Keeping Katie Ch 30A
Things settled down to a dull roar for the next few days. Charlenes schedule changed as she settled into her new classes and Karen took over more of the household chores. There were times that a solemn mood would fall over the house when something reminded Karen of Katie and she was missed. But busyness was something that helped the time pass and Karen made sure she kept busy. She spent her days cleaning the house from top to bottom and cooking so Charlene had time to study and her evenings and nights being with Don, making love and talking about everything.
Munson called and said she had checked on Katie and she was doing fine. She met with a very cool reception. "So would you be willing to take Katie back if this should fall through?" the woman asked.
"Yes, but I want to adopt her or full custody immediately. No shared custody."
"We can't do that that quickly……"
"You can, I know you can because I've seen it done before. None of her other relatives have come forward. I want her to be here and know she won't ever leave again."
"I'll do what I can."
"I know you can do it, Mrs. Munson. Katie isn't doing as well as you'd hoped, is she?"
"These things take time…."
"I can tell you what's happening. She's butting heads with Mr. Jones, isn't she? She got pushed in to that home too quickly and now she's getting punished for it."
"How do you figure that?"
"Because I know my daughter, Ms. Munson. She is hard headed and he's used to being the one who says what goes on. Katie has never taken that too well. And it can't be comfortable for any of them. Those are my terms, Ms. Munson."
"I'll put your request into the system, Ms. Wesson."
"You do that." Karen said when she'd hung up. She called Don at the office, but he was in a meeting. She was too distracted to notice that Elliott was not his usual chatty self. She started to peel a mountain of potatoes for dinner and chew on her lip in worry for Katie.
The kids got home from school. Laslo as was usual for him dropped his school books on the table and headed right for the refrigerator. BB bolted for her room in tears. "What's going on?" Karen asked him.
Laslo shrugged. "That time of the month, I suppose." He said carelessly.
"Excuse me?" The frigid tone made him look at her then down. "What did you just say?"
"It's something I heard at school." He said defensively.
"I'm aware of that because you sure didn't hear it said here. Is there some reason you find that funny?"
"No. She's just been in a mood lately and…."
"And instead of finding out why and seeing if you can help you just put it down to 'that time of the month?' It's like saying he's an idiot 'oh he's just a guy' isn't that what I heard you yelling about just a week or so ago? Now you're using it like it's a put down?"
"I didn't mean anything by it."
"Then why did you say it? Are you in to spouting whatever someone else says now just to have something to say? Because I know you could not have thought that through or you wouldn't have said it, would you?"
"No, I guess not."
"I guess not. As soon as I figure out what has your sister so upset you and I are going to have a long chat, Mister. For right now finish peeling these potatoes."
"Having Charlene at school sucks."
"Laslo Percival, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you! You are in so much hot water right now you might not get out until next spring."
Laslo flushed with anger and plopped down onto her chair and picked up the nearest unpeeled potato. Karen went to BB's door and knocked. "Go away, Laslo." She shouted angrily.
"It's not Laslo. Can I come in?"
"It's your house." BB said indignantly.
Karen cautiously opened the door and poked her head in. BB was sitting morosely on her bed and had been crying but she was furious too. "What's going on?" she asked the girl.
"Nothing."
"Nothing doesn't send you in here crying." The woman said reasonably. "Something has upset you."
"I'm fine. Can't you just leave it alone?"
"I suppose I could but that would mean I don't love you and I do. If you don't tell me I'm going to have to guess and I'm a pretty good guesser."
"No, you're not."
"Well, I'm working on it. Give me a hint. Is it smaller than an elephant?"
"Yes."
"Is it larger than a mouse?"
"Yes."
"It's not an elephant or a mouse. Is it animal, vegetable or mineral?"
"Yes." BB said with a smile.
"Oh, too funny. Okay let's see then. You're not bruised or bloody so I'm guessing it wasn't a fist fight."
"No."
"But it was a fight. Someone said something to you, didn't they?"
"Yes."
"Who and what?"
"I was thinking about Katie today at school and Jennie started saying she didn't see what the problem was, that Katie wasn't really my sister anyway, I probably don't have any sisters because I'm a foster kid. She made it sound like it was the worst thing in the world."
"To her it might be. Maybe she heard her parents argue and make comments about foster kids like they are something bad. Maybe she's worried about becoming a foster kid herself. Aren't her parents getting a divorce?"
"Yes, but they're still a family."
"So are we. We may not be related by blood but we choose to stay together, we aren't here just because we share a genetic background. I didn't give birth to you and therefore have to take care of you. I take care of you because I love you. And you are technically old enough to go to another home if you choose yet you're still here."
"I guess." BB admitted, but she was still upset about something.
"Did she say something else?"
"She….she called me fat. She said all foster kids get fat because they're unhappy and they eat too much."
"Wow, what a thing to say. Did she have a reason to say that or is it just something she said to make you angry?"
"We had a film in health class today that said stress is one of the leading causes of overeating. She put the stress together with the foster kids and came up with…..me."
"Ah, so she just said that to hurt you because she was hurting."
"Why do you do that?"
"What, sweetie?"
"See the other side. Just once can't you just be on my side." BB snapped miserably.
"I am on your side. Always. What I'm seeing is that she doesn't know what she's talking about. I'm not hurting like you are. If all foster kids are under stress and therefore fat how does she explain Laslo, the bean pole? Or Joseph? Remember when he first got here? He was as skinny as a pencil. He wasn't technically a foster kid but he was up here. Stress can make anyone fat, but not just foster kids. Look at John. He's no foster kid, well, maybe sort of, but he's certainly under a lot of stress, he's not fat. Jennies theory doesn't hold water."
"I guess I didn't consider that."
"You can't when you're all tied up in knots emotionally. Now let's talk about the weight issue. Yes, you have a few extra pounds more than they say is good for you, most of us do. The question is what do you want to do about it?"
"There's nothing I can do about it. I'm a fat person."
"You and I both are people who have to watch what we eat. That is an unfortunate fact of life. I'm going to go have a serious discussion with your brother. Think about ways we can fix this weight problem and then we'll discuss it."
"I'm sorry, Karen. I was mad at you when I got home. I-I didn't mean to be so grouchy with you."
"It's okay. You've identified a problem, now we need to work on a solution. You know if we can manage it maybe we can get Charlene in on it too."
"Okay. Thank you. For being here, I mean."
"That's why I'm here. I have a score to settle with a certain big mouth child. Come out when you're ready."
Karen went back out to the kitchen. "We need to discuss this further, mister." She said sternly.
TBC
