Farah had been out with Alice and May-Li a few times now and was starting to speak when Alice was there. It made May-Li smile when she heard the girl's quiet voice. Slowly she was getting more and more confident and Alice was getting to see the real Farah.
Today, they were ready to move onto the next stage. Farah was being introduced to Alice and May-Li's two sons – Jake and Simon. Farah was nervous about being with the boys. She was settled with Alice and May-Li but now she felt like she was getting in the way of their family. She didn't feel part of it yet.
It had been decided that as with the first time Farah had met Alice, that it would happen outside in a neutral environment. This meant that neither would feel territorial or intimidated by the space.
May-Li had been working so they had arranged to met at the dessert shop after her shift. They decided to go there as any awkwardness could be hidden by eating. This allowed for comfortable silence and all three children would be excited about the food.
May-Li knew that Farah was nervous. For the second that the woman had arrived that morning, Farah was next to her. However, she was glad that the girl saw her as a sense of security. It was becoming more and more noticeable that Farah was ready to take the next step with May-Li. However, they were still wary to move to quickly to have a backlash.
"Are you ready Farah?" May-Li shouted from the bottom of the stairs as she had her jacket on and her car keys in her hand. This was the second time she had shouted on the girl and she was still nowhere to be seen.
May-Li ran up the stairs two steps at a time. She stopped outside the girl's bedroom and knocked on the door. She then opened it slightly, not wanting to frighten the girl.
"Are you ready to go?" She asked softly.
"I can't go, what if they don't like? It's not fair on them, no one likes me" Farah said in a trance as she stared at herself in the mirror.
"Jake and Simon are so excited to see you. They can't wait until you are ready to start spending the night with us" May-Li encouraged.
"They really are great boys, they aren't going to judge you and really just want to get to know you" May-Li went on to say. May-Li gently put her hand on the girl's shoulder. She knew that the girl lacked confidence and self-esteem and would go into a negative trance very quickly. She needed to pull the girl out of it.
"Come on" May-Li said. She knew that waiting too long would have no effect on the girl. She needed to get the girl moving and then when she was not in such a negative mindset have another conversation with her. May-Li turned the girl around and started moving her out of the room. After a couple of steps, Farah snapped out of her trance and walked down the stairs more enthusiastically.
They got into May-Li's car and it wasn't long before they were at the dessert shop. It was decided that May-Li and Farrah would get there a few minutes prior to Alice and the boys. It was in the hope that it would be less intimidating for Farah if it was the boys who walked in rather than having all the attention on her.
Alice and boys entered 5 minutes later, they smiled and introduced themselves to Farah. Farah was the eldest but Jake was only a year and a half younger than Farah.
"Can we order now?" Simon demanded having said his hellos to Farah. He was just desperate to eat now. May-Li laughed.
"Sit down and have a look at the menu" May-Li said and they both nodded. It didn't take the children long to decide what they wanted, and the waitress came to order.
The food arrived shortly after and as expected, it acted as a great common interest between the children. Although Farah didn't speak, she did watch the conversation and laughed. May-Li had explained to the boys that Farah probably wouldn't talk so they understood that.
Once they had finished eating, they went for a walk. They were doing exactly the same as what they had done when Farah first met Alice. They could tell that Farah was getting more and more comfortable around the family and were looking forward to her staying the night. They had been decorating her bedroom, so couldn't wait to show her it.
Once they finished the walk, May-Li drove Farah home. She stopped the car and looked at the girl.
"How was that?" She asked. They had drifted into a relaxing silence during the drive home but May-Li wanted to ensure that the girl was okay. Farah smiled and nodded.
"I enjoyed it, the boys are really nice and the waffles were amazing" Farah said her smiling widening as she giggled.
"Well, that is just a treat! You won't be getting waffles all the time" May-Li said jokingly even though she was just relieved that they were getting on well.
Farah wandered into the house and disappeared up the stairs. She dropped her bag and ran back down the stairs excited to tell the others about her enjoyable treat. May-Li had come in to check that Farah had gotten into the house safely. At first she was worried when the girl ran up the stairs but was relieved when she came straight back down.
"I'm away now but I'll see you tomorrow" May-Li said as she gave the girl a hug before leaving. Farah nodded still with a large smile on her face.
Sorry it's not the best. Does anyone have any other ideas?