Later that day- - -
Getting home was like time had stood still for Natalie. She pulled her beloved jeep into her driveway and turned it off. She had just gotten out of the jeep when she heard yelling again. It was Mrs. Noble and Mr. Noble and there was a woman trying to take Jessica out of house but Mrs. Noble was holding on for dear life.
"Ms. Brisk!" Breaking from her mother's hold, Jessica ran towards her.
Dropping her teacher's briefcase on the ground, Natalie opened her arms and scooped the girl into her arms. Jessica had been released from the hospital and gone back home earlier that morning as Natalie was heading off to school. Jessica looked better now with just some stitches over a slightly discolored bruised bump. Natalie was grateful that there wasn't much in the way of injury to the child but now she was worried about what was going on with her neighbors.
"I'm scared." Jessica said.
"Jessica, get back here. No, you're not taking my baby!" Mrs. Noble made a grab at the woman.
And there was the sound of a siren coming from down the street. Either there was a police cruiser coming or it was the fire department. She hoped it was the former.
"I'm scared." Jessica said again, burying her face in Natalie's midsection.
"It's going to be okay, sweetheart. You're going to be just fine."
There was an obvious fight going on, someone probably had called the police with all the ruccous that the Noble couple were throwing around.
"It's okay." Natalie promised again running her hand over the girl's head.
She watched as a police car came along and pulled up behind a black car that was obviously not from the neighborhood. The woman that was in Mrs. Noble's grasp pulled out of it and started down towards the police that were getting out of their car.
"Officers, I'm with the department of child services. There has been a complaint about the well being of their child." The woman motioned over to where Natalie was standing with her arms still around Jessica. "I have come to check up on the child and deemed the living conditions improper for the child. But they are impeaching my duties."
"I'm her mother, she's our daughter!" Mrs. Noble yelled, tears streaming down her face. "You can't take my baby away from me. It's almost Thanksgiving!"
Mr. Noble stood with his hands opening and closing next to him. There was a chance that he could have blown his top soon any moment. It was a good thing that the police had showed up when they did. That little woman in the black dress could not have protected herself.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Now Mrs. Noble had looked right at Natalie. "You called them. You're trying to break up our family? You're a witch, you know that. You're an absolute horrible witch. You think you can waltz on in and take my baby from me. You're crazy. Are you listening, you're a crazy witch."
The cop actually had to physically stop Mrs. Noble and the other had to stop the husband from doing the same. Natalie stayed perfectly still, her hand still rubbing the top of the girl's head. But the one thing that was not the same was her eyes. Brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, she was as angry as the sharp gust of wind that passed on by, stirring up the birds that were in the tree.
Putting her anger aside, Natalie chose her words with thought and calculation so as not to scare the little girl. "I wish I had called the other day. I wish I had thought what was good for Jessica. But no, no I did not. You want to know why, because I knew this was going to happen. I knew that child services would come here, I knew they would take her and I knew this was going to happen. But what you think is best for her is really what's best for you."
And Natalie meant it, she meant every word.
"What is best for Jessica is a safe home, a place that will give her the love, attention and everything that she needs." Natalie added. "Where she can grow up to be something some day. But how can she do that if the deck wood collapses on her when she's trying to play? How is she going to eat if the dishes aren't done and the house smelling like it was being used as a dumpster? How can she trust anyone when the people she's supposed to trust the most don't even trust each other?"
The struggling mother stopped, nearly going limp in the police officer's hands. It was like she had been punched in the stomach when she realized what the woman had said. The husband was just as confused as his wife, but at least it seemed like Natalie got to him.
"Until you can clean up your home and your marriage, if you are going to divorce or not, then maybe she can have a nice life but that is only when everything here is safe. Right now it is not safe." The woman said coming forward. "Come on, sweetie, we're going for a little ride."
Natalie knelt in front of Jessie, placing her hands on the girl's cheeks. "Listen to me, Sweet Jessie, everything is going to be fine. You are going to be fine, do you want to know why?"
"Why?"
"I have a feeling you and me are going to see each other very soon." She smiled and lightly tugged on Jessica's hair. "Just go and be a very good girl."
"Okay, Ms. Natalie."
Natalie stood up and pulled something out of her bag. "I want you to call this number. I'll be home all night waiting your phone call."
"All right." The woman looked at the card and then at Natalie. "Why?"
"I've grown very fond of this girl. I don't want anything to happen to her, not on my watch." She looked at the Nobles then nodded at them, the cops and grabbed her stuff.
After that, Natalie knew she could not leave the house until everything was settled.
Thanksgiving Day- - - 2pm
"Has she come yet?" John asked walking into the DeSoto kitchen.
Jo Anne was standing at the stove with a wooden spoon in her hand watching the mashed potatoes boiling. Jo Anne's mother was checking on the turkey considering that Roy had been banned from touching any cooking supplies. He was in the adjoining room with Christopher setting up the dining table.
"John, I'm sure she's going to be here." Roy said from the other room. "I bet she had some stuff come up."
"She's an elementary school teacher, how much something could be coming up?"
"He really likes Ms. Natalie, doesn't he?" Chris asked his father.
"You don't have to live with him." Roy countered.
Roy's mother-in-law, Mary Anne Carter, looked at John. "You know, young man, you could be helping out." She looked him from head to toe.
"He is, Mom. He's keeping Emily out of the kitchen." Jo Anne said, nodding her head for John to leave.
There was a tug on John's hand and he looked down to see Emily smiling at him. "Come on, kiddo, we can play in the front room." John told her. "We can watch for Ms. Natalie together."
"But, Uncle Johnny, I saw her pull up to the curb. She's not alone."
"What?" John couldn't keep the bewilderment out of his voice as he stood up straight.
The thought that Natalie would bring someone with her was not right. No, it couldn't be right. She couldn't bring someone there.
"There isn't enough room at the table." Mary huffed, opening the oven to look at the turkey. "How could she bring another person."
"I'm sure we can make room. Roy, you and Chris need to make room for one more person." Jo Anne said, looking into the dining room.
Just then there was a knock at the door and Emily went to answer it.
"Ms. Natalie, who's this?" John heard as he headed for the door.
Natalie stood out there looking like a great looking woman. She even wore a dress that came down to the tops of her shins. It looked like something out of the forty era. It was black and white spotted and she had matching black shoes to go with it. But what really looked strange was the little girl standing next to her.
"This is Jessica Noble, she's my next door neighbor. I'll be watching her for a little while." She said, rubbing the girl's back. "Jessie, this is Emily DeSoto. She's one of my students."
"Hi, Emily. You have a pretty red dress on."
"Yours is the same, only it's green. I like it. Come on, I want you to meet my Daddy."
"I did meet him. He helped me when I fell down, along with Mr. Johnny." She lifted a part of her bangs to show off the discolored bruise, a bandaged bump that also hid the stitches and another bruise that was going down her cheek. "Ms. Natalie and I made a Corn, uh, this thing." She indicated to the woven basket horn thing in her arms.
"Cornucopia, it's the horn of plenty." Natalie said.
"Are you going to stand there with the door open all day?" Mary asked coming into the foyer of the house. "If you're coming in then you better get in here. You're late enough as it is."
John glanced over his shoulder at the woman that was standing in the foyer. "We're coming, Ma'am." Then he turned towards Natalie. "Why don't you two come in?"
"Two?" Mary asked.
The moment she saw Jessica well that cold woman became another grandma all over again.
"Oh, dear, what happened to you?" Mary asked when Jessica walked in. "Did your mommy do this to you?" Her cold eyes went towards Natalie.
"I'm her foster mother. That happened when her parents were home." Natalie said. "And it's customary to bring a tiding of goodwill and good fortune to the home of those that had invited someone for a feast dinner. So Jessica and I made a center piece for the table."
"Can we put it on the table, Grandma?" Emily asked.
"Of course, sweetie." The woman smiled at her and then at Jessica. "Go right on in there."
Natalie smiled as she watched her young charge go. Seeing that she and Emily were just about the same age it meant a lot to her that the girl had just one friend for this holiday.
"Well come on in." Grandma Mary said. "Dinner is almost set and there is plenty to go around."
John closed the door behind Natalie. "You look nice today." He commented.
She smiled, that slight rose color sneaking up on her. Natalie looked him up and down, biting at the inside of her lower lip.
"I think you look dapper yourself." She ran her finger up his lapel of his plaid sport coat. "All the times I've seen you is in your uniform cloths."
The both of them came into the dining room where everyone was getting ready to sit down. Emily had helped Jessica put the Cornucopia down in the middle of the table and they were sitting together laughing and talking about something.
"I'm sorry for springing this on the both of you." Natalie said looking between Roy and his wife Jo Anne.
"Oh no, it's okay. Besides, Emily has a hard time finding friends." Jo Anne told her.
Everyone sat down around the table as Roy went to get the turkey out of the oven. Jo Anne and her son Chris sat on either side of where Roy was sitting and Grandma Mary was sitting next to Natalie while John took up the last spot at the table. Emily and Jessica kept giggling about something, whispering in each other's ears.
"What are you two giggling Gerties giggling about?" Natalie asked her student and foster daughter.
"You and Uncle Johnny look cute together." Emily said while Jessica pressed her hands over her mouth, looking between Natalie and John.
"Gross." Chris said, at which point Natalie managed to laugh.
"I'm getting used to the idea myself."
"What is that supposed to mean?" John looked at the woman.
"Adult topics are adult topics. There is no need to get children involved in with adult topics." Natalie responded.
Grandma Mary made a noise. "You have made a good choice in discussion. You said that you are a teacher?"
"Douglas MacArthur Elementary. I am a Fourth Grade teacher. Two years ago, I was Christopher's teacher, I replaced his other teacher."
"Wasn't it supposed to be temporary?" The boy asked.
"It was but they couldn't find another to take her place so I was given a full job there. I rather enjoy teaching."
After that they dug into the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and other goodies of that nature. For the first time since he had gotten there John didn't feel like the odd one out.
He couldn't help looking at Natalie too much, seeing that she was smiling and having a good time.
There was one thing he had not managed to do. He still needed to ask Natalie out, but now that she had a child in tow, that was going to be a difficult thing to do.
Maybe he would soon enough. Yeah, he decided, soon he would get his chance.
A/N: Honestly I am a little on the fence with this update. I guess because I have been so busy lately that I'm just now getting to updating. Anyway, I hope all you readers had a nice Thanksgiving. I'll be back for more updates soon