Four Months Later...

*Rylyn*

Everyone seems to wonder why bad things happen.
Thankfully, this list of people no longer includes me. Bad things happen, not because God wants them to occur, but because He lets them and knows we can handle them. They're apart of His grand plan, and I couldn't argue with that. Now, my only desire is to let people know that bad things are okay. Sometimes we need them.

*David*

Today is the day. Today is definitely the day. I take a deep breath, put my hand on Mirissa's, and walk through the double doors of a Child's Services building. I've been waiting for this meeting for a long time. And I'm not normally one to look forward to formal meetings like this. But it's a special circumstance for us; which is why I'm wearing a tie.
A lady standing next to a big oak desk in the lobby comes forward, arm extended.
"David and Mirissa Ark?" she asks, looking pleased. "It's nice to see you again."
"It's nice to see you too," I reply, shaking her hand.
"Follow me and we'll get the meeting started."
She leads us down a wide hallway off to the right and into a conference room where another man sits at the head of it, shuffling through papers. Adoption papers. I smile at the thought. We sit on the left side of the table, facing Mrs. Kimberly, the same woman who dealt with Rylyn's case back in November.
"We'll start by asking a few questions, then we'll get down to business. Now, why are you eager to adopt Rylyn?"
"When we started fostering her, I felt like she was our responsibility, even beforehand when she was in the hospital. All along, and I think Mirissa can agree, we've been taking this as if it were a permanent job, not just temporary. It seems right to make it official." I smile, trying to contain my excitement.
"To add on to what he said, when we experienced her tragedy together, it made me feel that we were helping her more if a parenting way rather than just giving her advice, you know? I could put myself in her shoes and try to help her though it," Mirissa contributes.
"But you have another child on the way. Isn't that enough responsibility for you to have?" the man asks.
"Yes, but, sorry if I sound rude, where else is she going to go? We couldn't just give her up so easily. We'e already developed a family with her, and it would be unnecessary to throw that away," I explain.
"Mr. Ark, I would love to tell you we could give her to you right now. Unfortunately there's something we need to inform you about..."

* * * * *

I walk into the dining room, hands behind my back to conceal the surprise. Rylyn looks up from a board game she was playing with Matthew and grins. Mirissa hurriedly takes cupcakes out of the oven and puts a tender hand on my back.
"You're gonna tell her now?" she whispers to me.
"Yeah why not? We have cupcakes to celebrate," I explain.
"True, true."
"Now you're gonna beat me!" Matthew exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. I turn my attention to the table and sit down.
"No, you still have a chance," she says.
"I do not! Look, you'll get ten points for buying a bridge, twenty-five if you finish your skyscraper, and forty because you've filled your half of the board."
"That's not true. Because if you buy the port, you'll get thirty and then... Oh yeah I will beat you," she laughs.
"Rylyn," I interrupt. I know it's rude to disturb their game, but she needs to know soon. Like now soon. I've been keeping it from her for a week, and I don't know if I could keep it a secret anymore. "I have something you might wanna look at."
"In a second," she replies, waving one hand dismissively in my direction and moving her marker on the board.
"No, really," I press.
"Okay..." She looks up at me with a worried expression and takes the folder.
"What is it?" Matthew asks.
"I don't know..," she answers, bothered. He comes over and sits on the other side of her.
Slowly, she opens the folder, all eyes in the kitchen/dinning room on her. Her nervous glance flickers from me to the papers. On top, I put the foster care papers and after that lay the adoption papers. Her thin fingers pick through the packets, unsure of what they would find. Finally, after Mirissa has sat down and she'd gotten through all the foster papers, she looks at the handmade card we go her and reads it.
"Wha-what is going on?" she asks, looking up with tears in her eyes. "You want to adopt me?"
"Rylyn, we love you and we want to know you're taken care of. Is it okay to make you officially apart of our family?" I ask, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes," she breathes, "absolutely yes."
Thankfully, she didn't look any further than she needed to. I don't know how the news we had to sort out would've sat with her.

*Rylyn*

I try not to skip through the doors on that next March Sunday, everything inside of me screaming with joy of new life. I'm sure people noticed my crazy mood though, since I greeted everyone as I passed them and was smiling like a maniac but hey, it's okay to be happy.
We got there a little late, so I just go straight to my pew with Kayla and wait. I don't know how I waited that long or how I could keep this news from any of the teens for that matter. Getting baptized is a pretty big deal. Maybe I should just tell Kayla...
"Hey," I whisper to her while Solomon was in the middle of the sermon. I know, I'm a bad kid, talking during the sermon, but what else can I do? Texting would've been worse.
"Yeah?" she asks. Kayla was baptized about a year ago. So whenever someone makes that decision, she's ecstatic.
"I'm getting baptized today," I says as quietly as possible, even if I wanted to scream it at the top of my lungs, that would be even more so disrespectful than texting during church.
"What?!" she says a little to loudly. Solomon keeps talking, and everyone in the youth group turns to look at us. I try not to laugh and nearly suffocate because I couldn't breathe. She puts a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh along with me and whispers again, "What?"
"I am."
"Oh my golly, Rylyn this is great!" She hugs me quickly and then pulls away so we can stand up and sing. "Wait, you have to go up now."
"Now?" I ask. I was gonna wait until after church when there wasn't so many people... But before I can protest, she's already pulling me toward the front to David's side and he smiles in surprise. I guess it's better not to wait for something like this.
If I could hi-five God on this moment, I would. I'm ready to take on whatever path He has laid out for me. I think in this moment, He likes to carry me instead.