor and I wanted to meet them. It took a few tries, but Melina opened up to us a little. She told us they have been there for five years now, and no one has tried to adopt them. I asked her why, and she shrugged her shoulders and said she doesn't know, maybe age. Most couples come for babies, not two almost-teenage girls. That made me sad to think no one wanted them. Taylor and I both visited them daily while we were in New York. It took a while, but they both felt comfortable enough to open up to us. They talked a lot about what they liked, what their favorite food was, and things they liked to do; what Barbies they liked or clothes they liked.

After a few weeks of us seeing them, Taylor and I both decided to adopt the girls. We knew it was going to be tricky due to the modeling and traveling. Lucky, the social worker we got, is Kelsey, who is wonderful. Told us it doesn’t matter what job you have as long as these girls have a roof over their heads, are clothed, bathed, and most importantly loved. We both agreed that we could definitely give the girls these things, and Kelsey could see it in us. She got the adoption process started, which she warned us would be tough. First, they inspected us, making sure we were right for the girls; they came to our apartment that we were renting and made sure we had plenty of room for the girls and us. We were both worried since we took a shoot in Texas, but thankfully Kelsey worked with us through it. She warned us that the whole process could take up to months to finish. We were worried but thankful for her help; different social workers came to ask us questions. Not hard questions, but ones that were important in taking care of the girls. We asked Kelsey about the girls' birthdays. Thankfully, we didn't miss it. November 16th, on that day, we asked if we could take them out, which was approved. We took them out to a nice dinner, an arcade place, then to buy them gifts. They were sad when we told them we would have to leave for a few weeks, but they understood. We told them we would keep in contact and bring them back souvenirs. When we came back to New York, we met with Kelsey to finish the paperwork. We both knew there was one more checkup, but we knew we could pass it. Sadly, more work started to come through, and we had to leave Colorado. We told the social worker and the girls. We were worried it would slow our process and hurt our case. But thankfully, our adoption was still valid, and now it’s on her to finish the paperwork. So she said we could go, and she would bring the girls to us. We agreed, and so did the girls. They were sad we were leaving without them, and so were we, but we told them the next time we see them, we won't be leaving unless it's with them. Of course, right after the trip to Colorado, Jinx called us to Seoul. We were already thinking about Seoul and making it our permanent home. We loved it so much, and we knew the girls would too; it would be a fresh start for them. So we called Kelsey and told her where we were settling. She liked that and said she would tell the judge, and once he signs off it's a done deal; the girls are ours. There were so many ups and downs; we were so scared we wouldn't get them. But now that day has come when we officially adopt them. Finally, their flight lands. We stand up, I squeeze Taylor’s arm as he pats my hand for comfort. We wait anxiously as everyone starts coming through. Then we see our social worker come through with two beautiful girls. We wave our hands and walk towards them, and immediately they recognize us. Both the girls start running towards us and give us big hugs.

“Oh my goodness, it’s so good to see you,” I say.

“We missed you guys,” Leigh said.

“We really missed you; it was so boring without you guys,” Melina says.

“We missed you too,” Taylor smiles.

“I hate to break up this happy moment, but,” says our social worker, Kelsey. “I have to make sure these girls are going to be clothed, fed, and well taken care of.”

“Kelsey, you don’t have to worry about that,” chimes in Leigh. “Remember, Mom’s a model.” They both laugh.

“Yeah, she is a supermodel.” Laughs Melina.

We all laugh, then our social worker says, “This place has many beautiful sights; I can see why you would choose to live here."

“This has always been our favorite spot to come to,” says Taylor.

“We really love the culture, nature, and people here. We knew it was going to be a good place to settle,” I say.

Kelsey smiles as she looks at both of the girls and us.

“Now how about we go out to eat and explore a little before bed?” says Taylor.

“Yay!” they both scream.

“Where are we going to?” asked Leigh.

“It’s a secret,” I say.

“As much as I would like to stay, I have to catch the flight back to New York. I will come back next week to finalize some paperwork,” says Kelsey. "Then they will officially be yours."

“Thank you.” We both say, as we watch her walk away.

As soon as we get into the car, the girls ask a million questions. They are so curious about the country, which makes me so excited. Taylor and I answered their questions as much as we both could. Until we reached the restaurant, Maple Tree House. The restaurant had some great food, and the kids loved it. After we got done eating, we went straight back to the hotel suite. Once we got to the condo, they immediately went to the bedroom; we could tell they were exhausted. Once we got them into their PJs, we laid them in bed, read them a book, and I sang a song that my mom would always sing to me when I was young.

After we got into our bed, we talked for a little while, and I told Taylor about what Jackie said.

“I should have known; you didn’t need to listen to that woman. You know she loves drama.”

“I know. But I was also worried I wasn't showing you enough affection.”

“You know that's not true; you show me more than what you think. I love you and our lives; there is nothing that can ruin it.”

“I’m sorry for even giving it any thought.”

‘I don’t blame you; it’s Jackie. I can’t stand. She’s always starting something.”

I nodded and kissed him.

“I was also thinking we need to start looking at a house and getting our citizenship here.”

He nodded his head in agreement. "Let's start that tomorrow; I'm too tired to talk about it tonight."

I nod my head as I snuggle up next to him, and we fall into a deep sleep.