Six months later….
"Okay, everyone stop!" Two year old Fin was running around and Joey was toddling after her, having mastered toddling at just ten and a half months of age. She couldn't take them outside because, of course, it was December and had decided to blizzard. She was sad because Jack was stuck in town at dispatch and they had decided that he shouldn't risk the twenty five mile drive just to be home for Christmas morning.
Thankfully, her parents were staying with her and were more than willing to help her with the kids.
The kids looked up at her after she said stop. "Fin, please climb up on the couch and watch this movie. You wanted to see it." She climbed up and Elizabeth placed Joey next to her. They loved it. It was an old movie, but Finding Nemo was so colorful and it usually kept their attention.
Satisfied they were going to stay put for a little longer, she headed into the kitchen to make a sandwich. She hadn't taken time to eat when the kids had earlier.
"Hey, sweetie. Why don't you go take a few moments? You have been running around like crazy since we got here." Her mom was feeling great. She looked great too. Her hair had grown back straight as a board instead of wavy and was slightly lighter in color. She had color in her cheeks and she had gotten back to a healthy weight.
"The kids. I just don't want you to have to worry about them."
"Honey, they are perfectly normal, rambunctious children and we had some of those ourselves back in the day."
"If you're sure. I could use a shower."
"Eat first, then shower."
"Thank you, Mom."
Grace insisted on making her the sandwich and that she sit while she did it.
"Mama!" Fin yelled as she ran in to the room.
"Yes, Fin?" Elizabeth asked more patiently than she actually felt.
"Joe! Took Bud!"
"He took Buddy? Buddy is his bear, remember?"
"Mine!"
"No, honey. Your bear is upstairs in your bed." Fin left hers in her bed all the time and just played with Joey's.
"No, Bud. Want Bud, pease?"
"Sweetheart, you need a nap." Elizabeth shifted her to her shoulder and rubbed her back as she sniffled. Elizabeth felt like sniffling too but she would wait for that. "Maybe I will take a nap too. Want to sleep with me?"
"Yeah," she cried.
Elizabeth stood and took her sandwich. "Mom, can you watch Joey? He is watching a movie but…"
"Don't worry, Beth. I will take care of him. Maybe he will take a nap too."
"Good luck with that." He fought his sleep so much. "Give him a bottle and rock him and he might close his eyes."
Elizabeth walked up the stairs and headed into the bedroom, Fin laying against her shoulder. Just as she was about to take a bite of her sandwich, her phone buzzed. "Hello?"
"Hi, babe. You sound tired."
"I am. I am about ready to cry."
"What's wrong?"
"Everything pretty much. I just wish you were here."
She heard her phone ding, figuring he was going to skype her. She pressed the skype button and saw his face. "Hey," he said gently. "I miss you too, honey."
"Dada! Hi!" Fin said hearing his voice. She grinned and waved at him. "Home!"
"I can't come home, baby. It snowed a lot! I will come home tomorrow."
Elizabeth wiped her cheeks. She needed to eat and sleep for sure. She just wished Jack was next to her.
"Honey, what else is wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just emotional." It was typical this time of the month so she didn't think he needed an explanation.
"Ah. Got it. Well, I will be home tomorrow and everything will be good. And I am on winter break now so I am all yours for the next week."
"Promise? I could really really use that right now."
"Absolutely promise. I don't even have to work. Just you and me and the kids."
"And my parents…"
"Right, well, maybe we can convince them to watch the kids and we can go somewhere."
"Dinner? The Greek place in Billings?"
"Sure, whatever you want." That cheered her up. "Ah, there's your gorgeous smile. I missed it."
"I love you, Jack, but Fin and I need to sleep. Can I call you later?"
"Sure. Night, sweetie."
….
Bill watched the snow continue to fall that evening. The social worker should have arrived by now, but the storm more than likely delayed her. She was bringing seven year old Aubrey to them. They had found out the week before that they had a child that needed a home and since then, their house had been a flurry of activity.
They had moved into their new house about two weeks ago and as soon as they applied to be a foster couple, they bought a child size bed and matching dresser.
As soon as they found out it was a girl, Charlotte decorated the room in gray with purple accents. She bought a nightgown for her and some socks and underwear but she didn't go overboard. There was a baby doll under the Christmas tree waiting for her. They were ready.
"Not here yet?" Charlotte asked him quietly.
"No, do you think we should call?"
"No. The snow probably slowed them down." She smiled and kissed his lips. "Don't worry, dear. She will be here soon."
They knew Aubrey was part African-American, part Caucasian, and that her mother left her a few years before with her father who had recently been incarcerated for stealing a car. Apparently she liked purple and kittens and was in first grade. She needed placement long-term because she had no other family that could take her in and her father would be in jail for years.
"Look, that's Sally. They're here," Bill said, a smile on his face. "Ready, Char?"
"I'm ready."
They opened the door as Sally and Aubrey walked up. The little girl stared at her shoes. Charlotte noticed she had a ratty coat that was too small and no boots or mittens. She put that on a mental list of things she would need.
"Hi, sweetheart. My name is Charlotte," she told her, kneeling down in front of her.
Bill shut the door, the cold wind and snow safely on the other side. He knelt next to Charlotte and smiled. "Hi, I'm Bill. Your name is Aubrey?" The little girl looked at both of them but didn't speak.
Sally spoke next. "It looks like you are all ready for Christmas."
"Yeah. There may even be a present or two for Aubrey under there," Bill gestured to the tree. Aubrey looked at the tree with interest. "Why don't you both take your coats and shoes off and I can make some hot chocolate?"
"Well, I need to get back on the road. It's rough out there." She gently cupped Aubrey's chin and looked her in the eyes. "I'll come to visit in a few days, okay, Aubrey?"
"Yes, ma'am," she said almost imperceptibly.
"Good girl. Everything will be just fine. You're safe here."
Sally said goodbye to Charlotte and Bill and left the house.
"Who wants hot cocoa?" Bill called, already taking out a pot to heat up milk.
"I do!" Charlotte told him. "How about you, sweet pea?" Aubrey shrugged. "Bill makes the best hot chocolate. How many marshmallows do you want? I want eight."
"Eight?" Aubrey said, her eyes big. "I want only four. Please."
"Four for Aubrey and eight for Char. Coming right up."
"While we wait for him, you want to see your room?"
Aubrey shrugged again, retreating back to her quiet shell. She did follow Charlotte to the couch though but chose the cushion on the opposite end.
"I bought a few things that I think you might like. We can wait though."
After a few more minutes, Aubrey decided to speak again. "Why do you want me?"
Charlotte thought a moment. "You need a home, sweet pea. We have a home and we want someone to share it with."
"No one ever wanted me before," she said in almost a whisper.
"We do," Charlotte told her, almost in tears. The poor thing. "We want you here with us and that will never change."
"What are you ladies talking about?" Bill asked as he walked over with three mugs of hot cocoa, setting them on the table.
"Just that we want Aubrey with us."
"Of course we do. Now let's watch Cinderella and drink our hot cocoa. How does that sound?"
…..
Later, Charlotte took Aubrey into her bedroom to show her around. She hadn't made the bed yet. She thought maybe Aubrey might like to pick what sheets and pillowcases she wanted.
There were white sheets and yellow but in the middle were purple ones.
"Purple?" Aubrey asked, looking up at her.
"I thought you might like those. A little birdie told me you like purple."
"A birdie named Sally?"
"Well, aren't you a smartie? Yes, Sally let me in on that."
"What else?"
"Not a lot. I'll let you tell me if you want to. How does that sound?" Aubrey nodded.
Charlotte handed her the sheets. "Soft, aren't they?"
"Never had sheets before," she mumbled.
"No? Well, first time for everything." She showed her how to put the sheets on the bed and then she showed her where her nightgown was. "So, tomorrow night, we will make sure you get a bath. Tonight, we can skip it. Why don't you change and I'll come back in a few minutes, ok?"
Aubree stared at her nightgown and then back at Charlotte. "Can you help me?"
"Sure, sweetie." Charlotte closed the door and walked back over to the bed where she sat down. "Its ok, Aubrey. You're safe here." Aubrey sat down on the floor and buried her head in her knees. "Honey, it's ok. We will take this one step at a time. What do you normally wear to bed?"
"This."
"Do you have more clothes?"
"No ma'am."
"Ok, so this is what we will do. We need to wash what you have on. Including your underwear. You can help me, ok?"
Aubrey nodded.
"I have a new pair of underwear and this nightgown for you to wear to bed. Then, in the morning, these clothes will be all clean."
"How?"
"I'll show you. The first step is taking off the old ones and putting on the new ones."
Charlotte walked her through the steps, trying to ignore how badly she felt for the poor child and trying to concentrate on how much she and Bill could help her.
She showed her how to put the clothes in the washer, along with some of her own and Bill's clothes, and let her pour in the good smelling detergent. "Ok, now, we will shut the lid and push this button and then this one." Aubrey did as she was told and then they heard the water start to fill.
"How are you ladies doing?" Bill asked as he peeked in the laundry room.
Aubrey stared up at him with her dark brown eyes and shrugged.
Charlotte smiled. "Just fine, dear. We got Aubrey changed for bed and now we are doing laundry so she will have nice clean clothes in the morning."
"That sounds good. Should we read a story or two before bed?"
"You have books?" she stared up at him with wonder.
"Oh yes. Let's go look. We have a whole room of them and you have a whole shelf just for you."
…..
That night, Aubrey started out trying to sleep in her bed, with her nice clean sheets and warm blankets. Every time she closed her eyes though, she saw the police man taking away her father. He had told her to hide in the closet and not make a sound whenever anyone came over, so she had done that but she could see them taking away the only person that she had that could take care of her, if that's what you could call it. She had no idea what she had been missing until now. Is this house and these people what a family and a home was supposed to be like?
They said she was safe, but she felt exposed laying in the bed so she got up and walked over to the closet and opened the door. She sat down, closed the door, rolled up in a ball and went to sleep.
Charlotte got up in the middle of the night to check on her. Something told her she might need her. She peeked in her door and saw the empty bed and immediately panicked. She checked under the bed and thought maybe she would have gone to the bathroom but she wasn't there either.
"Calm down, Char," she whispered to herself. Maybe she was just hiding somewhere. Closet! Charlotte slowly opened the closet door and let out a sigh of relief. The poor baby. It probably made her feel safe in there.
Aubrey opened her eyes and sat up. "Please don't hurt me!" She covered her head with her arms as if she thought Charlotte was going to hit her.
"Sweetheart, I would never do that. It's ok." Charlotte grabbed a blanket from the bed and covered the little girl. "If you want to sleep in the closet, you might as well make it comfortable, right?" Next she grabbed a pillow and another blanket for her to lay on.
Instead of leaving her alone, Charlotte sat down on the outside of the closet. Her hand itched to hug her, to make sure she knew that she was loved and nothing would hurt her but she thought that might scare her at this point.
"It's ok. Just close your eyes. I'm going to be right here."
Aubrey looked at her, a little less fear in her eyes, and laid down, both blankets covering her. After a moment, keeping her eyes on Charlotte, she stuck her tiny hand out from under the blanket, palm up.
Charlotte took her hand immediately.