by Char Webster
Chapter Two
The next day, Kate settled a big beach towel on the lounge chair by her pool. She had a book tucked under her arm, a huge glass of unsweetened iced tea in her hand, and a bottle of sunscreen on the table next to her. She now had everything that she needed for a lazy day in the sun.
Cindy was already lounging on her chair with her glass of ice water and the latest Hollywood magazine. She looked over at Kate and said, “So, why were you so preoccupied on the dance floor last night? You kept looking around.”
“I wasn’t,” Kate replied quickly. She didn’t want to get Cindy started down this line of conversation.
“Oh, don’t give me that. You were, too. I saw you looking around. Who were you searching for? Was it a guy? Did you see a hot guy? Are you now in the market? Tell me EVERYTHING.” Cindy was just getting warmed up.
“Wow, you really do start talking fast when you’re excited. Sometimes you get talking so fast I have no idea what you are saying,” Kate replied, trying to steer the conversation to a different topic.
“Oh no you don’t. Don’t even try to change the subject. Now, I know there was a guy. Who is he?” Cindy pushed.
Kate knew Cindy wasn’t going to let it go, and since she didn’t find the guy and probably wouldn’t see him again, she didn’t see any harm in telling Cindy about him. “There was a guy . . .”
Cindy jumped up and plopped down on Kate’s lounge chair, almost toppling it over in her enthusiasm. “I KNEW IT!!!” she squealed. “Tell me everything.”
“There really isn’t anything to tell you. When we were dancing, I looked up and saw this really hot guy standing on the edge of the dance floor. That’s it. Nothing else!” Kate finished, trying to end the conversation.
“That is SO not the end. What did he look like? What was he wearing? Did you talk to him? Did you get his phone number?”
Kate sighed. She knew she was going to have to give Cindy something or she would just never let up about it. “He has dark, wavy hair that is slightly longer on the top than the sides. He was wearing a dark-colored T-shirt and jeans.”
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got? You can do better than that.”
“Okay . . . He filled out the T-shirt really well,” Kate replied, her cheeks getting slightly pink with embarrassment.
“Ooooo. What else,” Cindy said, already creating a mental picture.
“He had amazing blue eyes. Kind of like the actor Chris Pine,” Kate said as she looked over at the actor’s photo on the page of Cindy’s now-abandoned magazine.
Cindy sighed. “Did you talk to him?”
“No, as soon as we made eye contact, someone bumped into me on the dance floor and I lost sight of him. I looked around, but I never saw him again,” Kate said, a little disappointed.
“Ohhh no. We have to go back there. He might be there again,” she said, already planning their next outing.
“Maybe,” Kate said, but she doubted that she would see her blue-eyed hottie again.
Cindy settled back into her chair and picked up her magazine. “His eyes were this blue?” Cindy was pointing to very deep blue eyes on the page.
Kate sighed and said, “Yes.” She would probably be dreaming about those blue eyes.
Kate looked around at her big backyard and couldn’t believe that her parents had given her the house. It was a big Victorian house that her mother had completely renovated a few years before. Kate loved the wraparound porch and circular front room with the pointed spire roof. The back porch opened up to the pool and a landscaped backyard with flowering bushes along the outer edge of the property. It was a wonderful place to grow up and even though it was just her living in the house, she couldn’t image giving it up for a smaller place.
Her adoptive parents were both surgeons who had just retired from a very successful practice. Patients would travel from around the country to be seen by both of them. Now her parents were off in Africa setting up a series of clinics and providing free medical services.
They still give her a bit of trouble over not going to medical school and instead choosing to be a school guidance counselor. Kate had always wanted to help people, especially children and teens. Ever since she could remember, she had a sense of what others were feeling and could understand where those feelings were coming from. Psychology seemed like the perfect fit.
After reading for about an hour and cooling off in the pool, she was already getting fidgety. Sitting still was just not her thing. Cindy, on the other hand, was so relaxed, she didn’t look like she was going to move for hours.
Kate’s mind wandered to the guy from the bar. Maybe it was time to start dating again. She had been so busy with school that her love life had suffered drastically. Cindy would be thrilled. She had been bugging Kate for a while to start dating. Cindy had even suggested fixing her up with a few of her boyfriend’s buddies.
She got up to get another glass of iced tea when her phone rang. Cindy gave her a questioning look.
Thankful for the distraction, she answered right away, even though she didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello, this is Kate.”
“Hi, Dr. Sutton, this is Dawn Johnson. You helped my son, Kevin, this year.”
“Yes, hello, Mrs. Johnson. How’s Kevin doing?” Kevin had been having a rather difficult time dealing with his parents’ divorce, and had been acting out in all kinds of horrible ways. Trouble with the police had convinced his mother that he needed to speak to a professional.
“Oh, Kevin is doing great. You really helped him a lot. I can’t thank you enough. I was really worried about him for a while there.” Dawn Johnson paused. “I’m not calling about Kevin. But, since you worked so well with him when a lot of others were telling me that he was beyond help, I was hoping that you could assist me with another situation.”
Intrigued, Kate listened as Mrs. Johnson explained. Cindy just watched her with curiosity.
“As you might remember, I work for Family Services. We have a difficult situation with three siblings who have been with three foster families in the past eight months.” Mrs. Johnson paused and Kate said, “Wow.”
“Yeah, the problem seems to be mostly with the oldest, a thirteen-year-old-girl. She really needs some help. Their parents died in a car crash and they have no family. Their will lists a guardian no one seems to be able to find, and it also specifically states that the children cannot be split up for any reason,” Mrs. Johnson continued. “My bosses want to go to court to get permission to split them up.”
“Oh, that’s awful,” Kate said, trying to process what she was hearing.
“It is awful. I want to see if we can help this girl and keep these kids together. They’ve been though way too much. Can you help?” Mrs. Johnson pleaded.
Kate had already decided to help. “Of course. I can be there in an hour.”
“Oh, thank you so much. I know you’ll be able to help them.”
Kate pressed the end button on her phone and glanced over at Cindy.
“You can’t even relax for one day, Kate? One day? This is our first day off and you’re already getting into something,” Cindy said with exasperation.
“This seems important. There’s a girl who needs help,” Kate replied.
“There’ll always be a girl who needs help. When are you going to slow down and do something for you?” Cindy asked.
“After this, I swear I’ll try to relax, and maybe I’ll even let you set me up on a date,” Kate said, trying to soothe her friend.
Cindy jumped up and hugged Kate and said that she would set something up for the weekend. With that, Cindy slipped on her shorts and t-shirt that were on the chair next to her and grabbed her towel and magazine. With one last look at the pool she would not be enjoying any more that day, she headed around the house to her car. Kate just shook her head and wondered what she had just agreed to.
Kate gathered up her stuff and smiled to herself as she walked back into the house to change. She had another pro
ject. She wouldn’t be bored.
~*~*~
The man with dark hair and very blue eyes put the earpiece in place so that he could listen to what was happening at the Division of Family Services. He had added hidden microphones to Dawn Johnson’s office, the reception area, the observation room, and conference room. He needed to know what this psychologist was going to say about those children. He had been listening to Dawn’s conversations for a while now, making sure he knew everything she had planned for the children.
~*~*~
Dressed in a light blue and white summer skirt and scoop-neck top with white sandals, Kate hurried to the office of the Family Services Building. The parking lot was packed full of cars, and Kate had to park in the last row. The building was a typical government-looking structure that appeared to have been built in the 1960s. It was square in shape and Kate knew that it had an interior courtyard. The lobby of the building looked a little shabby with a stained carpet. Old chairs that were probably the original to the building lined the two walls on each side of the reception area.
The receptionist was too busy drinking her coffee and playing with her phone to even look up as Kate approached the front desk. After a few minutes of being ignored, Kate said, “Excuse me.” With a huff, the receptionist said, “Yeah?”
Kate forced a smile, “Hi. I’m Kate Sutton. I’m here to see Dawn Johnson.”
The receptionist looked at her skeptically and said somewhat sarcastically, “You’re Dr. Sutton?”
The smile was even harder to force, but Kate said, “Yes, I am” with as much patience as she used with her most difficult clients. She was used to a little surprise from people when they found out she had her doctorate, because she looked very young, but this woman in front of her was just plain rude.
“Okay, wait here for a minute,” the receptionist insisted and got up to go into a back room. A minute later, Mrs. Johnson came out with a warm smile and a hug for Kate. “I’m so glad you could come here today. I don’t know how to thank you enough,” Dawn said.
“I haven’t done anything yet,” Kate said, hugging her back.
“I know you’ll be able to help this girl. Let’s go in so you can meet her,” Dawn said as she ushered Kate through the hallway and to the second-to-last door on the left.
Inside the room, looked like it was set up for a conference area with a large table and a few chairs lined up on one side. They were facing the right wall, where there was a large glass window looking into the visitation area. The occupants in the adjoining space couldn’t see into this one, but Kate could observe the happenings next door without being seen.
Approaching the glass, Kate noticed three children in the other room. They were sitting on the floor with various toys and blocks scattered around them. Even though there was a wall and glass separating them, Kate could feel the stress and fright coming from one of the children. At first, she had thought it was coming from the girl, but from further observation, she concluded that it was coming from the boy.
Mrs. Johnson began to give Kate a rundown on the children. “That is Alexandra Taylor. She insists on being called Alex and will not answer to anything else. She will flat out ignore the person talking to her like he doesn’t exist if he mistakenly uses her full first name.”
Kate pulled a small notebook out of her purse and started to take notes about the petite girl with wild, golden-brown curls bouncing around her shoulders. The cute girl kept nervously tucking and re-tucking her hair behind her ears, which held a few earrings each. Kate could tell that she was trying hard to look tough and not caring, but the girl was obviously nervous.
“She is thirteen years old and going into eighth grade. She seems to take care of the other two children. They look to her for everything. She doesn’t talk unless she is asked a direct question and even then, it is just a word or two.”
“Does she interact with her siblings or other children?” Kate asked.
“They seem to interact with each other but mostly by looks. She doesn’t have any friends that we know about and rarely interacts with any other children.”
“Hmmm,” Kate muttered, still taking down notes.
“Alex gets extremely good grades when she is in class, but she frequently skips school. Her homework is always completed on time, and even when the teachers think she is not paying attention, she always has the correct answer.”
Kate continued to scribble notes, turning her attention to the boy in the room. He was taller than his sister by several inches but had not filled out yet. His light-brown hair had streaks of gold through it and was cut short and gelled at the top for that messy look. If the girls didn’t like him already, they would in a few years. He had a mischievous smile that made you wonder what he was up to. This kid would be a heartbreaker.
He also didn’t miss a thing. Kate saw him watching his sisters, taking in everything. He also kept glancing at the mirror, almost as if he could see through the glass.
“Zachary Taylor is twelve, going into seventh grade, and likes to be called Zach. He will answer to Zachary but will correct the person calling him his full name. He’s quiet most of the time, reads a lot, and usually has a soccer ball at his feet. He gets very good grades and does extremely well in class but does not turn in any assignments completed outside of school. His teachers say he appears to be daydreaming in class because he stares out the window, but he always answers the questions correctly.”
“Does he have friends?” Kate asked.
“He is friendly with a few boys at school, but he holds himself slightly separate. He sits with his sister at lunch, and they keep to themselves.”
“Are either of them in school activities?” Kate inquired.
“No, bouncing from foster home to foster home wouldn’t have made joining activities easy. I doubt either of them would join anything even if it were possible.” Dawn paused. “So far we’ve been able to keep them both in the same school through all of the foster homes, but that may not be possible going forward. There are only so many places available within the same district,” Mrs. Johnson relayed.
“Do you know how they did in their last school?” asked Kate.
“I can get copies of their files for you.”
“Thanks. That would be very helpful,” Kate said, still writing.
“The little one is just adorable. She is two and her name is Madison, but everyone calls her Maddy. Alex and Zach call her Mads. She has such a sweet disposition that everyone does whatever she wants. No one seems to be able to say ‘no’ to her. All she has to do is give that big smile of hers to someone and shake those light-brown curls, and we’re all goners.”
Kate turned her attention to Madison. She was adorable sitting there playing with some blocks. She smiled up at her brother and pointed at the tower he had helped her build and said, “Higher.” Zach shook his head at her but continued to add more blocks to the pile. Zach still oozed stress and fear, even as he played blocks with Madison. Kate noticed that Alex was covertly watching them while trying to hide a smile. There seemed to be a whole lot more to Alex then she let on.
“I would like to go meet with them now, if that’s okay,” Kate said as she put away her notebook.
“Of course. Right this way.” Mrs. Johnson led Kate to the door but didn’t open it yet. She turned to Kate, “I hope you can get through to her. I don’t want to see these kids split up. I think they’re really scared and hurting, and splitting them up would be truly awful.”
Kate smiled sadly at Mrs. Johnson. “I’m going to try my best to help her. I don’t want to see these kids hurt any more than they already have been.”
“I’ll give you some privacy. Take as much time as you need,” Dawn said, while she was walking away.
Chapter Three
Kate opened the door to the family visitation room and looked around. There were a few chairs and two loveseats situated in small groupings so that more than one visitation could happen at a time. The center of the room, where the children w
ere seated, held a toy box and small bookshelf. As soon as she entered the room, she felt a wave of resentment from Alex and even more nervousness from Zach. Maddy did not even look up; she was still engrossed in building her tower.
Alex got up and walked over to one of the chairs along the wall. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest as she slouched in her chair. She was trying to act like she didn’t care, but she was watching Kate like a hawk under her lashes. Zach kept glancing up at Kate and then looking away quickly.
Kate took a deep breath and sat next to Alex. She felt Alex tense up with suspicion, but the girl remained silent.
Kate just sat silently and waited. After about three minutes of sitting quietly and not saying a word, Alex started to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Zach began to glance up much more frequently. Kate smiled, thinking that they were almost ready to talk.
“Let’s take a walk,” Kate said quietly to Alex, standing up and heading for the door. Alex sat stubbornly, not moving at first. Kate waited at the door until Alex got up with a huff and followed Kate out.
Kate led Alex outside to the courtyard in the center of the building. There was a bench under a shady tree that seemed perfect for their chat. Kate sat down and waited for Alex to take the seat next to her. Both remained quiet, neither wanting to be the first one to speak.
At the four-minute mark, Alex turned directly to Kate and blurted out, “I know why you’re here, and I’m not going to talk to you.” Kate just raised her eyebrows but kept quiet.
Alex shifted again and said, “There’s nothing wrong with me, so you can just go back and tell them I don’t need another social worker. We‘ve already had two that didn’t do anything.”