I looked at her and she looked at me. She was definitely crying now. No matter how many times she wiped her eyes, tears kept coming out.
I started to worry. "Do..."
"Don't. You don't have to if you don't want to." She cried.
Mr. Atkins wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He looked me in the eyes. "Don't let Grampa bully you."
"Bully?!" Grampa raised his voice while turning to face Mr. Atkins. "Are you taking this kid in or not? Isn't the whole point of adoption is to become his family?!" He started to cough again, turning red in the face.
Noah went up to the old man and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. "We think Jake as family. He's just shy."
"Have you asked him?" Gramma asked. A few pair of eyes drifted to the little old lady. She looked up at her daughter. "Have you guys asked Jake what he wants? In my experience, kids are looking for acceptance in all kinds of ways." She looked at me through her thick glasses. "What do you want to do, Jake?"
