I took a note of her name, the address and after replacing the handset, looked up at Bailey.
“That was a Mrs. Dunn, she thinks her apartment is haunted,” I said.
Bailey had doubled over his desk with laughter.
“Did you give her your name?” he asked.
“Only my first name, why?”
“Welcome to Mrs. Dunn’s world. She’ll be ringing you everyday now. She insisted last week we send a Priest round to have a chat to her ghost, ask him politely if he wouldn’t mind leaving.”
“Oh, what did you say?” I asked.
“If she hadn’t heard from the Priest in a couple of days, to give you a call,” he replied.
My initiation, I guessed. Laughing, I thanked Bailey before making my way to the kitchen to make coffee. I heard Jess arrive and taking three cups back to the desk I listened as they went through what their day would entail.
As lunchtime approached, I grabbed my bag and headed for the foyer. I had texted Gary that I wanted to go to the deli and we walked the short distance together. Gary took a table a little away from me, leaving me to make that call I had been thinking about. I wanted to investigate something that Evelyn and I had spoken about.
“Hi, Ted, it’s Brooke,” I said.
“Hello my girl, what can I do for you?” he replied.
“Do you think you could let me have Gloria’s number? I have a question for her.”
“Sure, I’ll have to ring you back though if that’s okay. I’m up a ladder at the moment. When I’m done, I’ll call you back.”
He didn’t ask why I wanted her number, she was the social services officer dealing with the home and I was thankful. I just wanted some advice before I made a decision. Sipping my coffee, I sent a text to Sam. It would be early in the UK and I didn’t want to disturb him. It was just a quick ‘thinking of you’ message. Ted rang back and I fumbled in my bag to find my notebook and a pen. I tore out a piece of paper and took down the number. As my lunch hour ticked away, I stared at the page. Should I do this? Should I call her without Robert knowing or should I discuss it with him first? I only wanted information, information Robert may already know.
Checking my watch, I looked over to Gary who immediately stood. We wandered back to the office and went our separate ways. I carried on with my day. All the while I had that phone number burning a hole in my pocket.
***
“You seem a bit quiet, anything you want to talk about?” Robert asked me as we sat after finishing our evening meal.
“Sorry, I’ve been thinking about those few days with Gerry. The house seems to come alive with him in it. I’m not saying it’s not good with just us, but you know what I mean don’t you?”
He laughed. “I know what you mean. Do you want to invite him over? We can always bring him back tomorrow.”
We would be visiting the home the following day, as we usually did on a Saturday morning. I still felt that small pang of guilt when leaving the other boys behind though.
“That would be great, maybe we can start to make that camp you promised him,” I said.
“I wonder if Travis wants to bring Harley over, no disrespect but we boys know how to make a camp. It’s not a girl thing.”
“I can bring cushions, curtains. I’m sure we have something floral lying around,” I teased.
“My point exactly. I’ll tell you what we’ll do, we’ll build a fire pit as well. It’ll be nice to sit around before bedtime.”
Robert seemed to be getting excited and although I was manipulating a little, I was pleased. He sent a text over to Travis informing him of our weekend plans. It had only been a few days since Caroline’s funeral but I hoped that Harley might enjoy the distraction.
“Have we got a saw?” Robert asked, looking up for his text conversation with Travis.
“A saw? How I would know? I’ve got a hammer if that helps.”
“We need a saw. I’m heading over to Trav’s to make some plans, you want to come?”
“I’ll go and have a cup of tea with Evelyn, I’m sure you boys will have it covered.”
We made our way over to the apartments and while he headed off to one, I knocked on Evelyn’s door before opening it and calling out.
“Come on in, Brooke. You don’t have to knock,” she replied.
“I have news. Robert wants to invite Gerry over tomorrow for the weekend and Trav is going to bring Harley. They’re going to make a camp and a fire in the woods,” I told her as we stood making tea.
“A camp? That sounds fun. How about we make something to cook over the fire? I’ve never done that,” she replied.
We sat with our tea making our own plans. Sam and I had been camping once, when we were teenagers. It had been fun sitting around the fire, drinking our beers and cooking our food. I was excited for the kids to experience that.
“I got the phone number for Gloria today, from Ted,” I said.
“Oh?”
“I just want some advice. I haven’t spoken to Robert and I have no idea what his thoughts would be but I wondered what the process of adopting is here.”
“I’ve told you before, I’m always up for a spot of baby sitting if you do. I think both you and Robert would make wonderful parents, Brooke. I only hope you can convince him of that.”
“Go back a few months and I wouldn’t have even thought of it but he’s changing, Ev. When he’s around Gerry, he’s starting to feel paternal. He admitted it recently so, who knows.”
Back in the UK the process took months, years even but in the US I wasn’t sure.
“Give her a call, it’s not too late. We’ve spoken to her in the evenings in the past, I’m sure she would be able to give some advice,” Evelyn said.
I dialled worried that I might be overstepping the mark before speaking to Robert and that Gloria might not be too happy to take my call in the evening. She answered on the second ring.
“Evening, Brooke, how are you?” she said, my number obviously showed on her caller display.
“Hi, Gloria. I’m sorry to call so late, it probably could have waited until tomorrow but I have a question I’m hoping you can answer.”
“Okay, it’s not too late, fire away.”
“If Robert and I wanted to adopt, what would the process be?”
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting that. I have to say I think you two would make wonderful parents but it’s not my department. However, there are two ways. You can adopt from the state or privately. The process should be similar, interviews and checks, the usual thing.”
“What if we wanted to adopt one of the boys from the home?” I asked.
“I guess technically, they’re already in Robert’s care so I imagine the process would be fairly straightforward. Why don’t I ask around for you? I will say this though, I am more than happy to give a reference. I’ve seen how you guys are with the kids and I think it would be wonderful for the lucky boy. I can guess who you are thinking about.”
“I feel guilty about taking one away though,” I confessed.
“That’s natural. At the end of the day those older boys have resigned themselves that the home is where they’re going to stay. It’s not like other homes I cover. At least they get to stay there long term, they have that stability and of course Ted is amazing with them.”
We finished the call with Gloria asking me to give her a day or so to check out the process. As I placed my phone back in my pocket I looked over to Evelyn. She had a huge grin on her face, I had a frown.
“What if Robert doesn’t agree?” I asked.
“Then that’s something you have to talk through with him. But at least you can start the conversation informed.”
She made a list of shopping for our camping expedition and once done, I headed next door to Travis’s. I could hear the laughter as I walked in. Robert and Travis were sat on the sofa, beers in hand and a pile of tools scattered around their feet.
“Hey, want a beer?” Travis asked when he saw me.
&nbs
p; “Sure, thanks. So, what’s all this?” I asked, picking up a saw.
“Tools, obviously. I think we should get one of the architects to draw up plans,” Travis said with a laugh.
It was good to see him laugh, for that moment his mind had been taken off recent events. He told me that he had rung and spoken to Harley. He was excited to be joining us but Travis wanted him to stay in the apartment with him. I noticed something different when he spoke about Harley, a softness that hadn’t been there before. His face changed, it was clear he was very fond of him. While I sat and listened, Robert and Travis discussed their plans for the weekend. I watched them, my eyes darting from one to the other and it dawned on me. They were acting like fathers.
I finished my beer and left them to it. I headed home and for a shower. I chuckled to myself as I stood under the jets of water in wonderment at how far both had come over the past few months. It wasn’t quite a year ago Robert had told me he never wanted children and yet, that night he was discussing a sleep out in the woods with two kids.
I was in bed reading when he came in the bedroom. He crawled over the bed pulling the book from my hands and kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck holding his body as close to mine as I could. He made love to me that night, gently, lovingly and not one bite.
***
As we drove to the home the following morning, Robert placed a call to Ted telling him that we would take Gerry back with us. Robert and I had spoken that morning, he wanted to sit the boys down and explain the reason for us taking Gerry. I guessed he was feeling a little guilty not including them in the wonderful weekend he had planned. He also told me he wanted to organise something for the rest of them. They got to do things of course, but he was going to ask Ted to take them all to see a movie, get a meal, something fun for them too.
It was the usual chaos as we pulled up outside the house. The kids surrounded the car, they taunted Travis by putting their dirty hand prints over the windows and ran laughing when he tried to catch them. We spent a couple of hours with them kicking the ball, chatting and catching up before buckling an overexcited Gerry in the back of the car and heading off to collect Harley. In his hands Gerry held his memory tin, I didn’t ask why but he hadn’t brought it with him the last time he stayed. I sat next to him and he talked the whole journey.
We pulled up outside Elaine’s and Gerry unbuckled himself. He wanted to walk with us to the house. As we knocked on the door Gerry positioned himself in front. It was opened by Harley and the two boys looked at each other, nothing was said before Gerry stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his friend. A tear formed in my eye as I watched this little boy comfort someone he had only met for a short while.
“Thank you for taking Harley, he really needs to have some fun right now,” Elaine said as she approached us.
“Hey buddy, you ready to fight some bears?” Travis said.
Harley looked up at him, a smile started to appear and he nodded his head. Gerry took his bag and the two of them headed for the car without a backward glance.
“I guess that’s a yes then,” Travis said.
We hugged Elaine, chatted for a minute or two before joining the boys. Robert sat up front and I sat with the boys listening to them talk. Gerry asked Harley how he was feeling, I was glad that the subject had been brought up. I wanted Harley to know it was okay to talk about his mum. They peppered Robert and Travis with questions about the camp, about the cook out and would they see the bear. As the journey home progressed, they got more excited.
When the car came to a stop the two boys unbuckled themselves and climbed out, they bounced around eager to get started. Evelyn came to meet the car and between us we unloaded their bags and the four boys headed into the garages to collect tools.
“I’ll bring you some lunch,” Evelyn called out to their retreating backs.
“Cup of tea?” she asked me.
“Sure. I’ll unpack Gerry’s bag then be up,” I replied as she climbed the stairs, leaving Harley’s by the front door.
I unpacked the bag Ted had prepared, putting away clothes and toiletries and placing the tin on the bedside cabinet before joining Evelyn. We drank our tea, made some sandwiches and headed for the woods. We could hear the noise long before we found them. Travis was digging a hole for the fire pit, Robert was sawing a log and the two boys were gathering sticks. Already a frame had been erected and a piece of canvas hung over the top to make the shelter. I remembered that Robert had told me about his camp and I wondered if it looked the same. We sat for a while eating our lunch while the boys described the events for that evening.
I collected firewood before heading back to the house to help Evelyn prepare skewers of meat for their dinner. She had chicken marinating in a bowl and the smell wafted through the house making my mouth water. I hunted for something to lay on the floor, for the boys to sit on. Finding some picnic blankets, I placed them with the cooler waiting to be filled.
It was while dicing some meat that I heard my phone ring. I rummaged through my pockets and looking at the display, was relieved to see it was Gloria. Every time that phone rang my heat skipped a beat hoping it was not Sam with bad news.
“Hi, Gloria,” I said.
“I know I said to give me a couple of days but I’ve just had lunch with a friend, someone who works in adoption and she seems to think, because Robert owns the home, the children are technically in his care. I was right in that the process should be straightforward and fairly easy. Robert has already passed all checks, they need you to complete some forms before the process can start. I can email them over if you like,” she said.
“That would be great, thank you. I haven’t sat down and talked this through with Robert just yet, I wanted to know the process first. It won’t hurt to have the forms though.”
I gave my email and finished the call then told Evelyn what Gloria had said. We collected everything we thought we would need and headed out to join the others. By the time we arrived, a camp had been built, a fire was roaring and the four boys were sitting around it telling stories. I took my camera from the bag I was holding and snapped some pictures. Gerry and Harley were looking at Travis, who had his hands spread showing them the size of whatever had them enthralled. Robert was watching his brother with a smile on his face. It was a perfect picture.
Travis had found a BBQ grill that he placed over the fire pit and we laid food across the top. Evelyn had brought a fold-up chair and sat watching the meat as it cooked. As the evening started to draw in Robert lit some candles he had placed around. The shadows the candles created, to me, made the place seem romantic. To the boys however, they were ghosts and I shot a look at Travis as he pointed them out. Gerry had climbed into Robert’s lap, Harley had done the same with Travis and after a couple of hours we noticed they had drifted off. Evelyn had headed off home earlier, complaining her old bones didn’t do well sitting in the damp at night.
“Are they asleep?” Travis whispered. I nodded my head.
“I need to talk to you guys,” he said.
“What’s up, bro?” Robert asked.
“This isn’t because of Caroline, well if she was here then I wouldn’t be doing this, but...” He paused as if unsure how to say what he wanted us to know.
“I’ve spoken to Elaine about Harley’s future. She can’t look after him long term, she only has a one bedroom place and at the moment she’s sleeping on the sofa. I want him to live with me. I’ll understand, Rob, if you want me to get my own place but, I don’t know. There’s something about him, I need him and he needs me.”
I sat, open-mouthed. It had been clear that Travis was getting very attached to Harley. Robert hadn’t said a word, he just sat and stared at Travis. A silence hung in the air for a few moments.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Trav, and no, you don’t move. You’re going to need us all around to help.” Robert finally said.
“How will it work?” I asked.
“Elaine has agreed he can live wit
h me, he will still see her of course, as much as he did before. I’ll be his legal guardian, I just need his dad to sign some documents then it’s a done deal. I know I’ve sprung this on you and I’m sorry but it’s something I thought hard about. It wasn’t a rash decision.”
Robert held up three fingers. Three apologies from Travis over the past few days. I laughed quietly.
“You know Evelyn will help as well, she already told me she was up for some baby sitting,” I said.
As the words left my mouth I realised my mistake. I knew Robert was looking at me, I could feel his stare but I carried on as if I hadn’t noticed.
“It could work quite well. Harley’s at school all day so you can still work.”
“Does Harley know?” Robert asked him.
“Sort of. He overheard us talking and obviously is a bit confused. I told him it was just a thought at the moment. I guess he doesn’t want to be disloyal to Elaine but he sure did smile,” Travis replied.
We decided to take the boys back home, it was getting chilly and probably not best to sleep out in the camp all night. With Robert carrying Gerry and Travis carrying Harley, we made our way through the trees by torchlight. I pulled the cooler behind me trying not to make much noise as it bumped along. Travis said goodnight and headed to his apartment.
I wiped Gerry’s face and hands with a cloth before stripping him of his clothes and getting him in his pj’s, all the while trying not to wake him. Robert sat on the bed watching us. As I tucked Gerry in, Robert smoothed his hair from his forehead. Gerry mumbled before curling up in a ball.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” Robert asked as we closed the bedroom door behind us.
“Sure, that would be nice.”
I sat at the breakfast bar while he made me tea. He sat on the next stool watching me, one eyebrow raised slightly.
“Want to tell me about it?” he asked.
“About what?” I answered, trying to look innocent.
“How would you know Ev is up for a spot of baby sitting, as you called it?”
I placed my cup back in its saucer and swivelled to face him, placing my hand on his cheek. He took my wrist and kissed my palm before lacing his fingers with mine.
Fallen Angel, Part III Page 25