Mike POV
When we all stood and watched the rope that had accidentally almost killed Shawn and Sophia kneeling when the younger boy tried to hug her, I wasn't so sure what we should do. Earlier when someone had burned something that would help them leave something behind we would have clapped and cheered, but with everything that had been going on and what it was that was burned up it just didn't feel right.
Shawn came walking up to us and right away went away to what now was both his and Harry's room, Faiz and Sophia stayed down by the fire place and had sat down by the camping table talking about something. I couldn't hear what it was but so Faiz patted Sophia's shoulder and while she stayed and continued looking up towards the still burning flames Faiz came up to me.
"Mike…" Faiz scratched his neck. "I was wondering if you and I… maybe we could go talk somewhere private because… I need to ask you about something with Sophia." He took many pauses in the words and all the while he was scratching his chin or his neck in a distressed move at the same time as a frown formed deeper and deeper in between his eyes.
"I was thinking." Faiz slumped down into the chair on the opposite side of the desk as I already sat and continued to rub his neck. "You know, I have known Sophia since… since before she was born pretty much." I nodded, and was already starting to guess where this was heading. "So… now when we found each other again, and in a safe country as you know so… I made some research about places like this and I was wondering maybe… maybe I would be able to foster Sophia."
I nodded. "Yes, yes. I get the way you are thinking and… yes! But of course there would be many meetings and interviews and…" Faiz nodded. "You already checked that up and yeah. But of course, you wouldn't be able to foster Sophia if she because of some reason didn't want to be fostered. So I think that we should probably ask her… But…" I looked to my watch.
"But what?"
"It's pretty late now. The children have already been up for a lot long past their bed time. I suppose the same for your two?" Faiz nodded. "Hey… I am going to ask you a question and if you think it's too private then you don't have to answer. But do you- or your children have trouble going outside on the streets after dark after what happened in Gota…"
"Ehrm…" Faiz seemed to wonder about what to say. "Magdi she… she's always had a way with seeming to leave these things behind that… that I don't think anyone really gets but… She tells me it's fine but I can see she's fighting so yes- she does think it's scary when it's dark. Alvaro was so little when he left he doesn't have many problems at all but the night when he left…" Faiz swallowed. "Yes… he is very afraid to be outside in the dark. A back garden is alright, but he refuse to go on the street and earlier when I went to get him I almost had to carry him."
"And yourself?"
"I don't enjoy going out on a street after dark. But I'm alright! Where are you trying to come?" I thought for a moment. And for a moment I hesitated about asking Sophia and Gina about what I was thinking but I decided I would just go with it.
"If you want to, I was thinking maybe you and your children could get to stay here, just over tonight." Faiz seemed to hesitate. "It would give me a better chance to see how you all three are with Sophia also when something isn't going on for the moment and you won't have to walk back home in the dark."
"We have no change with clothes or anything…"
"Oh that will be an easy fix. Alvaro I think is about the same size as our Harry, Magdolna can borrow from pretty much any of the girls and you can borrow from mine. I also heard from Gina that something or someone was going to leave a whole bus load of ice cream and toppings here tomorrow morning so we're going to need as much help as we can possibly can to eat it all!"
"It's a good offer and…" Faiz hesitated. "…I think it's too late to ask Sophia about that tonight so then I could ask her in the morning… Well… If it's okay with Sophia and okay with the children then yes. It would be great to stay here tonight. So… I'll go ask them. "
It took some work, to clear out the beds. There already was one extra in Tee's room since we hadn't moved it for some reason I couldn't remember now. So we asked Ivy to move in there for the night so Magdolna- who I learned usually went by Magdi and Sophia could sleep in the same room. Alvaro had befriended Harry and Shawn, and was fine with a mattress on the floor in their room, Faiz didn't want any fuss so he took the living room sofa, even though he laid with his long legs sticking out a good bit by it.
"Mr. Mike." Alvaro came up to me just as Faiz had told him that they were staying here. "What is that girl's name?" His brown eyes were shining, almost glittering and he had a sheepish smile on his lips- oh boy! Whoever Alvaro Patel was talking about- Alvaro Patel was falling head over heels in love!
"Which one of the girls?"
"The brown one with pink clothes?"
"Oh, that must be Carmen." Alvaro smiled- if possible even bigger
"Carmen." He was drooling when he turned around hearting her voice as she was walking by the door and so when she continued Alvaro turned to me again. "That's a very beautiful name for a very beautiful girl!" I smiled at him, and couldn't help but laugh when he- still drooling walked after Carmen and out of my sight.
Sophia POV
"Carmen." The next morning, something that looked like about a busload of ice cream, toppings, sprinklers and fruits was taken to the dumping ground and we all- including Faiz, Alvaro and Magdi gathered in the kitchen where everything had been put up over the whole table, kitchen bench and kitchen island. Now Alvaro had stepped up to Carmen with a bowl and stood with shining eyes looking up at her.
"I made you a bowl. It's strawberry ice cream because that is pink and you like pink. Then chocolate sauce because I heard you say it was your favorite, and cream and pineapple because Tee said you liked that too." Alvaro looked proudly up at Carmen who seemed to have some trouble about what to say.
"Oh, thank you Alvaro. You're the best!" Alvaro smiled from ear to ear and then skipped around and walked down to the bench again so he could get his own ice cream. And I couldn't help to notice. And remember why while walking he seemed to be scratching his hands without stopping and Faiz must have noticed too.
"Al… did you touch that pineapple?" Faiz didn't let him answer before he stood up and took Alvaro's hands. "Alvaro! You know you will get all itchy if you touch it! Now I have to go home and get your cream!"
"Actually." Mike walked up to Faiz. "In a place like these we have loads of creams and pills and shots and whatever else that will help pretty much any allergy. So we could just go and check there and I'm sure we've got something that could help." Faiz started to say something. "Uh- uh. No protests! Come on now!"
Mike and Faiz left the room just as George came in. "Hello everyone." He greeted. "I just had a text from Mike claiming that someone needed help with eating up all ice cream here. Hey… I don't think I've met you two before. I'm George. And I come here to Elm Tree House every now and then. What are your names?"
"My name's Elias and this is my sister Ivy." Elias made a pause when we heard a knock on the front door and ten seconds later Zachariah came walking into the kitchen. "Now who are you backpack- boy?" Zachariah, who was wearing a red and black backpack with several LGBT- pins attached to it let hear a short laugh and sat down next to Joe.
"My name's Zachariah." Zach pulled his backpack off and placed it on the floor while he took the spoon that Joe reached him and they together opened a box of Ben and Jerry's and started eating. "And Joe is my lovely boyfriend." It was all silent for a while, Zachariah and Joe couldn't be too bothered by Elias's disgusted look though and just started eating together.
"EW!" Elias suddenly shouted and looked with a disgusted expression towards the two on the kitchen island. "I… I am not living in the same house as a fag! Disgusting! Ew, ew, ew, ew! Freaking fags." Elias looked as if he wanted to go on but just as he seemed to want to say more Mike and Fiz came back into the room.
"Elias! I don't want to hear that. And just because you said all of that you just made yourself the one to do all the cleaning up and dishes when we're done eating. Uh- uh. And no protests!" Elias had been standing up but now slumped down back on his chair again and bowed his head, but I could still hear him panting with anger.
"Who got all this ice cream here anyway?" Johnny changed the subject. "I mean it's loads of ice cream and things- and Ben and Jerry's and things so it isn't cheap stuff exactly."
"Mummy and daddy." Ivy stated where she sat with her bowl with ice cream that was about the size of her head and with a doll that I hadn't seen before. "I told them that if I was going to stay here and they wanted to leave me here. I would at least want a new doll and loads of ice cream. So they got me that. But it's too much ice cream for only me to eat so that's why I'm sharing with you all."
"Wow!" Magdi leaned closer to me and whispered so no one else then I would hear. "I've never seen a kid this spoiled before!" I couldn't do else than agree- Ivy had arrived with a whole black bag with dolls and stuffed animals and she hadn't been here for two full days and already had another one- and I mean all of this ice cream!
"That's very nice of you Ivy with sharing. But look here." Mike sat down next to her. "I know you don't like fruits, berries or vegetables but I think you should at least try some. So here I have taken a piece of three of my favorites that we have here now and if you can try a bite out of each then I'm going to put a sticker on your board okay. Are you ready?"
"No!" Ivy frowned and crossed her arms over her chest making it very clear that she didn't want that. "No! I do not like them, I don't want them." She pouted and at the same time looked at Mike with her sweetest puppy eyes. "My mummy and daddy wouldn't make me eat them."
"There's no point!" Elias was filling another bowl with ice cream and then walked back to his chair. "She's not going to eat it. And if she does she won't like it!" Elias looked back down into his bowl and didn't seem to mind about anything or anyone else than his own ice cream. But I could see on Mike that even though Ivy had proved to be very stubborn, he wasn't giving up on this.
"Ivy I'm serious!" Mike said and pointed to the strawberry, the piece of pineapple and the piece of banana he had laid on a plate. "And when we're eating meals with fruits or vegetables I want you to always try and eat at least one of them. But since I know fruit is usually easier and tastier than vegetables I have more than one now."
"I don't want to. I don't like them!" For a moment Ivy was just glaring up at Mike. "Okay…. But then I want two stickers on my board." Mike hesitated, I knew he had trouble giving in when his children wanted something. But demanding something like Ivy did right now was another thing.
"Okay…" Mike said at last. "But then I want you to try a blueberry and a piece of mango as well." Ivy frowned and I stood up and went to do my dishes but Mike caught my attention. "Sophia, can you wait here? When I'm done here I and Faiz need to talk to you in the office. Is there someone who can take the dishes?"
"I can do them!" Tee stood up and took my bowl while I walked and grabbed a piece of pineapple while I couldn't help to watch what Mike and Ivy were doing- partly to have something that kept my mind of wondering about what it was Faiz and Mike wanted to talk to me about and whatever I could have done wrong this time.
"Okay… I've got a bowl here if you need to spit something out." Mike lifted on a glass bowl he had put on the table. "And you can eat ice cream if you want to get rid of the taste. But I want you to do your very best to try and like them okay? Which one do you want to start with?" Ivy only glared at him. "Strawberries are sweet and most people like them. Try this." Mike picked up the strawberry and handed it to Ivy who slowly took a bite.
It turned out strawberry wasn't so bad after all. Although she only took one bite so it didn't actually seemed like she loved it, same happened with the mango and the pineapple. Although when she tried the blueberry she suddenly grimaced badly and put her hand over her mouth so I was almost afraid she would throw up for a second.
"Okay." Mike held the bowl up so she could spit and she turned back to her ice cream for a moment to get the taste away. "Blueberry wasn't good… I can understand because I don't really like them either. Now only the banana left!" Mike held up the piece and took a bite of his own. "Bananas are sweet and tasty so I think you'll like them." Ivy seemed not too sure about what she had been thinking of the berry, but took it and slowly took a very small bite.
"Mmm" She shined up and made a sound as if she really liked the banana and took another bite. "Banana's good." Mike smiled and nodded and then stood up to go get the stickers for her and le her choose two to put on the board.
"Oh… Well." Not two minutes later I and Faiz sat in the sofa in the quiet room and Mike on the other side of the table. "Sophia…" Mike was talking. "There was something I and Faiz here wanted to talk to you about and it's very important so…. Should I say it or should you say it?" Mike turned to Faiz who gestured back to Mike. "Oh well… Sophia, Faiz was wondering if you would like if maybe you would like for him to foster you."
The room fell silent, and my first intention was to answer yes. I had known Faiz all my life, I loved him. He was my uncle and for years I had been devastated believing he was dead but… Say what you want about the dumping ground but… it had become my home. And it was everything I had ever known since coming to Great Britain and…
"Soph." Faiz reached out and took my hand. "You need to breathe! Look. You don't need to feel pressured to answer yes or no… If you want to stay here it's fine. And if you'd move in with me or stay here and then change your mind then that would be fine too. You'll still be one of my two favorite nieces and I'm always going to love you."
I couldn't help but laugh slightly- Faiz only had two nieces. Me, and Sophie. And he had used to refer to us as his favorite nieces often when we were little.
"Wait…" Mike suddenly seemed confused. "Faiz are you her uncle?"
"Yes… Sophia's father, Luca Atkins was my brother."
"B- but you have different…"
"When my parents married they took my mum's last name. Since Atkins sounded more English than Patel they thought that it might make us safer…" Mike looked even more confused. "It's kind of hard to explain." Mike nodded. "If I'd say yes and that I'd like for Faiz to foster me then… would it be a problem that we're related?"
"It might slow things down a bit since then there are more interviews and things that need to be done for the system to know for sure you wouldn't be someone that would take her back to her parents or… I know, I know. It's the system's rules that have been taken for children whose parents are abusive and such things…. So it might take a couple of months longer."
"I don't know if I want to get fostered." I said weakly. And Faiz laid his arm around me and pulled me close to him. "I… First I was going to say yes but then… I just don't know!" Faiz rubbed my back and I could feel him touching the top of my hair with his lips.
"You don't have to decide right now Soph. You can take as much time as you need and still, whatever you choose I'll be right behind you okay?" He rubbed my shoulder just as we heard Mike's cellphone beep with a message and I could see him pull that one up of one pocket while pulling up his glasses from the other.
"That was a message from a woman I know that owns a big house and land where you can go on vacation and swim and do horse riding and feed sheep and loads of other things… You know… Faiz… we're going there from a week from the twenty eight so in three weeks… maybe… Sophia… would you like if Faiz, Magdolna and Alvaro could come with us?" I nodded. "Yeah I think that would be awesome actually… What do you say Faiz?"
"I…" Faiz hesitated. "I don't think I can afford…"
"Oh… even we are getting it all for free because a gang of people had already paid for everything when they learned that they couldn't go." Faiz hesitated again. "I'm sure it would mean a lot to everyone and not at least for Sophia?" Mike raised an eyebrow and looked at me and I nodded. "And to all of mine and your children if you wanted to come with me…"
"Well." Faiz hesitated again. "Let me think about it yeah? Hey Sophia… Do you know a really great thing to make decisions?" I shook my head, "Ice cream- loads of ice cream!" I couldn't help but laugh slightly and suddenly felt a lot better. "Come on." Faiz reached out his hand so I could put mine in his. "Nothing will get better from just sitting and dwelling our opinions."
Oh, and I just wanted to make it clear since this chapter holds Elias saying what he thinks about same-sex couples and I just wanted to make it clear to everybody that I share absolutely nothing of what he thinks about it. I don't care if you're straight, homo or bisexual like… love is love and that's it!
I think there are four chapters left now. And I for sure can't wait to write the sequel and I can't wait for you to know what happens to Luce and everybody. So I'm hoping you're looking as much forward to it as I am.