“So who is this guy exactly?” Sophie Anderson, Kate’s best friend, asked as they continued to decorate Halloween cookies the following night. Kate had just hung up with Nick explaining that she had to be at the Girls and Boys Town until 10, but could leave afterwards.
“He’s a Backstreet Boy,” Kate shrugged, just giggling at the thought. “But trust me, Soph. He doesn’t act anything like the celebrities we read about.” She rolled her eyes. “He was such a genuine guy. I don’t know…he’s not in town for long so it’s not like I’m going to go off and fall in love.” She laughed.
“Love?” A little voice asked from Kate’s side. Kate smiled down at the little girl and wiped her hands on a towel to pick the little girl up. “Like you love me, Kate?” The small blonde girl asked. Kate smiled and kissed the girl’s nose.
“Kinda,” Kate scrunched up her nose. “Don’t worry. You won’t need to learn about love for a long time.” She emphasized the word ‘long’ and the five-year-old giggled. Lily was one of the misplaced children. Her father had abandoned her and her mother, leaving her mother to deal with debt and unemployment on her own. She ended up having a drug overdose and Lily was sent, by law, to the home. She had been there for almost a year and Kate was shocked she hadn’t been adopted yet.
“Okay,” Lily shrugged and stuck her finger in the bowl of orange icing for the cookies, licking her finger innocently. Her big blue eyes stared back at Kate.
“Excuse me,” Kate laughed and picked the girl off the counter and placed her back on the floor. “No more icing for you until they’re on the cookies.” She pretended to be shocked. Lily giggled some more and ran off into the other room. “I love that kid.” Kate smirked and continued to stir the icing.
“Don’t get too attached,” Sophie mumbled and turned to put more cookies in the oven. “John told me that a couple has been looking at her for possible adoption.” She explained. Kate’s eyes bulged wide. “Don’t get worked up, Kate. We want these kids to find wonderful families…we can’t be around for them forever.”
Kate knew in her mind that eventually one day would roll around where these kids got adopted. It was something they prayed for night after night. She just didn’t realize it would be so soon. “Who?” She asked as if she didn’t care, yet she did. Sophie knew just as well as Kate did that it was a big deal.
“Some couple from New Jersey,” Sophie shrugged nonchalantly.
“New Jersey?!” Kate exclaimed. “That’s going to be such a huge adjustment for Lily. I mean, how is she supposed to handle the weather change and everything?” Kate iced a few cookies and set them aside on trays to harden.
“Just like every other kid that gets adopted in a different state does,” Sophie frowned. “Kate, I know that you and Lily have a really tight bond. But you have to be happy for her. She’s ecstatic! Think about our family lives and then think about how great that’d be for someone else.”
“We are her family,” Kate mumbled and pulled more cookies out of the oven.
“Katherine Marie Martin,” Sophie scolded. Kate spun around and frowned at her.
“What?” Kate couldn’t help but smirk at her best friend using her full name. Whenever Sophie got really frustrated with Kate, she’d use her full name.
“Do you expect to work at the home for the rest of your life?” She asked her with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Her voice was low so the other kids wouldn’t hear her.
“No, but --….”
“No buts,” Sophie stopped her short. “The number one things these kids need in their lives is stability, Kate. Granted, we’re being stable right now because we’re in here almost every night helping them with homework, feeding them dinner, putting them to bed. But what happens when we find out we need more money to pay the bills and we have to work longer hours? Or what if we get married and our husband needs us to move to California with them for work? What then? Where is the stability in their lives? Do you realize how detrimental that is to them?” She finished her tangent and stared at her best friend. Kate’s eyes were filled with tears. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“I would adopt her if I could, Soph,” she whispered and turned back to the cookies for a distraction.
“I know you would, honey,” Sophie wrapped her arm around her friend and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out on you. I just want the best for these kids.”
“I do too,” Kate nodded in agreement. “I just wish I could keep them. But I don’t have the money for it and I know I’m not old enough or mature enough to have my own kid.” She chuckled.
“You’re getting there,” Sophie winked. As soon as she said that, Kate felt a vibration in her pocket.
“Oh, hold on a second,” she pulled away from her friend and reached into her jean pocket. “Oh my God. It’s Nick!” She squealed and cleared her voice a bit. Sophie sat anxiously waiting her to answer. She smiled and hit the ‘Call’ button. “Hello?”
“Hey Kate, this is Nick Carter from the football game last night,” he explained. Kate smiled and bit her bottom lip. She boosted herself up onto the countertop.
“Oh, hey Nick,” she smiled nonchalantly. “What’s up?”
“Well, I talked to Robbie, and we’re definitely going to go out to Tabu tonight. We’ll probably try to get there around 11:00 or so. Do you think you can make it?” He asked hopefully.
Kate grinned. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m at the home right now…but the kids will definitely be in bed by then. Um, I’ve been to Tabu before, but I don’t really remember where to park. Can you describe like a parking garage or something?” She asked him hopefully.
He chuckled on the other line. “I haven’t been there in months, so I don’t even remember. Parking can be a bitch in downtown. What if I just swing by and pick you up? I’m riding over by myself because Robbie’s meeting girls over there…so I can just drive you…” he offered. It seemed like a polite gesture. Kate had no idea he really wanted to spend some time alone with her before getting to the noisy club.
“That would be fine,” she agreed. She was a little hesitant. She had spoken with Nick for a few hours at the game, but she didn’t feel like she really knew him. What if he was a big drinker? Would he try to drive her home drunk? “As long as you don’t mind.” She threw in at the end.
“Not at all,” Nick assured her. “Where can I pick you up?”
“Um,” Kate bit her bottom lip and looked over at Sophie. “I’ll probably stay at the house until then just because I want to be here if one of the kids needs me…so can I just give you the address for here?” She asked, not really to Nick but more to Sophie.
Sophie nodded and mouthed, “That’s fine.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Nick smirked. She was so cute. She was such a normal girl. Granted, Nick had dated a few “normal girls” in his lifetime, but most of them knew exactly who he was and they were more superficial than Kate. Kate was all natural – natural hair color, natural body. It was something that Nick wasn’t really used to.
“Okay, it’s 1263 Broadway Drive in Oviedo,” she told him. “It’s right outside of Orlando…just a smaller city.” She explained. Nick wrote down the address and listened to her directions on how to get there from I-4. “And you’re sure you don’t mind picking me up?”
“Not at all,” Nick repeated. “Seriously, don’t worry about it.” He chuckled.
“Okay, then,” she smirked. “See you at 10:30?”
“Yeah, 10:30 sounds great,” Nick grinned from one ear to the next. After saying goodbye and hanging up, he couldn’t believe he had scored a date with this girl. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get a date to begin with. It was just the fact that this time, the date was because he was interesting and he could be himself. Not because his name was Nick Carter and had all the money a girl could dream of. None of that mattered. And that made him smile.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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