“I never meant to lie,” she murmured. “I was told he had no family who wanted him. I thought giving him love was better than losing him to a system.”
Breanna reached for her hand. “Thank you for loving him when we did not even know he existed. You saved him.”
Delores wiped her eyes. “If you can care for him now, let him go with you. Just let me visit. I want to watch him grow if he will let me.”
Milo nodded solemnly. “I want both. I want two moms. If that is allowed.”
Breanna kissed the top of his head. “Love is allowed.”
Life changed in quiet ways first. Milo took time to trust. He hid food under his bed. He flinched at loud voices. Mason slept beside him on the floor for weeks until Milo believed that morning would still bring the same people as the night before.
Trevor took extra shifts to afford a bunk bed. Breanna enrolled in community college to finish her nursing certification. Aunt Delores visited on weekends and planted marigolds in the backyard. She taught Mason and Milo how to whistle with grass blades and how to make tortillas from scratch.
One evening, after Mason and Milo built blanket forts across the living room, Trevor leaned against the counter and exhaled.