"You be safe kiddo," Cleo said as she hugged the newly turned 18 year old, "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too," the blonde said as she squeezed Cleo tightly.
"Hey I want a goodbye hug too," Eloise said as she rounded the corner.
Emma laughed, "I know." She let go of Cleo and went over to the more motherly of the two, "I wouldn't have left without one."
"You behave yourself out there. That Ingrid of yours really did you a solid. Clean slate," she responded as she gave her a loving squeeze."
"Thank you," she told her, "Both of you." She reached out a hand inviting Cleo into a group hug.
The older brunette joined in on the hug and rubbed the teens back gently, "Don't forget us, ok?"
A warm smile spread across her face, "Never."
"Alright Fox. Gardener. It's 8, time to do your community engagement. Swan, your case worker is waiting out front. I wish you the best."
Emma smirked as she let the two leave for their community engagement and faced Kelly West with her hand held out, "I hope to never see you again Kelly."
Kelly smirked back and shook Emma's hand, "Ditto kid. Stay safe."
With a curt head nod Emma released her hand and headed outside to meet Ingrid.
"Hey Emma," the older blonde said with a smile as she handed the teen a envelope "Happy Belated Birthday. Sorry I couldn't give it to you yesterday. I hope you were able to celebrate."
She shrugged as she accepted the envelope, entered the car, and buckled her seatbelt, "I hung out with some people from school. We went downtown and fucked around."
Ingrid sucked her teeth disapprovingly, earning a chuckle from Emma, "Relax Ingrid. Nothing illegal, I swear."
"Good. We've worked too hard for a night shenanigans to ruin your life."
"Again." Emma added.
She laughed, "You got jokes Emma."
"Duh, I'm hilarious Ingrid. You should really know this by now."
"Oh shut up," she joked, "Open your gift before we get to the house. I wanna see your reaction."
"Oh yeah!" she said as she acknowledged the envelope, "Thanks Ingrid. You didn't have to."
"What? Of course I did," she replied, "You know, you remind me a lot of myself. And if I know myself, which I do, this gift wasn't a surprise."
Emma rolled her eyes and opened the gift and pulled out a… Savings bond.
"Thanks again Ingrid. Can't say I know what a savings bind is, but thank you.'
It was Ingrid's turn to roll her eyes. She snatched the envelope from the teen, without taking her eyes off the road, "It's sort of like a check. You basically lend the government some money and whenever you decided you would like them to pay you back they do. With interest of course. They had to make it worth while or no one would just lend the government money."
"So like a loan?"
She turned her head from the road momentarily gave a smile to Emma, "Yeah, like a loan."
"Interest is a bitch, does the government lose a lot of money through these savings bond?"
"Well the interest is very low, so really to get a lot of money out of it is to invest a lot to begin with or to wait a very long time."
"So how much did you buy into it for little old me Ingrid?" She asked with a goofy smile expecting nothing major.
"Well the original bond was 500," she started, earning a surprised & contemplating nod from Emma, "But this bond was originally made when I was 11 I think. Maybe 12. My grandmother got it for me and it's been collecting interest for decades. I had it transferred from my name to yours. Like I said before, it's low interest but it's gotta be enough to get you started wherever you decide to start your new life. Which I am by no means pressuring you to do anytime soon. You are welcome to stay with me as long as you need. But my sisters do often come to visit, so I hope you won't mind the noise when they do stop by."
"Don't worry, noise or the lack thereof doesn't bother me," Emma quipped.
"Riiiggghhhttt, because foster kids always have to adapt. Sorry, I hope you know I've considered you part of my family since we've grown closer during your time in Boston. If I had a daughter, or if I ever have any, I'd hope they'd be like you."
Emma's cheeks reddened from embarrassment. She hadn't been complimented much from anyone. Back in New York, obviously Regina complimented her but other than that…
"Thank you Ingrid for everything. I won't place too much a burden on you tho. I will work hard to live on my own," she assured the older blonde.
"I know you will, just try to enjoy yourself too alright. You moving in with me was supposed to make this whole adulting process easier on you," she assured.
"And it has, you have no idea. I thought I was gonna have to sell an organ or something to be able to get my own place in time."
"Remember, you have to graduate tho, that's a part of our arrangement. Housing and food as long as you go to school and graduate. A high school degree gets you places in this world."
"Then I will get one, just for you," she said with a smile.
Ingrid pulled in to her driveway and chuckled, "Good to hear. Now let's get inside and you can meet Tundra and Chilly."
"You sure your cats won't murder me in my sleep? Pets and I have never really gotten along."
"They tend to keep to themselves, so I think you'll be fine," she assured the teen.
The blonde duo finally decided to head inside after a long day.
