The next day, I was beyond nervous. I kept dropping things, trying to clean up the apartment before we picked Nora up later. We'd be adding a fifth person to our family, and I had no idea how it was going to go. It would take us all a while to feel each other out. From what I'd seen so far, Nora seemed a bit stand off-ish. When Sebastian had hugged her yesterday, she looked like she was getting strangled by an alien. She literally didn't know what to do.

I knew this wasn't going to be a piece of cake, but I was getting pretty apprehensive. I wanted this to go right. Needed this to go right. This was my family.

Vanessa had taken the afternoon off work and I'd rearranged all my appointments so we could all spend time together. At around 2:00, we left the boys at home with my parents and headed to the Juvenile Detention Center. We waited patiently in the lobby, and soon Nora emerged, carrying a grungy looking backpack, which must contain everything she owned. I smiled at her and she smiled back weakly.

"Ready?" I asked her and she nodded wordlessly. We walked out to the car silently and she got in the back seat. I could tell she was nervous. How could she not be? She was about to go home with two strangers and the only other family she had was locked up in prison.

"Have you been to Washington Heights before?" I asked her, glancing in the rearview mirror at her.

"A few times," she told me, watching the buildings pass.

"I think you'll like it," I went on. "There's a lot of parks nearby and the neighbors are really friendly."

"Great," she said.

The rest of the trip was silent as I pulled the car into the garage and parked. We took the elevator up to our floor and walked to our apartment door. I put the key in the lock and opened it to the sound of Sebastian laughing and playing with my father.

"Daddy!" He called, and rushed over to greet me. I picked him up and kissed him on the cheek. "Did you have fun with Abuela and Abuelo?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded, and then moved to get down. He immediately went over to Nora and wrapped his arms around her. This time, she awkwardly patted his head and said a soft hello. "Let me show you my room!"

He took her hand and was dragged to his bedroom, where she was given a full tour of his furniture and toys. After a couple minutes I wandered back and leaned against the door frame, watching for a moment.

"Sebastian, should we show Nora where her room is?"

"Yeah!" he said excitedly. We let him lead the way next door to Nora's room. It had a single twin bed with a plain light blue comforter, a desk, and a set of bureau drawers. There wasn't a walk-in closet, but there was decent enough space. I walked over to the window and pulled back the drapes, letting the sunshine in.

"Here we are," I told her. "It's not much right now, but Vanessa will take you shopping tomorrow."

She walked around, taking it in. She sat down on the bed, testing out its softness, and ran her fingers over the bedspread. Nora set her backpack on the floor.

"Do you want a few minutes to yourself?"

She nodded and I took Sebastian by the hand.

"When you're ready you can come out and say hi to my parents," I told her. "They're excited to meet you."

She didn't respond, so I took Sebastian and left, closing the door behind us. I walked back to the living room, where my mother was holding Francisco, and everyone was standing around.

"How's she doing?" My dad asked me.

"So far, so good," I reported. "She wanted a few minutes to herself in her room."

"It must be so overwhelming," my mother observed. "Poor thing."

"It'll take some time to adjust," I said. "But I think she'll be okay."

Sebastian was holding onto my hand, trying to climb up my leg. The kid was a monkey. We all chatted for a few more minutes, when we heard the door open. A few moments later, Nora emerged hesitantly. She tried to put on a brave smile as she walked into the living room, all eyes on her.

"Hey," Vanessa greeted her. "Is your room okay for now?"

She nodded, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Nora, these are my parents," I gestured to my mother and father. "Luz and Luis. You can call them by their names, or Sebastian calls them Abuela and Abuelo."

"Hi," she said quietly. My parents smiled warmly at her. It was hard to know how to make small talk, but my parents were the salt of the earth. It was impossible not to like them.

"You have so many of your father's features," my mother observed. "Dark hair, brown eyes. You are beautiful, my love."

"Thank you," she said meekly. "Um...could I get something to drink?"

"Of course," Vanessa said, walking towards the refrigerator. "I got some Coke in like you asked."

She opened the door and handed Nora a cold can, which she opened and started drinking gratefully. Nora began to look around, scoping out the apartment. I wasn't exactly rich, but I made a good living. From what I'd seen of her neighborhood, this was a vast upgrade. Her house was tiny.

My parents said their goodbyes to give us some privacy and we thanked them for watching the boys. We tried to give Nora some space to take in her new home. I showed her how to work the TV remote and gave her the WiFi password. Soon, she was scrolling through her phone and watching MTV.

We decided to order pizza for dinner – sure to be a kid pleaser. Nora had quite the appetite. She ate four pieces of pizza and drank two cans of Coke. The kid was tiny, surely underweight for her age.

As the evening wound down, Vanessa showed Nora where we kept the towels and showed her the trick to the shower. Nora unpacked her few belongings and quickly brushed her teeth. Before I went to bed, I decided to go check on her. I knocked softly on the door and she gave me permission to come in.

"Hi," I said, sitting on her bed. I noticed she immediately scooted away from me, creating more distance. I desperately wanted to give her a hug, to hold my kid, but I sensed she wasn't ready.

"Are you all settled in?" I asked her and she shrugged.

"Anything you need, just ask us, okay?" I told her. "It's gonna take a while to get comfortable, but we want you to know you can ask us anything, alright?"

"Okay," she said. "Thanks."

"Vanessa and I both took the day off tomorrow," I continued. "V will take you shopping in the morning. Do you need anything else before I go to bed?"

"No," she said. She was definitely sticking to one-word answers tonight.

"Okay," I said. "Just a warning, Francisco will probably be up in the night. We'll try to get to him quick so he doesn't disturb you."

I smiled at her and stood up. "Good night, Nora," I told her. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Good night," she said softly as I closed the door behind me.

I went to the master bedroom, where Vanessa was already in bed reading on her Kindle. I quickly changed into my boxers and a t-shirt and brushed my teeth, then joined my wife in bed.

"How's she doing?" Vanessa asked.

"Seems okay," I said. "Not much for conversation at the moment."

"Maybe some shopping will help get her to open up a bit," she predicted, closing her Kindle. She took off her reading glasses and set them on the bedside table.

"Something tells me she's not wanting to get mother-daughter pedicures with you," I joked as I climbed into bed.

"No, I don't think we're there yet," Vanessa agreed. "Doesn't seem like the pedicure type anyway."

We both settled onto our sides, facing each other.

"I can't believe this is happening," I said. Vanessa smirked and stroked my cheek with her hand.

"You're such a player," she teased, leaning in to kiss me. I grinned into it and pulled her closer, kissing her more.

"So, you're taking her shopping tomorrow?" I asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

She nodded. "Something tells me she won't be picking pink frilly bed sheets and dresses."

"No, probably not," I agreed. "She seems like a real interesting kid."

"Any child of yours is an interesting child," Vanessa pointed out, and I responded by grabbing her behind the leg, right below her bottom – her most ticklish spot. She screamed in protest, pushing my hands away. I pulled her close into me again and we kissed gently before I reached over to turn off the lights.