I woke up early and left the bed to get ready, making sure not to wake Nazar up. This little romantic dinner really was an amazing idea. As I left the house, I took my phone and dialed the number that I had been given. After a few rings, a woman answered the phone and I quickly presented myself.
"I spoke to my partner and we would love to foster a child." I said once I was talking to the right person.
"Amazing! Do you have a few minutes so I can complete your file?" The man asked and continued to speak once I gave my agreement. "I already have all your informations. I would need you to tell me more about your partner. Could you give me their age and profession, please?"
"Sure. He's forty-six; we're only a few months apart. And he's not working. He stays at home and takes care of the house."
"I see. So, there will always have someone home to look after the child even when you're working?"
"Yes, absolutely." I answered, knowing I would need to start looking for a full-time babysitter before the child arrived in our life.
"Perfect. Are you free this week for a meeting? I would need to meet him and ask him a few questions in person before finalizing everything."
"Of course. I'm free Thursday toward the end of the afternoon or Friday early in the afternoon, if that's fine for you."
"Friday is perfect. Meet me at my office at 1pm."
As the call ended, I was tempted to call Nazar to let him know about it but decided against it. He was probably still asleep and it could wait until this evening. I entered the building and greeted Imogen with a smile. I proceeded to tell her everything that happened this weekend as soon as I put my stuffs in my office.
"I'm surprised he changed his mind; you were so sure he wouldn't agree. But I'm happy for you. You will be an amazing foster parent."
I smiled shyly at her words and thanked her. I really hoped she was right. After a few more small talks, we both went back to our respective office to start our work of the day. I checked my schedule and re-read my files to make sure I remembered everything about my next patient. The day went by quickly enough and I said goodbye to Imogen as I left the building, not wanting Nazar to be late to his appointment. Nazar was ready and waiting for me in the kitchen and we immediately left to go to the town center. I could see that he was lost in his thoughts and, as much as I wanted to share my call from this morning, I knew it wasn't the right time. We entered into the building and stopped in front of the secretary.
"Hello, we have an appointment in about fifteen minutes. For Mr. Andrews." I told the receptionist who nodded and checked her computer.
"You can wait in the waiting area. Mr. Krumenacker will receive you shortly."
We thanked her and sat on a chair, next to the window in the empty waiting room. "Everything will be fine..." I whispered to Nazar, squeezing his hand softly into mine.
He sent a small smile in my direction but didn't answer and we waited in silence. When Nazar's name was called, we got up and I led him toward Mr. Krumenacker before letting go of his hand. The specialist put one of his hands on Nazar's back, leading him to his office and I went back to the waiting area. I tried to keep myself busy by playing a random game on my phone but I glanced at the door every few seconds. We had been going to this specialist every year since we came back in Plymouth but everytime I was alone waiting for Nazar, I felt slightly nervous. I feared the day he would come out with a positive test.
After what felt like eternity, the door opened and I immediately got up. "Nothing to worry about." Mr. Krumenacker said with a smile, making me sigh in relief.
As we left the building, I could feel that Nazar's mood had shifted. "Feeling better?"
"Relieved. Waiting for the results is always the most difficult. I always imagine different scenarios in my mind and it doesn't help." He explained and I nodded.
"Now, you're free until next year." I replied with a small smile before adding. "Oh, and I called this morning. We have a meeting on Friday; they want to meet you before finalizing everything."
"Okay, sounds good. Do you think we will have more infos about the potential kid we will foster?" He asked and I looked at him for a few seconds before answering.
"I don't think so; it's probably too early for that. But this meeting is a step in the right direction."
He nodded but didn't answer and we spent the rest of the walk in a peaceful silence. Once back home, we prepared dinner and ate while listening to some music. After the dishes were done, I took my phone out of my pocket and looked online to book someone to help me clean the guest's room this weekend. I found a few ads, mainly teenagers looking for extra cash. After looking at the various reviews, I ended up booking a seventeen years old teenager that had great comments. We went to bed early and I watched Nazar sleep, a small smile on my face. I felt happy and relieved about today's news. I crawled closer to Nazar's body and put my head on his chest next to his heart and closed my eyes, falling asleep listening to his heartbeat.
The days passed quickly between my work with young patients and my evenings with Nazar. On Friday, I left work a little before lunch and walked back home. I smiled when I saw Nazar wearing a suit and waiting for me on the sofa. "You look handsome." I stated as I took his hand into mine, making him get up.
"Don't you think I'm too overdressed?" He asked in a slightly anxious voice.
"No. Not at all." I replied, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Let's go, I made a reservation at a restaurant."
We walked hand in hand and I led him toward the restaurant. Once inside, I gave my name to the waiter that led us toward a corner of the room. As I picked the menu in front of me, I looked around, appreciating the dark red walls and the dim lights giving a cozy feeling to the room. We picked what we wanted and started to eat when the waiter came back with our meals. Once we were done, I paid and we left the restaurant. As it was almost time for our meeting, I led him through the city until we were in front of the office. We presented ourselves to the secretary who led us toward the right person.
"Hello Mr. Ross, good to see you again." A tall man working at the foster care center said.
"Hello. This is my partner Mr. Andrews." I said, making the presentations.
We sat around the office and I let go of Nazar's hand. "I promise it's going to be quick. I just needed to meet both of you and ask you a few questions to see if you would be a good fit for one of our children." The man explained before turning toward Nazar. "So, Mr. Andrews tell me more about why you would like to foster a child with your partner."
"You can call me Nazar, you know... It feels weird to be called Mr. Andrews..." Nazar chuckled nervously before adding. "We talked about it a lot and I know it won't be easy but Ante is really good with people. I'm sure he will be able to help them feel better and overcome the difficult beginning they had. And I will do my best to help him."
His answer made me smile softly and I continued to listen to the conversation with great interest. "I'm glad to hear that. You don't work, is that right? How do you spend your days then?"
"I take care of the house. I cook most of the meals and I occupy my free time by reading or doing some sports..."
"That's good. This arrangement seems to be working for the two of you. Are you fighting from time to time?"
"I think everyone fight from time to time but we don't stay angry at each other for a long time. We cool down and then explain ourselves or just forget about it..." He explained and I nodded. He was right. The only serious fight we had was when I was taking drugs years ago where we stopped talking to each other for months. But luckily that period was over and far away from us.
"Good. A healthy environment is very important for a child's development even more so when the beginning of their lives was hard. Last question: a lot of people feel that it's a little late to have a child at forty-six. Why weren't you both interested in fostering or adopting sooner in life? You can both answer this question, of course."
"We both had our own struggles to deal with and we weren't at the right place in our live to take care of someone else..." Nazar explained making me nod.
"He's right. I mean, I only graduated about five years ago even if I had always wanted to help children and teenagers deal with their problems. But I learnt that you can't help others if you don't help yourself first... And now I feel like I can... We can do that..." I said, smiling softly when I felt Nazar take my hand into his.
"That was beautiful and I can feel how sincere you are. I'm sure you will be amazing foster parents. I will look at which child will be the best for you and will give you some news soon."
"Thank you." I replied, reaching my free hand accross the office to grab the hand he was handing me and shaking it.
We said our goodbyes and I led Nazar out of the office. Once outside I hugged him quickly, feeling happy and relieved. "I can't believe how well it went!"
"Your last answer was so touching, I thought I was going to tear up. Martial would be so proud of you." Nazar replied, hugging me back. "I was a little surprised he didn't ask any questions about me being blind..."
I saw the slight frown on his face as I broke the hug and touched his face slightly before stepping away. "Maybe it wasn't the most important stuff for him..." I replied, feeling guilty as I realized I had never mentioned it during our call earlier this week. And, as always, Nazar did such a great job pretending he could see that I was almost sure he didn't realize he was blind during the meeting. "Are you still sure you want to do this with me?"
"Of course, I do. You have been so excited and happy about the whole proccess. I love when you're like that."
"Thank you. But don't forget that you can let me know if you ever feel like this situation isn't working." I reminded him, hoping we would never reach that point.
He smiled and I brought him back to the house and, after one last kiss, went back to my office to finish my last day of work before the weekend. I couldn't wait to start renovating the guest's bedroom and start this new chapter of our lives...
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