found himself haunted by the thought of five children growing up as strangers to one another.
When he first approached the social workers with his intent to foster all five, the response was a chorus of skepticism. They told him he was being idealistic, perhaps even delusional. ‘You’re a single bachelor, Carter,’ one worker had told him, her voice softened by pity. ‘You cannot possibly raise five toddlers alone. We have three different homes lined up in three different counties. It’s the only logical path.’
But logic felt like a
