He looked at me as though asking permission to believe her.

I nodded.

I hoped I could live up to what that nod meant.

PART 3

The week before the hearing, I had driven to the courthouse twice with Victoria to understand what we were actually asking for.

I was not going to walk through the doors and become five children’s legal father because my intentions were good.

There were inspections, background checks, placement requirements, medical needs, and adults whose job was to say no when a plan was unsafe.

The caseworker, Patricia, was not my enemy.