After discussing a few more details, they ended the call so Mary could get back to her hotel in Los Angeles before calling Doug. The car ride to go thirty plus miles almost took her two hours with all the bad LA traffic, and drained all the previous energy she had, out of her. Once in the room, she kicked off her shoes and moved to the little desk, laying out the manila envelope she had received from Principal Lambert.

She grabbed her phone, plugged it in to charge, dialed Doug's number, and set it on speaker. As it rang, she got comfortable at the desk, making sure she had spare paper and a pen just in case she wanted to jot down some notes.

"This is Doug.

" Doug answered the phone with a sigh, sounding exhausted from the day.

"Hey Doug, it's me.

" Mary pulled the phone a little closer even though she could hear just fine.

"I know you're busy right now, but I want to have a serious discussion with you for just a minute.

"

"How serious? I don't have much time today.

"

"I want to adopt Jake. Well, me and Wayne want to adopt him. Officially. For keeps.

"

Silence fell. If there wasn't background noise from Doug's end, she would think that he hung up or lost connection.

"Doug?

" She pressed.

"Isn't it doable? I mean, we're already fostering him. Won't it be easy to just sign him over to us?

"

"Easy?

" Doug finally spoke, a higher pitch than normal, stressing the word as well.

"Mary, I don't know what to say. I know you guys like Jake, but you've only had him for a month.

"

"We know. Can you give me a run down of what we'll need to apply for the adoption? We are already qualified as foster parents so what more do we need?

"

"Mary. Mary.

" He repeated, trying to slow her down.

"It's-its not going to be easy. At all. Maybe if Jake was a low-risk kid in the system then there wouldn't be too many problems or barriers, but this...I appreciate the thought, but maybe we should stick to how things are.

"

"Mr. Duncan.

" She said sharply.

"I'm telling you right now, I want to adopt Jake. Are you going to help me or not? Are you just going to let this boy feel unwanted his whole life?

"

Doug groaned.

"Don't put it like that. You know I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just trying to be honest with you. It's a grueling, time-consuming, and heartbreaking process. Do you really want to put yourself through that? Jake is already 14. He'll age out of the system in 4 years.

" She could hear him move papers around and clicking of a keyboard.

"I'm not changing my mind unless you tell me, and prove to me, that it's impossible.

"

"An adoption isn't so simple. At minimum it'll take six months after placement.

"

"We already have one month down.

" She responded, happy.

"However, in most foster care cases, this can take at least 12-18 months from the time of placement, and can be longer if either parent files an appeal. We don't even know where one parent is.

"

"Shouldn't that make things easier? His mom almost killed him so there's no way she can take him back. The father is obviously a deadbeat. No contact for at least nine years of schooling. No one I spoke to even gave a hint of Jake being close to another boy. I think Dr. Moore's assumption is wrong, in fact.

"

Doug sighed.

"Okay, if you and Wayne really want to go through with this, I'll start gathering the paperwork. I'll give you fair warning now, there'll be a lot to do. Fostering is different than becoming solely responsible for him. You won't receive financial aid from the state. You'll assume all financial cost for him like clothes, food, and medical.

"

"We can do that.

"

"There'll be a process of in-home visits, individual interviews with each member of the family, and you might even have to take an extra training class or two. We'll see. I'll start compiling a more detailed list and then we can start to cross off what you both have already covered.

" He paused.

"Have you spoken to your boys about this first?

"

Mary felt a little guilty hearing the question, but brushed it off.

"There won't be any problems. They all like him. Noah especially.

"

"Okay, fine. Wait for my email. Don't go around telling everyone until it's official. I hate seeing that most: when parents are convinced that the kid will become theirs, and then something happens like a parent coming to take them back. When we start doing court visits, it'll be a little closer to getting finalized. At least, as long as his dad doesn't show up and claim his parental rights.

"

Mary clenched her fists.

"I understand. Thanks Doug. For everything. The school visits were really enlightening and even though my presence wasn't really welcomed, they were open with me.

"

They spoke a little more before ending the call. Doug had even more work to do while Mary had to prepare for tomorrow.

Wednesday morning she drove to USC and met up with her son and his potential new coach. They looked to be getting along and he even personally escorted them around to meet with the faculty and show them the school. He was definitely on par with the Stanford coach in terms of friendliness and attention. They enjoyed eating at the cafeteria for lunch, almost making Mary forget about the major decision she and Wayne made last night. She sneaked a glance at Zeke and his blank expression. She was confident that he wouldn't be angered by their decision, but that didn't mean he wouldn't feel disappointed or caught by surprise.

On the way to the field, Zeke noticed his mom becoming increasingly distracted as time went on. He told the coach that he would be down on the field for the tryout in just a few extra minutes. He wanted some alone time with his mother. The coach nodded understandingly and gave them space.

Zeke sat on a bench by a fountain.

"What's on your mind, Mom? Do you not like the school?

"

Mary came out of her thoughts and noticed that it was just them. She felt oddly embarrassed being caught lost in her thoughts.

"No, nothing like that. It's a lovely school. The weather here is nice even in March. Not as cold as up north. The coach was also very attentive. I think he's really interested in recruiting you.

" She rambled on.

"Mom.

" Zeke cut her off.

"Just say what's on your mind then. Is something wrong back home?

" He put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward.

"You're worrying me.

"

"Oh honey, I don't mean to.

" She sat beside him.

"It's me that's the one worrying. Worrying about your thoughts and feelings on a decision that your father and I just made last night.

"

Zeke tensed up.

"Mom, I'm already visiting colleges. You should allow me to at least experience the draft. I could still say no and pick my college.

"

She blinked.

"What.

" Then she shook her head.

"Oh no, this isn't about you and your future. Well, maybe a little.

"

"Mom.

" Zeke said, exasperated.

"Please. What is it?

" For the first time in awhile, Mary heard impatience in her son's tone of voice.

"How do you feel about another brother?

"

He glanced at her stomach.

"You're pregnant?

"

She smacked him on the shoulder.

"No. You dummy. Your dad and I want to officially adopt Jake.

"

This time it was Zeke's turn to blink, blank expression back on.

"Oh.

"

"'Oh'?

" She repeated.

"Oh what? Is that a bad oh? A good oh? An excited oh?

"

"Oh, I'm not surprised.

" Zeke shrugged, expanding on his thoughts.

"You and Dad already seemed pretty attached to Jake compared to other foster kids we had every now and then.

"

"So you're not upset?

"

"Not at all.

"

"Are you happy then?

"

"Not particularly.

"

She sighed, irritated by his indifference.

"Some kind of emotion to describe what you're feeling would help me out right now. Can't you smile or frown? What happened to the exasperation? The worry you wouldn't be allowed to the draft?

"

"I trust you and Dad. I'm not against it, but I won't be upset if it doesn't go through.

" Zeke stood up and stretched.

"I need to go change and make sure I have all my gear. You can find the field on your own, right?

"

Mary gave a nod, then watched as he turned and walked away. Zeke really wasn't concerned about anything unless it was baseball related. It made her heart ache. For Zeke or for Jake? She couldn't tell.