The shoe exchange

Alex

                     Epilogue

I watch as she runs around like crazy. She's an absolute mess, just like her mother. She has her light blue eyes and my dark brown hair. She's ran so much with the other kids that her hair is falling out of the ponytail her mother worked so hard on for so long.

We're at The PITS today. We brought CJ with us so she could see some of the other kids that she's gotten to know and play with. She's six years old now and two handfuls. She doesn't sit, ever. I'm tired just watching her.

"Cadence Jae," I hear Gabriella yell out to her daughter. "Slow down, you're going to hurt yourself." She warns her. But her warning comes a little too late. CJ trips over her own two feet and hits the floor face first.

When we found out that we were
pregnant. Gabriella said either way, whether we were having a boy or girl, she wanted to name the baby after Cade and Jacob. Besides me they are two of the most important people in her life. We've all grown closer over the years becoming are own tight knit little family.

"I'm okay, mommy." She reassures Gabriella. That little girl is tough just like her daddy, but she gets that from her momma too. She's definitely clumsy like her momma but also tough as nails like her too. Which if anyone is like Gabriella in any kind of way then they'd have to be tough.

It's been eight years since we've built The PITS. In all those years we've seen a lot of kids come and go, adults too. We wanted to be a safe haven for anyone and everyone. Gabriella always makes sure this place is stocked and everyone has what they need.

Today we're having a life skills session in the kitchen and Jacob is running the show, like he usually does. "Hey man, how's it going?" I ask, trying to step over all the ingredients that have ended up in the floor. Including flour and multiple broken eggs.

"It's good. I'm teaching them how to bake a cake." He says.

"No, you're not. The internet is." Some kid quips. "You keep dropping your eggs. We're almost out." He has a little whine in his voice.

His name is hector, he's had a rough start in life. He's eleven and in foster care. He lives with a decent foster family but is often left alone so he wanted to learn to cook for himself.

"Should I get Gabriella for you guys?" I ask them. Just like everyone else that meets her, they all love her. No one else as much as me, but I'm sure it's almost just as much.

Almost.

"Yes." They all shout and I laugh.

"No need to bring in the big guns yet." Jacob says about Gabriella. "I'll try one more time and if it doesn't work, then we'll get, B." He compromises.

"Alright, how about we give Jacob one more chance. He deserves a second chance doesn't he?" I ask looking around at all the kids.

"More like ten, but yeah he deserves another chance." Another kid says and we all laugh, including Jacob.

I leave them to fend for their selves, hoping that Jacob gets it right this time. If not, Gabriella will be more than happy to help. She floats around this place helping in all areas she can.

I look around for her in this five thousand square foot building. It's huge, it has multiple areas all serving different purposes. I find her in Charles' Closet, something else she had the honor of naming. She was always trying to buy him clothes and made sure he had something decent to wear.

"Hey, sweetheart." I give her a kiss on the cheek as she hangs up another shirt. "Need any help?" I ask.

"No, I'm okay. I'm just hanging up these donations that were brought in today. A few of the kids washed them and dried them. They're really getting the hang of washing their own clothes. I'm proud of them and Charles would be too." Her smile is a fond one as she thinks about him.