Half a World Away: Chapters 19–21

Dimash gazed at him intently, his shoulder scrunched, his stance geeky.

But what if he could sort of understand the concept through some kind of osmosis or exchange of electrons?

He bounded up the steps.

Steve said, "Sometimes you need to make decisions that don't involve taking the most noble action but rather taking the action that is the most beneficial for you. That isn't always true, but there are decisions like that, Jaden. But I'm proud of you for what you've just said."

Penni fixated on the baby again. "Ramazan, can you crawl to your mommy and daddy?"

The experience had been kind of hypnotic, the way it brought you into the eagle's world.

"You've said many things," Penni retorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we're keeping you from your, uh, musings." Penni stood up. "Good night."

Shepherds in Kazakhstan were nomads, wandering across the land.

The caretaker seemed taken aback and pulled Dimash away and outside, probably to where the toddlers lived.

He felt his extremities tingling, and he wiggled his fingers and feet.

Even if Dimash never aged out of being institutionalized, he would not have a good life.

Back in the apartment, Penni tenderly washed his hands with soap, then took out the alcohol wipes she'd also brought for an occasion like this.

Later, at dinner in a small restaurant, Penni and Steve talked obsessively about their court date, which was in a few days.

The last day Jaden was to see him was the momentous day they would take custody of Ramazan.

The beetle buzzed, and Dimash let out a heartrending scream.

"You're going a little slow," Jaden said listlessly.

He felt sorry for this adopted baby—and he got up and went to the other bedroom, where Penni and Steve were trying futilely to make Ramazan stop crying.

Their hair and clothes were disheveled, and Penni had a dirt streak across her face.

He couldn't sleep at first that night, just sat up and cried from the sheer hugeness of all this adoption stuff.