Circling Stars

🌟Chapter 12🌟

    Sean was a good kid. In the fourteen hours we'd known each other I'd found out quite a few things about him. Some of the most important were: he liked dark chocolate better than the milk kind, he was allergic to kiwi(tragically as that was mine and moms favorite fruit), and didn't like most stories that included time travel. That last one was something we had in common. After we got acquainted we'd taken Sean out to the store and he picked out a bed, blankets, some toys and food he liked. The rest of the night had been spent putting together his room. Afterwards I'd called Shirley to inform her of the new addition to the family and to ask for some advice.

    "Does he have an accent?" Shirl asked.

    "Yup." I was whispering as it was two in the morning and didn't want to wake anyone. Now that the jet lag had worn off, I was sure both my parents were back to being their regular light sleeper selves.

    "So what's he like?" Shirl was sitting on a porch in Canada watching the northern lights and I was looking at wooden beams above my head. Still processing. Knowing that my parents couldn't have anymore children was not something I thought about a lot. I didn't hold any guilt for the part my birth had played in that; it would be irrational, and I knew neither parent harbored resentment toward me for it. They had never talked about adoption before or even wanting anymore children. Though I guess that might not have been something they'd discuss in front of me if they had.

    "He likes the ninja turtles. Almost everything we bought for him last night had them on it," I told her.

    "That's good. That's something you guys have in common. And look at it this way, now you can finally pull the I-am-the-oldest-so-what-I-say-goes card and play Leonardo instead of Raph. Just like you've always wanted."

    I wrinkled my nose in distaste for all the times those words had been used against me. "That was always bullshit and you're only one day older than me." I insisted for what had to be the billionth time.

    Shirley laughed evilly. "Yeah, but you still never got what you wanted when I played it did you?"

    I couldn't help but smile. Even though the boys were older than both of us, Shirl had always been the leader of our group. And Brandon having had a crush on her since the dawn of time, had always backed her up. Hence my seemingly enteral role as the turtle with those stupid fork looking weapons.

    "Theo, I don't want to sound like a bitch but are you jealous? Or upset that this new kid is in your parents life?"

    Was I? I was an adult and made my intentions clear about moving out after high school. Regardless of whether I got into my dream college I would be leaving this house in August. Sean wasn't a replacement for me, and having another child doesn't mean that parents love the kids they already have any less. But the fact that they adopted a child while on vacation without telling me, a process I didn't know a whole lot about, but imagined that an international adoption was more complicated than a regular one. I just felt...left out? Strange certainly, and not sure how to proceed. But jealous?

    "I don't think so but I feel pretty blindsided," I admitted.

    "Hmmm. I would be too. I think that's normal. You couldn't have thought that the big surprise they had for you would also be life changing."

    "I am happy for them."

    "I believe you," Shirl said gently.

    "I just feel kinda weird."

    "Like I said perfectly natural," Shirl assured me. I stifled a big yawn and rubbed my eyes. "I think the thing to do is spend as much time with him as possible. Don't make him feel left out and have fun."

    I nodded but my sleepy brain didn't remember that she couldn't see that. "I'm gonna go to bed. Thanks for the advice. Love you, Shirl."

🌟

    Jasper pointed up to a sleeping owl that lived in the tree next to our house and asked a question in Spanish. I watched as Sean held his hand and struggled to come up with the word in English. It was a game that Jasper and Sean had been playing all morning. Jasper would ask something in Spanish and Sean would then try to respond in English. Dad had a functional knowledge of the language but Jasper was fluent. And while Sean also had an okay grasp on English, it was clear that he was much more comfortable speaking Spanish. I was going to ask Jasper to help me learn as much of Sean's native tongue as I could. But given my track record for foreign language learning was less than optimal, I wasn't too confident.

    Sean said something in Spanish that I guessed translated to owl based on Jasper's reaction. Sean had taken to my boyfriend right away. Which was good because I was still feeling awkward around him, though I did my best not to let Sean see that.

    I was awoken at eight a.m. by a tiny hand on my cheek and Sean asking if he could go outside. I said yes and called Jasper who sped over to help me watch the boy for a while. My parents had slept in and I didn't want to wake them.

    We'd fed Sean apple juice and toast for breakfast, which he wolfed down in his eagerness. Then there'd been some trouble convincing him that the heavy winter coat and boots were necessary for outside play. Apparently Sean had never seen snow before coming here and was eager to mess around in it. Three snowball fights (I lost), a tiny village of lumpy houses and one very large snowman had been created thus far this morning.

    Mom and dad checked on us from the window from time to time while they made lunch. I hoped it would be finished soon as my stomach protested the fun while being nearly empty.

    "Theo!" Jasper called while gesturing for me to join them. I set my warm mug of tea on the swing and walked over.

    "What is it?"

    "Sean wants to follow the fox tracks," Jasper said. I looked over to see the boy was crouching in the snow examining the trail with a big smile on his face.

    I turned back to my boyfriend. "Umm, I don't know, Jasper. The food will be done soon and it's pretty cold. We've been out here a few hours already and I don't want him getting sick."

    "Well since he's already running after them I believe we should follow."

    "What!" I turned to see Sean darting between trees then disappear from view. I took off after him.

    "Have no fear. There are no predators near by," Jasper tried to assure me while jogging at my side.

    "He could still get hurt or frostbite." I picked up the pace as Sean was proving to be a fast little kid. It didn't take long for us to catch up though. He was standing at the edge of the pond behind our property.

    Thankfully the boy had the sense not to follow the tracks out onto the ice. I breathed a sigh of relief as a tiny dot of red was making it's way into the trees on the other side. Jasper could no doubt see it clearly, but to me and Sean the animal would soon fade from sight. Sean waved and called a goodbye. Seeing the joy in his eyes I couldn't bring myself to scold him for running off. Instead I took one hand and Jasper the other as we walked back to the house.