HIRAETH

Fourteen

Sebastian is snoring. Actually sawing logs in my passenger seat.

Aurelia and I are doing our best to keep our giggles quiet so we don't wake him, but it's pretty funny.

We were about an hour away from my childhood home and I was trying to keep my thoughts positive. We were only going to be here for two days and I was extremely thankful.

Aurelia watched as sprawling fields and seas of endles trees passed by her window. She was taking it all in and her eyes were full of wonder. Sebastian told me this would be her first big road trip and we had both been a little nervous about being in the car for so long. Sebastian wanted to take a plane, but Aurelia kept protesting. She said she wanted to "experience" my home town. Sebastian and I had both wondered when she had become so grown up.

Sebastian snores loudly and Aurelia and I can no longer keep our giggles quiet as we both burst into a fit of laughter. Sebastian jolts awake and looks at both of us.

"What happened?" He asked as he looked around the car.

"You were snoring, daddy." Aurelia said between laughing.

"Actually, Aurelia, around here we call that 'sawing logs'." I tell her and she laughs even more.

"I don't snore." Sebastian says defiantly.

"Yes, you do." Aurelia and I say in unison.

Sebastian rolls his eyes before looking out the window and staying quiet for a while. I thought he may have fallen back asleep until he casually reached over and grabbed my hand tat was resting on the middle console of my car. IT definitely caught me off guard and I was going to jerk away until I looked back and noticed Aurelia's eyes had closed. I smiled looking at her in the rearview mirror. She was so cute it hurt sometimes.

"She's so excited to meet your family." Sebastian whispers over to me.

"I think she will get along with Violet and Rylie really well." I say, excited to see my neices.

"Don't you have a nephew too?" He asks.

"Yeah, his name is Jax. He's a handful." I say with a small laugh. I was excited to see all of the kids again. Until I moved to New York, I saw all the kids at least once a week. Even in the worst part of my depression, I still made sure to see them.

"So, tell me more about their situation. You said they were in Foster care?" Sebastian asks and I nod.

"Yeah, my sister can't have kids. When her and her husband decided to have kids, she was devasted. They tried for a while before they realized it just wasn't going to happen." I say sadly.

"That's awful." Sebastian says.

"Well, as much as she wanted and still wants kids of her own, I'm kind of glad it happened this way. Violet, Rylie, and Jax all needed someone that would actually take care of them." I say, remembering how life was when they first got placed in my sister's home.

"What happened?" Sebastian asks.

"It's a long story," I sigh, "but basically, what could have happened to Aurelia, was happening to the girls. Thankfully, someone reported their birth parents. The girls still have their struggles, even after being in our family for a few years. Jax wasn't old enough to remember any of it." I look over at Sebastian quickly before returning my eyes to the road.

"People are disgusting." He sighs.

"They are." I agree. "As much as I wish the girls wouldn't have had to experience what they did, it brought them to us. They are so beautiful and sweet and they make everyone's world go round now. My sister is happier than ever now that she has a house full of kids and they made me an aunt. I wouldn't trade them for anything." I say smiling.