When we eventually left the foster system, we stayed in contact.
Neither of us had much.
But we had each other.
Our first date was at a cheap diner where Tom spent nearly twenty minutes pretending to understand a menu he couldn’t afford.
I laughed so hard that I nearly cried.
“You know you don’t have to order the expensive thing,” I told him.
“I know.”
“Then why are you staring at it?”
“Because someday I’m going to be able to afford it.”
“Someday?”
He smiled.
“Someday, Nora. You’ll see.”
Three months later, we got married.
We had no beautiful wedding.
No expensive rings.
No fancy honeymoon.
But Tom held my hand and promised me something that mattered more.
“We’re going to build our own family,” he said.
And for the first time in my life, I believed someone when they promised I wouldn’t be abandoned.
