Maria was glad when Thursday finally arrived, she had only heard briefly from Rachel asking her to come in prior to the contact session to speak to her. Of course, Maria agreed and was now on her way to the contact session with Liam in tow.
Arriving in the centre, Maria did not have to wait long on Rachel. They entered the room, that they had been in the previously.
"Do you want to go and see what toys we have?" Rachel asked Liam who nodded and quickly ran over to the corner.
"How do you think Monday went?" Rachel asked.
"I think it went quite well. I wasn't sure what to expect but I think as time went on Grace started to relax with me" Maria said, and Rachel nodded.
"I agree, Grace struggles to create bonds and relationships which was why she was so hesitate at the start. She's had a large number of people leaving her over the years so it will take her a while to full trust you" Rachel explained, and Maria nodded.
"Does Grace stay locally?" Maria asked and Rachel nodded.
"Grace stays in Tabitha House" Rachel explained "She has been there for about 2 years. Prior to that she has lived with foster carers but her behaviour became so challenging that it didn't work out"
Maria nodded. She could not believe her daughter lived in a children's home.
"In what way is her behaviour challenging?" Maria asked. She noticed that the girl had a slight attitude on her when she arrived on Monday, but she thought that most teenagers did especially at her age.
"Mainly anger issues. She cannot control her emotions and just explodes. Her attitude gets her into bother too and she has a right mouth on her" Rachel explains "Some of the things she comes out with cracks me up but it's important that she knows she cannot speak to people like that"
"That might be from me, I was a nightmare with my mouth as a teenager" Maria said blushing and Rachel laughed.
"I think that next week we should do the same in respect to contact and then I will speak to Grace about doing some unsupervised contact. Perhaps it might be an idea to get Grace's number" Rachel explained, and Maria nodded. She could do that.
"Though, if you have any issues it is important that you contact me instantly. If Grace discloses anything to you, or if her behaviour becomes an issue. I have requested a background check on yourself as you are aware, and the forms have been sent away. You must contact myself before arranging any meeting or appointment for Grace from dentist, doctor, hair, etc" Rachel explained, and Maria nodded again. It was a lot for her to take in.
"Don't worry I will give you a policy away with you to read over" Rachel said noticing Maria's nervousness. Maria nodded and instantly felt more relieved. They continued to speak over some of the notes Rachel had written and Maria was relieved to see that she had not done such a bad job the other day.
They were just finishing off when the door flung open and a not too happy looking Grace stormed in.
"Hello, nice to you too. Is Joyce still here?" Rachel asked ignoring the attitude on Grace's face.
"Came straight from school, didn't I?" Grace huffed. Rachel nodded.
"Do you want to speak about whatever is the matter?" Rachel asked and Grace shook her head.
"We've got someone to see you" Rachel said changing the topic. Grace's face perked up as soon as she saw that Liam was there.
"Hey" Grace said as she walked over to the toy corner and dropped to the floor to be beside her brother.
"What's your name?" Liam asked.
"Grace" She said "What are you playing with?"
"What's your name?" He asked again.
"Grace" Grace said making a face and then looking at her mother. Why was he asking the same question twice?
"He's been learning about surnames at nursery and now he is asking everyone what they're name is" Maria explained.
"Oh okay" Grace said "Grace Sutherland"
Liam nodded happy with that answer.
"Sutherland, like my Uncle Kirky" He responded.
"What's your surname?" She asked.
"Connor, like my mummy" He responded before continuing to play with his toys. Grace started to play with him and Maria went over as well. She sat down and joined the conversation.
"Do you remember who Grace is? I told you about her the other night" Maria asked.
"My sister, what does that mean?" He asked even though Maria had explained it to him.
"It means your mummy is my mummy too" Grace said and Maria's heart exploded as she heard her eldest daughter call her mummy. She loved that sound.
"Why don't you live with me and mummy then?" He asked confused.
"Because mum had me when she was very young and she couldn't look after me" Grace explained and again Maria smiled at the girl's maturity and the way she called her mum.
Liam nodded and continued to play both Maria and Grace joined in.
"Mummy, I'm thirsty" Liam complained after about an hour.
"I have a snack and juice in my bag" She said standing up to get it. She pulled out a cartoon of apple juice and a cereal bar.
"I brought extra in case you wanted it too?" Maria asked holding out another juice and cereal bar. She could see Grace fighting with herself before nodding and Maria handed them to the girl. Again, Grace jumped as soon as Maria's hands got close to her. This was definitely something they would have to work on.
"Grace, can you get me your school planner and chart before you eat. I'll read it while you spend time with your mother" Rachel demanded, and Grace nodded. Grace got it out of her bag and sheepishly gave it to Rachel.
"I know that look Grace, I'm guessing I am not going to be happy" She said sternly. Grace just turned around and sat back down next to Liam and Maria. Maria was so unsure what she should do, she did not want to seem uninterested but was unsure if it was her place to ask what was going on.
They drifted into a soft conversation and everyone was very happy and did not want the contact session to end.
"Right, we need to leave now" Rachel said. "Say goodbye to your mother and brother you will see your mother again on Monday"
"Oh Grace, do you want my number so we can keep in touch. Rachel said it's allowed" Maria suggested and Grace nodded. She handed her mother her phone and Maria entered her number.
"You may or may not hear from Grace depending on her consequences for her behaviour, but we will never stop the pair of you speaking. If Grace gets her phone removed, then she will be allowed to phone you on the landline" Rachel explained and both Maria and Grace nodded.
"Bye Liam, I'll see you next week" Grace said to her little brother who raised his hands to her. She looked at Maria for reassurance and her mother nodded. Grace picked her brother up and held him close into her chest. She gave him a tight squeeze before placing him on the ground.
"Be good for mum buddy and I'll see you next week" Grace explained, and Liam nodded.
Monday
Maria arrived at the centre on Monday feeling slightly nervous. She was unsure why but guessed it may have been due to not having Liam to act as a barrier between them. She also had not heard from the girl over the weekend which made her nervous too. She arrived 5 minutes prior to the start of contact session and signed in before being told to go to the room she had been in the previous week. Maria took her jacket off and sat down waiting for Rachel and Grace.
"Sorry we are late" Rachel said as she walked into the room flustered.
"We had a meeting with the school" Rachel explained and again it was obvious from Grace's face that she was not happy.
"Is everything okay?" Maria asked looking directly at Grace.
"Everyone is being so mean to me" Grace complained sitting down and crossing her arms.
"In what way?" Maria asked as she sat down near the girl but not too close.
"They blame me for everything even if it wasn't just me doing it" Grace stated.
"Can you give me an example?" Maria asked.
"Well, me and a group of girls were caught at the shops today at lunch and I was the only one who's social worker got called. I had to have a meeting and everything but no one else's parents got called" Grace explained.
"I'm sure they will be dealt with appropriately maybe you just aren't aware of that" Maria explained and Grace huffed.
"It's cause I was already on a warning" Grace admitted and Maria nodded.
"How are you going to ensure that this does happen again?" Maria asked and Grace shrugged.
"Follow the rules I suppose" Grace said.
"I want to hear on Thursday that you've had a good week at school. I want you to be setting a good example to Liam. He's been speaking about you since Thursday. He wanted to speak to you on the phone but I wanted to give you space as you didn't phone" Maria explained.
"If I phone and speak to you, I can speak to Liam too" Grace asked, and Maria nodded.
"Of course, he is your brother. I'll have to put him on speaker though so that I can help him" Maria explained.
"Can I phone you tonight?" Grace asked excitedly, "Once this is done?"
"You need to have your dinner first but how about you phone at 7 o'clock. You can speak to him before he goes to his bed" Maria said, and Grace nodded. Grace was really happy now.
"Do you fancy telling your mum why you were cheeky and rude when you were found at the shops and taken back to school?" Rachel asked "I know that usually something sets you off"
Rachel did not know why Grace had acted up and hadn't had time to speak to the girl alone about it. Grace took a deep breath. She was nervous but also knew that her mother would be able to help her.
"We are starting a new topic in History on ancestry. We had to fill out our family tree and I got angry because I could not do it. The teacher suggested I used the Simpson's family but it was so embarrassing. She said it in front of everyone" Grace complained. Rachel and Maria both nodded, they understood how this might upset the girl.
"Do you have it with you now?" Maria asked and Grace nodded.
"Shall we do it then?" Maria asked and Grace grinned. She got the worksheet out of her back and Maria helped her fill it in. There was a space for a name and year of birth. Maria filled hers in before moving to her parents and Kirk.
"You were only 15 when I was born?" Grace asked and Maria nodded.
"I was" Maria said.
"I knew you were young but I didn't realise you were that young" Grace said and Maria nodded.
"It's not something I'm proud of but I don't regret it. I got you out of it" Maria said and Grace smiled.
"I just wish I was a couple of years older so I could have looked after you properly" Maria moved on to say. Grace looked at her mother and for the first time she actually looked in her eyes. Maria smiled confidently wanting the girl to know that she realised and was speaking the truth.
They continued to work through Grace's homework. Maria quickly filled in the information she knew about Grace's father and his parents, but Grace didn't feel ready to speak to her mother about her father yet. She guessed by Maria's face that her mother did not want to have that conversation either.
They spoke until Rachel announced it was time for them to go home. Again, they said goodbye to each other. Maria hated not being able to hug her daughter but the reassuring smile on her daughter's face made her feel better. Grace then went off with Rachel.
Maria soon arrived home and made herself dinner before bathing Liam before getting him ready for bed. She was just about to read him a story when her phone rang. Maria quickly answered it.
"Hi, it's Grace" Grace said nervously.
"Hi sweetie, how are you?" Maria asked.
"I'm good, sorry it's a bit later. I had to speak with Joyce and Rachel and then I ate my tea" Grace said.
"It's no problem. Do you want to speak to Liam?" Maria asked.
"Please" Grace replied and Maria put her phone on loudspeaker. They spoke for about 15 minutes before Maria noticed that Liam was getting tired.
"I'm away to read Liam a story as he's getting tired. Do you want to listen?" She asked and surprisingly Grace agreed.
By the time Maria got to the end of the story, Liam was asleep. Maria quickly turned the light off and left the room.
"Are you still there?" She said down the phone.
"Yeah" Grace said. Maria smiled and continued to speak to her daughter for another 15 minutes before they ended the call.
"Remember you can call any night you want" Maria said and Grace nodded before they hung up.
Thank you for all the reviews :) Hope you enjoy this. I love reading foster carer's stories and that's where I have all my knowledge from :) Please leave reviews and any ideas you have
