Late at night.
The phone call drags on.
"Why not?"
Juno fires back, "You're not telling me you don't know how lonely Heather is, right?"
"Well…"
Adam hesitates.
"Caroline's great, no doubt," Juno says. "But she pours all her energy into helping tons of people who need it. Her focus is all over the place. And as she gets more successful, she'll have even less time to zero in on any one person.
Tatiana's lifespan? It's limited—at least until some fancy new treatment comes along.
So, in the time she's got, she needs to feel as much love as possible. She needs a family who's always there for her.
Caroline? She can't do that.
But Heather's different.
She's got all the time in the world to care for Tatiana. One's lonely, the other's starved for love—aren't they just the perfect mother-daughter match? 😏 You do know Heather's never planning to have kids of her own, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Adam mutters, the corner of his mouth twitching. Somewhere in his brain, an encrypted file unlocks with a click.
Last Thanksgiving dinner, Juno's words had hit him hard. He'd felt a little guilty and reached out to Heather afterward. She didn't mess around—flew over that same night.
That was when Adam realized she'd been dead serious all along. She really wasn't letting her genes carry on. She'd gone and gotten herself fixed—ring and all.
The shock? Unreal. Unforgettable. Still etched in his mind.
"But are you sure Heather wants to adopt someone like Tatiana?" Adam shakes his head, locking those millions of mental words back up. "There's a reason I suggested Caroline take her in," he adds. "She's a pro at charity stuff. Sure, she gives it her all, but because her love's spread so thin, if someone she cares for passes away, she can move on quick and keep helping others.
Now, if Heather takes Tatiana in, I bet she'd throw her whole heart into being an amazing mom. But if she pours everything into Tatiana, what happens if Tatiana's gone one day? Could Heather handle that?"
"You're not wrong to point that out. Shows Heather's feelings for you aren't wasted," Juno says with a grin. "I half-expected you to say Heather's lifestyle isn't right for Tatiana or something."
"That's part of it too," Adam admits, a little sheepish. "But since you're the one suggesting this, I figure you've already thought it through, right? I trust your judgment."
"Heh," Juno chuckles lightly. "You always dodge danger like it's a game of tag. But sometimes, facing it head-on solves everything way faster. Don't worry about it.
Think Heather's just been coasting these past few years? She hasn't grown at all hanging out with us? And you're not half-bad yourself—you've helped us all hit financial freedom.
Here in the States, money fixes everything. If Heather adopts Tatiana, there won't be a single hitch."
"That's 'cause you guys trust me," Adam says with a modest smile.
Back in college, he'd started investing his writing royalties. Over the years, the returns were insane. Juno, his best friend with her near-superpower of reading people, spotted the ace up Adam's sleeve and didn't hesitate. She and Karen threw most of their cash into his investments. Later, she even convinced her dad to mortgage their house—Karen followed suit, of course.
The U.S. stock market's been soaring, and pretty much anything they bought made money—especially since Adam was picking high-tech internet stocks. After a few massive gains, Juno didn't wait for Adam to say anything. She pulled out their initial investment plus some profit, paid off her dad's mortgage with a sweet chunk of interest (he was over the moon), and kept a few hundred grand for living expenses. The rest? Back into Adam's long-term investment plan.
Her calm, collected vibe—never too cocky, always knowing when to step back—left Adam floored.
Money messes with people's heads, you know? When Adam first got into stocks and saw those big spikes, he was hooked—checking them obsessively every day. Kinda like his old days as a struggling writer, refreshing his stats ten times a day to see how many likes or follows he'd snagged. But stocks? Way more of a rush. It wasn't until his net worth kept climbing and he got numb to it that he finally shook off that trap.
Juno, though? Cool as a cucumber from start to finish. Adam's got nothing but respect for that! 🙌
Then there's Heather.
During those tender years with her, Juno had nudged her too. With Juno's charm and killer persuasion skills, Heather—broke at the time—waited till she inherited the estate and farm. Then she mortgaged the farm, got some cash, and jumped into Adam's investment train. Four years later, the farm's paid off, and she's financially free. Same old Juno trick: keep a fat stack for daily life, let the rest ride the market's waves, and don't touch it unless Adam says so or cash runs low.
Caroline's more cautious. She's always spending, mostly relying on donations. Adam's her biggest donor—charity's a tax write-off, after all. Better to give it to Caroline to help people than let Uncle Sam fund overseas chaos, right? Even just a slice of Adam's income each year keeps the Ellis Charity Fund running and growing.
"But you still haven't said how Heather would deal with Tatiana passing someday," Adam circles back.
"First off, Heather's got enough cash to give Tatiana the best care money can buy," Juno says confidently over the phone. "Her lifespan's as secure as it gets.
Science and tech have been booming these years—medicine too. In a few more, there might be a cure for AIDS or some breakthrough therapy. Tatiana's odds of dying young are slim.
And even if the worst happens, yeah, Heather'd be crushed for a while. But you're not a corpse, dude! That's when you swoop in, cheer her up, and shake off her sadness. Trust me, with you around, she'll bounce back fast."
"…I'm that big a deal, huh?" Adam says with a wry laugh.
"No helping it," Juno teases. "You keep running into these obsessive women. Once they lock onto something, good luck changing their minds. The good ones are great, the bad ones are a nightmare. Lucky for you, Caroline and Heather are the great kind. You should be grinning ear to ear!" 😜
"Aren't you one of them too?" Adam can't help but laugh.
"Don't think I haven't noticed—the biggest obsessive here's probably you! You're the reason I'm surrounded by awesome crazies. I haven't seen a bad one in ages."
"Am I?" Juno asks, still laughing.
"Aren't you?" Adam's in a good mood, playing along.
Late at night, hundreds of miles apart, they mess around on the phone like kids with a repeat-after-me game—yep, tackling life's big questions…
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