Page 67 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

Tommy waited and Judy went on to say, “With a few minor modifications to the house, the kids can stay here indefinitely. We’ll need to put up a wall in the family room to make an extra bedroom, but there’s enough space on paper to satisfy the legal requirements. They would still be foster children, but they would be in my care. We would have to go through the motions with the state and have quarterly visits from their social worker. However, they would be receiving food, medical, and a small monthly sum from the state to go toward their care.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, Tommy,” Mike said from his corner of the room.

Tommy tended to agree, but there had to be a hitch. “But if something happens to you…?”

Judy smiled and nodded her head. “Yes, if something happens to me, then they go back into the system. At that point, Bobby would have to apply for foster certification. He would have the house, so that would be the only real obstacle, but it might take some time and we don’t know if they could continue living here in the interim.” She laughed and added, “On the upside, I’m in excellent health.”

Before Judy could continue, Mike asked, “Wait, what about Tommy? Where’s he gonna be?”

“Don’t worry about me right now,” Tommy answered. “We gotta figure out what’s best for you guys and then I’ll figure out my next move. Gene told me I can stay at his place as long as I need.”

He felt a smack on the back of his head when he said that. He’d expected it from Colleen, but it had been Bobby. “What was that for?” he asked, looking into Bobby’s disgruntled face.

“You’re not staying with Gene. Jesus, Tom.” Bobby crossed his arms over his chest and looked annoyed. “You’ll stay at my place.”

“This is how you ask me to move in with you?” Tommy asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Were you expecting moonlight and roses?” Bobby asked, but he was smiling now.

“I was expecting the question to, ya know, be a question. And maybe not come with a concussion.”

Colleen laughed at the two of them. “You’ll last a week before one of you kills the other.”

Bobby grinned and looked at her. “I’m armed.”

Judy cut in then. “So, Tommy’s living arrangements are sorted out.” She looked amused. “Your other two options, as far as the kids go, are slightly more complicated.” Judy looked from Mike to Colleen and finally to Tommy. “I’m sure they told you this morning, but you can petition to get the kids into your care. It is a very long process, but it can be done. And being that you’re their brother, they’ll be slightly more lenient on some of the regulations than they are with strangers.”

“And the last option?” Colleen asked.

“The last option,” Judy repeated. She seemed hesitant. “I petition to adopt the children.”

Tommy bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to decide how he felt about it. He knew Judy wouldn’t have brought it up if there wasn’t a good reason. He kept his tone even as he asked, “Why’s that one on the list?”

“If the kids are adopted, we don’t have the visits from the state,” Judy said plainly.

Tommy couldn’t tell by the way she’d given them the list of choices what she’d prefer.

“And more importantly, if something were to happen to me, it would be up to me where the children went, not the state. You would be their legal guardian.”

Tommy thought about it for a long minute. “It can’t be that easy.”

“It can be, but first we’d have to find your father and get him to sign over his parental rights,” Judy said. She amended her statement a moment later. “Well, we can petition the courts without that, but if he fought for custody, the children may have to testify against him, and no matter how they feel about him, that would be hard.”

“Yeah, I don’t like the sound of that,” Tommy said darkly.

Mike asked quietly, “Would we get to keep our name?”

“Of course, dear,” Judy answered gently. “The other problem with it is a little more complicated.”

She paused and picked up a cookie off the plate next to her and started to break off a bite. When Tommy looked her in the eye, she said, “The main question is, would they feel like they were gaining something, some greater sense of family through adoption, or would they feel like they’d lost something?”

Tommy sat back and leaned against Bobby’s leg. He ran his hands through his hair and said, “I can’t answer that.”

Judy looked a little sad as she said, “Nor can I. They may not even have their own answer until years later, after it’s too late.”

Colleen let out a bitter laugh. “I can tell ya my answer right now.”

“You’re almost eighteen, Col,” Tommy said, smiling up at her. “I don’t think this one matters as much to you.”

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