Two little blonde girls sat alone at a bus stop, a note beside them reading: “Please Take Care Of Them.” My brother Jake and I were heading back from our Saturday morning coffee run when we saw them. They wore matching neon yellow safety shirts, the kind construction workers wear, and at 7 a.m., there wasn’t another soul around.
As we approached, I saw the younger one crying while the older held her sister close. Between them sat a brown paper bag and a blue balloon tied to the bench. Jake and I killed our engines and walked over carefully. “Where’s your mama?” Jake asked gently. The older girl pointed to the paper bag.
Inside were a loaf of bread, juice boxes, clothes, and a note written in desperate handwriting: “To whoever finds Lily and Rose—I can’t do this anymore… Please take care of them.” The note listed birthdays, favorite foods, and bedtime routines, but gave no name or contact. Our hearts sank. Rose, the younger, grabbed Jake’s vest. “You stay,” she said. “Mama said someone nice would find us.” That broke him. This huge, bearded biker crumpled in her tiny hands, tears running down his face. I called 911 while Jake calmed the girls. Within minutes, officers and social workers arrived.
We explained our situation, and due to the girls’ attachment to us, emergency foster placement was granted. That was three months ago. Jake and I are now licensed foster parents. Our biker brothers helped us set up a pink room with bunk beds. Lily starts kindergarten soon, and Rose talks constantly. They call us “Mr. Jake” and “Mr. Tommy.” We never found their mother. The car she had left behind was discovered, but her whereabouts remain a mystery. Last weekend, Rose celebrated her fifth birthday. The whole motorcycle club showed up with presents and balloons. She clutched the blue balloon from that fateful morning. Lily asked if we would ever leave them like their first mama did. I knelt down and promised, “Never. You’re stuck with us forever.” She hugged me tight. “Forever and ever?” I nodded. “Forever and ever.” Sometimes life’s family finds you in the unlikeliest places—like a bus stop on a Saturday morning, with a paper bag, a balloon, and two bikers who didn’t know their hearts could be so full.
