Chapter 19

Weeks passed and they continued to act like volunteers in the building, but that was also where they slept. But nobody reached out to them, to tell them they were going to be fostered. Who would want to look after a teen couple, who had run away from home? They both thought nobody would ever take them in, and eventually the Janet and Josh would have to kick them out, onto the streets.

One day after dinner, Janet told them to come to her office in half an hour. She didn’t specify anything but the time and place. James realised they were probably going to get told that they couldn’t stay anymore, and that they had to leave. He began to stress.

Michael saw this and pulled out a chess board from a cupboard and set it up. A few piece were missing so he used draughts to represent them. He then told James to come and play him. They didn’t talk as the played, they just played. Michael won pretty easily, but the game passed the time and kept James’s stress away, and the sparks of his smothered. And by the time the chess board had been packed away it was time to go into the office.

Josh had brought in another chair so he could sit next to Janet. The silence was so tangible it made the air around them feel clammy and thick. They sat down.

Janet spoke. “You’ve been here almost a month now. That’s longer than people tend to stay with us.” James took a deep breath, prepared for what was coming. “But we can’t just kick you out.” She went on, and both of them switched to looking highly confused very quickly. “We’ve never had children of our own for many reasons, but we always wanted them. So, we’ve decided to foster you ourselves. Mr Agakenchi just approved our foster requests, and we have the meeting scheduled a week from now to make everything official.”

James was frozen in shock, and Michael stammered. “Are you sure? That’s amazing. If that’s ok with you? We’d be honoured.”

“Josh suggested it, the day you got back from applying for the foster.” She responded, rejoicing in their delight. “We have a spare room in our house just next door. We can apply you to a nearby school, get you some stuff, and maybe you could even make some friends.”

“Yes. Thank you so much. From the bottom of our hearts thank you.” Michael wept, back through joyous tears. James began to cry too and they said thank you over and over again, until they stopped crying.

“We prepared your bedroom. You know we’re just next door, so let’s take your stuff over there.” Janet replied, almost at tears herself.

They carried their bags of clothes and what they had been given to their home. Inside it felt spacious but comfortable, the sofas were soft and plump. The kitchen looked well-stocked and used, even though they would eat at the shelter sometimes. They had another sitting room next door, which felt fancier, the kind they showed to guests. Upstairs there were two large bedrooms, and a smaller one. They were shown into one of the larger rooms.

They had a king-sized bed in the centre of the room, which had been made with many pillows and blankets. There was a bay window at the front of the room, overlooking the road, and on the windowsill a nice touch had been added, which shows how much care they had put into making the whole as beautiful for them as possible, a collection of empty photo frames. The room had cupboards and shelves all over the walls, in one corner there was a table, and in the other, a door to a bathroom with a shower.

“Thanks for doing all of this for us.” James gratified; his eyes would have welled with tears, but they had already run dry. “It’s the nicest thing that’s ever been done for to us.”

“You’re welcome.” Replied Josh, smiling. “We just need to stock up the wardrobe a bit, add some plants and a desk in here, we can put one in the other guest room as well, nobody stays their anyway. Makes me wish e could treat everyone like this, but that would just be too much.”

They were left alone, and they got changed and had a beautifully warm shower each. They put their few stuff away and got into bed. It was comforting, thick sheets and soft pillows, it was gorgeous, they weren’t cold but they snuggled up together regardless, and the bed could have been a cloud, with how much nicer it was than a bunk bed.

“James.” Said Michael softly, as they lay in the dark.

“What is it?” Replied James.

“This is nice isn’t it.” He spoke, not seeming to be directing a conversation.

“Yeah. Your right.” Responded James. “It is nice.”

“If you had told me five years ago, that this is what I’d be doing in five years. I would look at you like you were crazy.” Exclaimed Michael. “But now that I’m here. It’s all I ever wanted. I love you, James Brownhill. And I want to spend every moment of my life with you.”

“I want to as well. And that will never stop. I would crawl up cliffs, swim through rapids and tunnel under mountains, just to see your smile.” Replied James, with a smile on his face so powerful it could be felt through the dark.

“Aww. That’s so romantic.” Giggled Michael, and they hugged and kissed and fell asleep as one intertwined bundle of love.