A New Kind of Someday

Chapter 37

JE owns, I borrow and return

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Previously…

Stephanie Michelle Santos had returned to Trenton and she did not even closely resemble the woman who had left months ago. With Les by her side and her family surrounding her she was a force to behold and no one would ever doubt it again.

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"Les, this is going to take longer than one day, I should have thought to book hotel rooms for all of us."

"No need Beautiful, John and I bought an apartment building close to the burg and rehabbed it for the workers to stay in while the project was going on. We are going to sell it after the construction is done. We just need to get a crib for Jordan and Emily. There is a large conference room where we can eat, John has set things up with a caterer for the workers meals so all we have to do is give them a head count."

I called Hunter's old office and asked for Ms. Bloom. She answered the call immediately.

"Ms. Bloom, thank you for taking my call. When can we meet to discuss the abandonment of my nieces? Detective Morelli did not take the girls to Child Protective Services, he took them to his mother and I would like to pick them up this evening."

"Mrs. Santos, I think we should let Detective Morelli take them to CPS and then we will make arrangements to get them out in a couple of days."

"Ms. Bloom there is no way I am going to allow my nieces to be placed in foster care while we sort this out. If that is the stance you are taking you are fired. I will find another lawyer."

"Well, Beautiful let's go pick up the girls and have Beth find another lawyer."

When I told Beth what happened she was shocked. She was going to call the senior partner and talk to him while Les and I went to buy a two cribs and a car seat for Lisa. Hal and Cal were going with us to bring the cribs and other things that Les and I picked up back to the apartment building.

It was the quickest trip that we had ever made to Baby's World. We bought 2 cribs and 2 mattresses, one for the twins and one for Lisa, sheets and blankets, one car seat, diapers, 6 dresses for Emily, 6 outfits for Jordan, 2 swings 1 in pink and 1 in camouflage that the guys found. 1 teddy bear in fatigues, 1 teddy bear in a pink tutu, 1 teddy bear in a pink gingham dress for Lisa, 1 cabbage patch dressed in cowboy outfit with a horse for Mary Alice and 1 porcelain doll for Angie. We would wait to see what sizes the girls needed before buying clothes.

I called Joe and got directions for his mother's house. When we walked into the house Angie and Mary Alice ran into my arms and cried. While I was soothing them Lisa just stood where she was and cried, she didn't remember me. Les, stooped down and introduced Jordan and Emily to her and she stopped crying. She smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. Ahhh. Another female conquest for one Lester Santos. He looked over at me and grinned, winked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Angie, Mary Alice I want you to meet your cousins Jordan and Emily and this is my husband Lester."

"You got married Aunt Steph?"

" Yes, I did and then Les and I adopted Jordan and Emily."

"Oh. I guess you won't be able to help us because you are busy with your babies." said Angie.

"Angie, as soon as we heard what happened, Les and I came right here. We want to take care of you and help in any way we can. If I can make arrangements would you like to come home with us?"

"Aunt Steph, can we go to school again?"

"When was the last time you went to school Angie?"

"We stopped going to school 3 months ago. Mom told the school she was going to home school us but she never did. We miss school and I'm tired of cleaning and taking care of Lisa and Mary Alice."

I looked over at Les and he said to the girls, "We are going to talk to some people and make arrangements for you to come home with us. You will have to tell people what exactly went on at home and then you can come home with us till we get this all sorted out. You are going to love being at our home. There is lots to do, Mary Alice, we even have horses."

Mary Alice threw her arms around Les and hugged him. Well, there is another little girl Lester has charmed.

"Is there something besides peanut butter and jelly to eat?" asked Angie.

"You never have to eat another peanut butter and jelly sandwich again Angie." and make that three little girls under Lester's spell.

He stood up and handed me Emily and bent and kissed me. "Almost ready to take our girls home Beautiful ?" Then he picked up Lisa. How could I not love this man?

"Mrs. Morelli, Grandma Bella thank you for taking the girls this afternoon.

I'm sorry about everything that has happened."

"Stephanie, your Grandma Mazur would be so proud of you." said Grandma Bella. "I owe you an apology too. You are amazing and you have a very handsome husband."

"He's showed me what real love is Grandma Bella I never thought I could be this happy. Now we have to make arrangements for the girls to come home with us. You have my phone number if you need anything."

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We rode over to Valerie's house so the girls could pick up whatever they wanted to take from the house. I was absolutely appalled at the physical condition of the house. Windows were broken, the grass hadn't been mowed, the furniture was broken or threadbare, there was no food in the house. The girls had hardly any clothes that fit. Hector had taken hundreds of pictures of the house. Silvio had a file folder with copies of all the turn off notices and the final shut off notices of the gas, electric and water. The neighbors came over and offered to testify how mistreated the girls and been. They didn't know that they had been left alone or were without food or they would have taken them in. We packed up the few possessions the girls wanted to take. Beth called and she had talked to the managing partner of Hunter's old firm and we were going back to the office to see him.

"Mr Seville, I am very happy to meet you, this is my husband Lester Santos, our twins Jordan and Emily and my nieces Angie, Mary Alice and Lisa."

"Beth, can you wait with the girls while we talk to Mr. Seville?"

"Sure I can and I just happen to have some books for Angie and coloring books and crayons for Lisa and Mary Alice."

I showed Mr. Seville the pictures, and Silvio's file folder. He called in Angie and Mary Alice and asked them some questions. I told him about Joe's call and the neighbors.. He looked up and said this was a clear case of neglect, abandonment and reckless endangerment of minors. He picked up the phone and placed a call to Camille Wheeler, head of the Child Protective Services and put it on speaker.

"Camille, this is Harvey Seville. I am sitting in my office with Stephanie and Lester Santos and we have a problem."

"Harvey, is this the Stephanie Santo's who with her husband is building the recreational park."

"Yes it is."

"What is the problem?"

"We explained the situation and conditions in which the girls had been living and that their mother and stepfather were in jail in Maryland along with their grandmother."

"Can you be in my office tomorrow at 8:30 am?"

We nodded our heads to Mr. Seville. "Camille, we will be there tomorrow and we will bring the girls and all the documentation we have gathered. The girls have no clothes and need to go shopping and Camille they have been living on peanut butter and jelly and whatever they could find in the neighbor's garbage cans. The Santos want to be granted custody."

"Harvey, bring all the documentation tomorrow, do you have the school records?"

"No, as I understand it they have not been allowed to go to school and supposedly the mother Valerie Klaughn was going to home school but has never done so."

"I'll take care of the school. See you tomorrow."

"Mrs. Santos, it might help us if you take the girls to their pediatrician if at all possible this afternoon. Find out the condition of their health. Here is the address of the CPS I'll see you there at 8am to go over some of the details. By the way, where is Hunter?"

"After our court hearing in Baltimore he had a prior engagement and he is where he doesn't get cell service."

"We walked out of the office and Lester leaned into me and whispered "You just told a lie and blushed 18 shades of red. I think Harvey knows exactly where and what Hunter is doing."

"Les, we don't know that he is doing what all you guys think he is doing."

"Beautiful, yes we do and if he shows up all relaxed and mellow instead of the uptight bastard he usually is that will be the proof." laughed Les. "Come on let's see if we can get them into the pediatrician and then go to the Mall and get the girls some clothes. Do you think we can go to Victoria's Secret?"

"Not with the girls."

"We'll have Beth and the guys take them to the Build a Bear store while I take you shopping Beautiful."