CHAPTER TWO
“Stop what you’re doing or I’ll have you arrested!”
“What’re you going to arrest me for, cleaning?” Dan yelled as he wiped his hands on his stained shirt and burped.
“Where have you been keeping Emilia at night?” Doreen asked.
“Uh, upstairs with the rest of the damn kids.” Dan said.
“This family is a waste! Just using foster kids as income I bet.” Janice yelled.
“Don’t you talk like that to me, asshole.” Dan yelled at Janice
“Say another word Dan and I will be taking all of the kids away, including your own.” Doreen firmly stated.
“I want to see Emilia, now.” Doreen continued.
“Come back with a police warrant.” Dan said laughing and slammed the door that connected the garage and their kitchen.
THREE DAYS LATER
Janice was continuously sitting by the phone, waiting for Doreen to call with the answers they’ve been wanting to hear from her department manager. Finally, after a long awaited three days, the phone rings. It’s Doreen.
“What’s the news?” Janice said, without greeting Doreen.
“Even with the photos we took, the department said we had no proof that Emilia actually slept there. With Dan’s lame excuse for ‘cleaning’ we are unable to prove that she’s been mistreated at any point.”
“WHAT? She can’t even speak! She’s a baby! How else are we going to find out if she’s been mistreated if we don’t investigate?” Janice yelled at Doreen. Then she slammed the phone down and decided to plot.
CHAPTER THREE
Within two weeks, Janice had made two complaints and files against the family and sent out half a dozen letters to local mayors, head of departments of social services and more. She wanted her little Emilia to never been in that kind of care and wanted the departments to provide detailed investigations on family’s before sending off foster children. Finally, she got a phone call, but not one she was expecting.
“Hi Janice, this is Debra from the Social Services Department. We’ve looked at your file, your complaints and have received notation from multiple political figures stating your case. We’re investigating Stacy Lomans family as requested. But that’s not what I am calling for; someone else will be reaching out to you about your situation. I wanted to offer you a position as a youth investigator for our social service bureau.” Debra said monotonously.
“What?” Janice said, in shock. Not only was she getting answers with Emilia, but she was being offered her dream job, when she was out of work.
“Your in-depth reports and investigations you’ve done on your own have impressed our supervisor. He’d like to speak with you directly and talk to you more about the position he’s offering. Are you able to come in Thursday at 2pm on North Main Street?” Debra asked.
“Wow, yes. I’ll be there. Should I bring anything?” Janice asked.
“Bring your ID and one other form of ID for our application process. We need to have you on record, even though you’ve got the job.” Debra said, knocking off a little bit of her monotonous voice.
“O..k. I’ll be there. Thank you.” Janice hung up the phone. The next day, she received a call about Emilia. She was being given back into Janice’s care now that she was hired by the department themselves.
Stacy’s family was deemed unfit for any foster children and were in the process of going on trial for fraud. Stacy landed the job in the youth sector of social services and cared for Emilia at the same time. Her sister still had trouble becoming clean but Janice was named a permanent guardian of Emilia with visitation rights to Delaney.
Shannah Tighe was born in Boston, Massachusetts but grew up in various parts of Florida as well as Massachusetts. She is currently a 4th year student at Full Sail University in Orlando studying Creative Writing in Entertainment. She plans to return to obtain a bachelors in Film Production or another Film related degree, to coincide with her screenwriting and story writing degree. She owns a music publication called The Sirens Lounge and reviews, interviews and photographs bands with her passion for photography and writing. She currently resides in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Emilia Page 2