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Something Better Someday

I'm like a kid who just won't let it go,
Twisting and turning the colors in rows.
I'm so intent to find out what it is;
This is my Rubik's cube.
I know I will figure it out.
- Athlete

"Chlo, you gotta get out of the car, Pumpkin. Come on."

Chloe fiddled with her Polly Pocket, ignoring the request. The door on her side was open, and she slouched away from her mother who was standing next to it.

"Come here, please," Julia said.

Aubrey stared, watching Chloe move the little figurine around, waiting for the toy to be snatched out of her hand.

"Chloe, you can come here or I can help you."

Chloe shook her head. "I don't like when you help me."

"Well you not moving tells me I need to help you." Julia reached in and undid her seatbelt then slid her across the seat, stopping just short of pulling her out of the car. "I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. You're going to get out of the car and go inside, you're going to play with your cousins and have a lot of fun, and then Daddy is going to come pick you up. He is going to come get you; I promise." She wiped away a tear that had fallen and was lingering on Chloe's cheek with her thumb. "Has there ever been a time when we have not shown up?"

"No."

"So if every time in the past that we have promised to show up, we have showed up, then that means the same should hold true for the future, right?"

Chloe nodded.

"Step out of the car by yourself so I don't have to help you, please." Julia stepped back and gave Chloe room to climb down.

"At least I get to see my cousins," Chloe sniffled as she slid out of her seat.

"Yeah, because next year Scarlett will be in kindergarten during the day." Julia knelt down beside her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, and you know what? Grandma is going to have dinner with us tonight when she's finished running her errands?"

"Grandpa too?" Chloe asked.

"Grandpa too," Julia confirmed, "Do you feel better now?"

Chloe pulled back and nodded.

"Good. I'll walk you to the door." Julia kissed her cheek then turned to look at the dog, "Rock."

Rock perked up from where he was sprawled across the floor.

"Keep watch."

"Bye, Aubrey! Bye, Rock! I love you!" Chloe called as Julia closed the car door.

Aubrey leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. If she had her things, if she knew how to get where she was going, now would have been the perfect time to make a run for it. Still. She knew the general direction of where she needed to go. And she was resourceful. She just needed to be completely out of sight by the time Julia turned around to walk back to the car. Her hand came to rest light on the door handle, and Rock let out a sharp bark that startled her into pulling back.

He stood up from his spot and climbed up onto the seat, then laid back down directly over Aubrey's lap, pinning her in place.

xxxxx

"I would want to run away if I were you too," Julia said when she returned to the car, "Rock, down."

Aubrey folded her hands on her lap once the dog was off of her and considered denying it. Stupid, tattling mutt.

"Would you like to sit up front?"

"No." Nine years olds were not supposed to sit up front.

"Okay." Julia got back in the car then turned around in her seat to look at her. "I have two things you need to know. You cannot get out through the back fence and, at night, we set an alarm on the front door. If you try to leave, it will go off, and it's very loud. Half the block will be outside within seconds to see what's going on. And if I feel like I need to set the alarm during the day, I will not hesitate to do so."

That was three things. And normal people did not alarm their doors to stop people from getting out; they alarmed them to stop people from getting in.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Daniel. Okay?"

Aubrey's stomach was starting to hurt again.

"I cannot stop you from testing my words, but I can tell you that if you do, it's not going to be a pleasant experience and you will be under adult supervision all the time – right down to sleeping on the floor next to our bed and one us of standing outside the bathroom whenever you need to use it. None of us want that."

She was trapped. Really trapped.

"Your actions determine your rules and privileges. Please don't do that again." Julia reached back and squeezed Aubrey's knee. "Do I need to turn the child locks on in the car?"

Aubrey glanced up and shook her head.

"Good. I'll take your word for it."

xxxxx

Aubrey kept her hands on her lap the remainder of the trip, picking at the skin around her thumbnail until it began to bleed. Then she switched to the other hand and did the same thing. It was when they pulled into the parking lot of a large building that she casually brought one thumb to her mouth and pressed her tongue against the torn skin until it no longer tasted metallic.

"We're here." Julia pulled into a parking spot with a numbered sign that matched a numbered sheet of paper hanging from her car mirror. "This is where I work."

"Why are you bringing me to your job?" Aubrey asked. Her parents never took her to work – not even on 'bring your child to work day' when half her class and JJ were allowed to miss school to go to work with their mom or dad.

"That's a complicated question because it has several answers," Julia replied, "We can talk about it more inside. Rock, come."

Aubrey opened her mouth to ask why they couldn't talk about it out here – but the moment Rock jumped into the front seats, he farted, and she was out of the car faster than he was.

"He has no manners," Julia said and wrapped his leash around her hand. She offered her other hand to Aubrey – who folded her arms and tucked her hands beneath them. "I have a friend I want you to meet. Her name is Grace."

"Why?"

"Because she helps people with hard situations, and I can imagine this must be very difficult for you."

"Like the school counselor?" Aubrey asked.

"Not quite."

"Good. I hate the school counselor," Aubrey admitted.

"Well, maybe you'll like Grace more."

Aubrey doubted it.

xxxxx

They took the elevator to the third floor, and if the amount of people Julia knew on the first and third floors meant anything, Aubrey imagined she knew everyone in the entire building.

"You and Rock are going to wait here while I go get Grace, okay?"

"Is this your office?" Aubrey asked.

"No, this is Grace's office," Julia answered and pushed open the door. She led her inside and turned on the light for her. "How about you pick a toy to sit down with?"

The room was big for an office. It didn't even had a desk. It had a small table with some chairs, some toys, and a seemingly endless supply of arts and crafts. Aubrey walked to the nearest chair and sat down at the table.

"Here." Julia got down a piece of paper and a box of broken crayons. "Why don't you draw a picture? I'll be right back. Rock, keep watch."

Aubrey watched her go and frowned at Rock as he sat down beside the door. She leaned forward and fished through the box for a non-broken crayon until she finally found the only one. It was white. She held it tightly in her hand and imagined snapping it in half and throwing the box across the room. And then she imagined it again. And again. And again.

"Hi, Aubrey."

Aubrey looked up.

"It's nice to meet you," Grace said. She approached the table and smiled as Aubrey stood up to shake her hand. "I see you're coloring an invisible picture."

What was the point in that? Aubrey dropped the white crayon back into the box and shook her head.

"You know, I can make the invisible visible," Grace said, "Would you like to see?"

"You're just going to give me black paper – or some other dark color." Aubrey already knew how this worked.

"No, I'm not." Grace pulled down a sheet of white cardstock, "Julia, do you want to help us make the invisible visible?"

"Sure." Julia walked in and shut the door behind her. "This is something I've never done before."

"Alright." Grace came back over and dug the white crayon back out of the box. She handed it to Julia along with the paper. "Aubrey is going to pick one word that describes her that she thinks maybe people don't always see and you're going to write it on the paper."

Julia smiled and looked at Aubrey.

This was hard. It was hard for a lot of reasons. There were a lot of things people never seemed to see. Too many things.

"Can I pick a word?" Julia asked when Aubrey didn't answer.

"Sure, if that's okay with Aubrey," Grace answered.

Aubrey nodded.

"I'm going to pick three words." Julia turned away so Aubrey couldn't see the movements her hand made as she drew each letter. "Now what?"

"Now the fun part." Grace peeled the wrapped off a new water color set, found two paintbrushes, and retrieved some water from the water cooler in her room. "Now you guys just paint the whole paper whatever colors you want."

"Blue," Aubrey answered, "And green. I'll paint blue."

"I love green," Julia said, "How should we paint it?"

Aubrey thought for a second. "Stripes."

"Okay. You go first."

They took turns painting stripes across the page – which took a lot longer than Aubrey thought it was going to. But no one complained. Nothing happened at first. They were just solid color stripes – until Aubrey hit the top of the very first word. The water color didn't stick to the wax. Instead, the areas Julia had written on remained white while the rest of the paper became blue and green.

And then Aubrey could see the first word written in fancy cursive letters: Intelligent

And the second written in big bold print: DETERMINED

Then finally the third with a heart at the end: Helpful

"Do you want to make a frame for it while it dries?" Grace asked.

Aubrey nodded.

"You two make a pretty frame," Julia said, "I'll be back in a little while."

xxxxx

"Why do you think she chose those words?" Grace asked.

"I don't want to talk to you," Aubrey stated, measuring a frame on pink cardstock.

"Understandable. Let's just do art then."

xxxxx

"Are you finished?" Julia poked her head back into the room awhile later.

Aubrey held up her framed project.

"I love it," Julia said, walking in to get a better look, "Did you measure and cut that?"

Aubrey nodded.

"Such precision."

"She's very good at getting all the details right," Grace said.

"If you want, we can hang it above your bed when we get home," Julia said.

The only problem with that was that wasn't Aubrey's bed, because she wasn't going home.

"Before you guys head out, you can take these." Grace stood up and found a blue bag, the kind one might put gifts in. Aubrey watched her place a new pack of cardstock, several white crayons, an unopened water color set, and a paintbrush inside.

Of all the things people kept giving her, this one might actually have been her favorite.

xxxxx

"Okay, this is my office."

Julia's office wasn't anything like Grace's. It actually looked like an office. It had a desk with three chairs – two on one side, one on the other. There was a bookshelf. Some plants. It was very professional, and Aubrey loved it.

"Do you want to go sit in the big chair?" Julia asked.

Aubrey quickly went around the table and hoisted herself up onto very expensive looking black chair. She felt like she needed a briefcase and a fancier dress and some high heels. There was a sticky note pad and a cup of pens next to her, and she quickly wrote herself a list of those things. What else? She thought for a moment. Oh. She knew exactly what she needed. Employees.

Julia sat down in one of the smaller chairs and watched her write. "Are you going to own a big company one day?"

"I'm going to do a lot of things one day," Aubrey answered.

"I believe it. Can I ask you question, Aubrey?"

"Make it quick. I have a meeting with France in five."

"Oh boy. That sounds important."

"It is."

"I'll try to make it quick." Julia grabbed a folder from a stack and placed it between them. "What happened it here?"

Aubrey's stomach sank. It was a photo of her not long after Liam had punched her in the face while they were searching for their father in the woods – the photo the nurse had taken. "How did you get that?" Be a professional. "That's confidential."

"I'm not the bad guy here," Julia replied, "I'm…a private investigator."

"Why are you investigating me?" Aubrey asked, "I didn't do anything."

"I'm not. I'm your private investigator. I can investigate anyone who hurt you."

"Then investigate the kids who made so much fun of me." Aubrey slammed the folder shut.

"Did that hurt you?" Julia asked.

Yes. "No."

Julia folded her arms on the table. "You're a tough boss. You're gonna make me work."

"You're fired." Aubrey spun the entire chair around.

"You can't fire me, Aubrey."

Aubrey hopped off the chair and walked over to the window to look outside.

"You can't fire me, Aubrey," Julia repeated, "I'm your only employee. You can't be a boss without employees."

Aubrey clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. "I don't have time to play games with you. I'm a very busy man."

"Are you now?"

"I put a roof over your head. Food on the table. Do you want clothes? Or do you just want to run around naked, eating dirt like a wild animal? Is that what you want for dinner? Hm? Dirt? Because I can take you to the woods and drop you off."

"Have you ever been dropped off in the woods?"

"Do you hear a single word I'm saying to you?" Aubrey snapped, "Or are you deaf?"

"Those are angry words."

Aubrey turned to look at her. "I hate you." Those were angry words.

"Who punched you in the nose?"

Liam. "JJ." Happy?

"Come back over here, please."

Julia may have said 'please', but Aubrey recognized it as an order. She walked back over and climbed back into the big chair.

"Have you ever been dropped off in the woods?" Julia asked.

Aubrey looked down at her list. "Most people think the biggest threat being alone in the woods is wild animals, but it isn't," she said, "It's the elements. You need shelter and clean water to survive. If you don't have those, you're screwed."

"Have you ever read Hatchet?"

Aubrey shook her head.

"It's the first book in a series about a boy whose plane crashes and he has to survive in the wilderness with only a hatchet."

"That's unfortunate. He should have a gun."

"Do you have a gun?"

Aubrey nodded. "But I just shoot targets. But if I was stranded for a long time, I would shoot small game. I could do it. I'm a good shot."

"Have you ever been stranded for a short time?"

Maybe...

There was a knock on the door.

Julia sighed and turned around. "Come in."

"One time," a man said right off the bat as he opened the door, "You said it was one time, and here we are again."

"Hello, Jeremy," Julia greeted him.

"You're fostering another client," Jeremy said.

"You're not wrong," Julia agreed.

"You can't keep doing this."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

Julia crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. "Is this going to take long? Because you said a minute and I'm actually with a client right now."

"There are policies to follow," Jeremy said.

"I hate policies."

"You can't just ignore the policies that you don't agree with."

"You know what?" Julia stood up. "This sounds like it needs to be a full conversation. How about you book an appointment slot and we can have a meeting."

"You can't tell your boss he needs to book an appointment."

Julia patted his shoulder. "I'll talk to you at our meeting. Aubrey, Rock, let's go. We have dinner guests waiting."

Aubrey grabbed her list and the rest of her things and slid down from the chair.

"Jesus Christ, Jillian." Jeremy walked over to her computer. "Fine."

Aubrey gaped at her as they walked out into the hall. She wasn't even in charge, but the person who was just did what she said. "How did you do that?"

"Be so good at what you do that they can't replace you, and you can do whatever you want, as long as it's the right thing to do, Aubrey."

"Do you realize when your next open appointment slot is?" Jeremy yelled down the hall.

"In three months!" Julia called back, "Don't forget to lock up! Thank you!"