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Can't Wait!

Joan's smiling face filled the Skype screen and Angie waved excitedly. "Joanie! Hi Joanie!"

"Hi, Cousin Angie, hi, DJ!" The six year old moved back a bit once the tablet was adjusted and Mary and Aaron came into view. "Can you see us all? Hi Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath and Cammie."

"Ann May-we, Aawon, Joanie! Angie pointed. "DJ, see?"

"I see," he said with a wave. "Hi!"

Catherine bent and placed a kiss on DJ's head. He was seated cross legged on the floor between her and Steve with Cammie in front of the family. Angie, who was on her lap, turned in her mother's arms and pointed to the Christmas tree.

"Look, p'itty!"

"That's a really pretty tree," Joan smiled brightly. "Look at ours, we put it up as soon as we got home from your house so we could have it up longer before we leave for Nonna's."

"That's right, we wanted to get maximum tree time," Aaron agreed with his daughter.

Unable to contain herself, Mary grinned and prompted, "We heard you have some wonderful news," while sharing a look with her brother and sister in law.

"Never change, Mare," Steve laughed. "DJ wanted to tell you himself." Giving the little boy's shoulder a gentle squeeze, he quietly said, "Go ahead."

"What is it?" Joan inquired with a little giggle of excitement.

DJ glanced at Catherine then faced the screen. "Miz Longo came over with a cake and balloons and told us we can be official as soon as we see the judge," His smile was huge and his eyes sparkled. Looking back at Steve he said, "Is that right?"

He hadn't been one hundred percent sure what a judge did, but the news made Catherine and Steve so happy she'd lifted him up and while Steve held Angie, they all danced around the room with Cammie twirling alongside. When they stopped, they'd sat and explained that a judge was a lady or man who would sign papers making them officially a family forever and ever. He really liked that idea. So much, it made him feel all warm and happy inside his tummy.

He'd always felt as though he was in the way when he lived with his grandmother and then later with Uncle Carl and Aunt Julia. And all he could really remember about his time with his parents was fear. They yelled a lot and sometimes they hit each other. He couldn't remember any of them ever being happy or laughing.

Steve and Catherine laughed a lot. They asked him about things he wanted and told him his opinion mattered. They let him help when they cooked or worked on the car and they were teaching him to do all kinds of fun things like swim and throw a football. The thought of getting to be a family with them, and with Angie, forever was better than anything he had ever dreamed.

Steve lifted DJ onto his lap, and into a hug. "That's exactly right."

"OHHHHH! Yay!" Joan's hands went to her mouth, then down as she clapped.

"Yay!" Angie cheered and clapped along with Joan.

"Congratulations!"

"That's the best Christmas present, ever!"

Aaron and Mary echoed.

"It really is," Catherine agreed. "Although you know we consider DJ part of our family already," she returned the huge smile he gave her. "We're incredibly happy it'll be official as soon as possible."

"Can we come?" Joan asked, turning to her parents so quickly, her pigtails flew out at right angles. "Please, Mama and Daddy? We gotta go! Please?"

Steve smiled at her enthusiasm. "We'd love for you to be here, and Aunt Deb, of course."

"Just tell us the date, and we will be," Aaron confirmed as Mary nodded, too choked up to speak. "We're so happy for you, DJ. For all of you."

Joan danced a little jig and clapped again. "DJ, I can tell you all about what happens at the court." She turned to Aaron. "Can we show him our movie?!"

"Of course. We can bring it to Nonna's so you can explain what's happening while DJ watches."

"Awesome!" She hopped into his lap and kissed her father's cheek before continuing. "It's so cool, DJ. You put your hand up and swear - but not like a bad word swear," she explained and the adults smiled. "Then everybody tells the judge you're a family and you say you wanna be officially adopted."

DJ paid rapt attention as she excitedly explained. What Joan didn't remember perfectly from the actual day, she'd memorized in exact detail from watching 'her movie' a thousand times.

"After that, Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath and Angie say you're already in the family because they love you," another glance at her daddy had Aaron's smile growing impossibly bigger as Mary squeezed his hand. "And the judge, our judge's name is Judge Linda, hits with the special hammer and bam you're officially adopted. It's the best day ever!" She threw up her hands and Angie jumped down from her mother's lap and copied the motion as Catherine and Mary shared a watery smile.

"Official." DJ said, rolling the word around in his head. Steve and Catherine were happy to be his family. Happy he was there. And Angie, too. She loved spending time with him and so did Cammie. He swiped at a tear and Catherine held out her arms.

Moving from Steve's lap to hers, he hugged her tightly as she kissed his cheek and said, "We call those happy tears," as one of her own slipped down her cheek. "Sometimes we get so happy we get a little teary."

"We got happy tears when Mama and Daddy got married," Joan supplied. "And on adoption day."

"And we'll all have them again when we're there with you, DJ," Mary said as Aaron nodded.

"We'll bring extra tissues, maybe a whole case," he joked and DJ smiled.

"Did you go to the judge when you were little?" DJ asked Aaron.

"I sure did. With my parents and my grandparents and my aunts and uncles and cousins." He kissed his daughter's cheek. "And we'll be there to celebrate with you."

"It's gonna be the best, I can't wait!" Joan said with a huge smile.

Looking at the family on the screen, and then at the smiling faces of Steve and Catherine, DJ nodded happily. "I can't wait, too!"

#End. Thanks for reading!

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