Forevermore

by Lynn Galli

  “How’s your husband feeling, Rena?” I asked to steer the attention away from Olivia.

  “He’s doing better, thanks. His hip is almost healed and we’re spoiled rotten living with our daughters like we are.”

  Lauren slipped an arm around her mom. “Jessie and I are the spoiled ones, Mom.”

  “Don’t let Cap hear you say that or we’ll never leave.”

  “Fine by me,” Lauren told her. Warmth bloomed in my chest. This was exactly how I’d imagined interacting with Kathryn if she’d lived past my ninth birthday. “So a little swim fun today?” Lauren turned back to us.

  Olivia nodded as I confirmed verbally. Willa offered her pool as a warm weather destination for our family whenever we wanted. Briony and I decided we wouldn’t take advantage of that offer too much over the summer break. It might be ideal, but we’d stick to occasional days when both Quinn and Willa were at work to keep from becoming a nuisance. For now, we were happy to accept an invitation if Willa was on her own for the weekend because Quinn was off on a recruiting trip.

  “You girls have fun,” Rena said and patted Olivia’s shoulder. “We’ll figure out a night when you can come over for dinner.”

  We continued on with our shopping as they made their turn out of the aisle. Olivia waited a full minute before she glanced up at me. “Could we really go over for dinner or was she just being polite?”

  I pulled in a breath, surprised by her request. She was usually very shy around the group of friends. I knew she liked cooking, but this was brave for her. “I’m pretty sure she meant it. If you want to learn, we’ll make it happen.” I gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “Do you think that might be something you want to do when you’re older? A chef like Helen?”

  “Maybe. I like it a lot.” She shrugged but shot a quick glance at me. “What do you think?”

  “I think you can do anything you want to do, Liv.” She could; she just needed the reinforcement until she felt secure enough to know it for herself.

  She blushed and turned back to our grocery list. “Should we get the ingredients for Helen’s rosemary chicken?”

  “You’re the chef, kiddo.”

  “Yo, what’s going on?” Caleb called out as he jogged down the aisle toward us. “We finished already. What’s taking you so long? We’ve got some swimming to do.”

  “Hold your horses there, bucko.” Briony came to a stop behind him. She stroked a hand over Olivia’s head and leaned in for a peck from me. “We’re not invited until this afternoon, and we’ve still got errands to do.”

  “Drop me and Liv off at Willa’s first. She’ll be okay with it. She loves us.”

  I hid my smile behind a fist. What would that be like? To be so sure of someone’s love when she wasn’t even a relative? It felt wonderful to know that I was part of a family that provided that kind of security for kids.

  “She might love you, but that won’t keep her from drowning you when you get on her nerves.” Briony’s hands gripped his shoulders and shook him as if to knock some sense into him.

  “Ha-ha. I can swim and she’d never try it in front of Livy.”

  We both laughed at his reasoning. Briony shook her head at him. “We’re invited over at two; we’re getting there at two. As you get older, you’ll realize that weekends aren’t always about fun.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he sighed and looped an arm around Olivia’s shoulders. “C’mon, let’s go pick out the good cereal.”

  “If sugar is the first ingredient, it’s going right back on the shelf!” Briony called after them. She turned back to me. “Think we could get Willa to keep him for his teenage years while we hold onto Olivia? I’m afraid he’s going to warp her permanently.”

  I chuckled and slid an arm around her. “He’ll keep us young.”

  “More like age us rapidly.”

  “Did you get everything on your list?”

  “All set. You almost done here?”

  “Just a couple more things. We ran into Lauren and her mom. They invited Olivia to be Rena’s assistant chef for a night. She seemed pretty jazzed about it.”

  “Rena or Olivia?” Briony smiled.

  “Both, I think. Olivia admitted she might want to become a chef when she grows up.”

  Briony’s eyes grew wide. “That’s great, isn’t it? That’s she’s admitting to a future and one influenced by someone in our lives?”

  I nodded as the relief I could see on Briony’s face transferred to me. We’d been trying for months to get Olivia to think long term with us, to think long term period. The foster system can mess with that type of planning sometimes, but we’d hoped to provide an environment different than what she’d felt in the past.

  It had taken me a while to get to that point in my life, but it was made infinitely easier once I learned to trust my feelings for this wonderful woman next to me.

  8 / OLIVIA

  SIXTH GRADE MUST HAVE been designed as a cruel joke. Too old for elementary school, too young for junior high. Caleb didn’t complain about seventh grade, so this school thing had to get better. Hopefully so would the kids because these sixth grade girls were like panda bears, deceptively cute looking but viscous wild animals underneath.

  I passed one of the girl packs on my way to my usual waiting place. I snuck a glance at them and tried to remember if I’d ever seen any of them walking alone. Krystal and her pack were never separated. As much as I wanted a good friend, I didn’t think I could get used to needing someone to walk everywhere with me. What did they do over the summer? I grinned when I thought about them cowering in their rooms because they were too afraid to walk anywhere alone.

  The smile flattened quickly when I thought about my summer. Summer wasn’t my favorite time. Families decided they needed to move or went on vacations or got bad grade reports and decided they didn’t want their foster kids anymore. My grades got me sent to a temporary home then on to the group home last summer where I stayed until October when Briony and M came by. They always included me in this year’s summer plans. They even talked about my birthday, which wasn’t until August. It made me feel like I could believe them when they said they wouldn’t ask me to leave.

  “Hey, retard!” Krystal shouted from inside another clump of girls. The huddle burst into cackles of laughter.

  I froze, still not used to her new favorite taunt. My eyes shot to where the teachers were helping the little kids load into the right cars. The screeching excitement of the kids kept them from hearing Krystal, and she knew it. I used to like getting out of class early, but that just gave girls like Krystal more time to make someone’s life sucky. It looked like it was my turn again today.

  “Maybe she’s too stupid to understand you,” Kortney said and the minions laughed with her.

  “Maybe you’re too much of a jerk for her to want to talk to you,” a voice shouted just as loudly.

  My head whipped around to see the new kid marching across the courtyard to push through the passel and stand directly in front of Krystal and Kortney. She’d shown up in our class two weeks ago and hadn’t yet eaten in the cafeteria at lunch. I suspected she took a bag lunch out onto the grounds and ate alone. If not for a couple of the fifth graders who let me sit at their table, I’d probably do the same thing.

  “What’s it to you, new girl…or boy? Which is it? Can’t you make up your mind?” Krystal sneered at her.

  I cringed. That was really bad, too. The new girl had short black hair, not much longer than a boy’s cut, and she almost always wore jeans, t-shirts, and work boots. She didn’t look girly, but then not everyone had developed like Krystal and her friends. Their bra sizes were the worst kept secret in our class. I didn’t even have a training bra yet, but with my long hair no one mistook me for a boy.

  “Blockheads,” she said to them and started walking away.

  “Don’t you know?” Krystal taunted. “Or are you one of those freaks that is both?”

  The girl turned back to her and smiled, not fake at all
, like she was having fun talking to these mean girls. “I know exactly who I am, and I feel sorry for you. The only way you can feel good about yourself is to put others down.”

  “If she’s a boy, she’s a girly boy.” Krystal ignored the very smart thing the girl said.

  She scoffed then turned away and started walking toward me. I was still frozen in place, my eyes searching for a place to hide.

  “Oh, look, girl-boy freak is friends with retard freak. They’re a perfect match,” Krystal shouted and pointed.

  My mouth nudged open. I didn’t think it was possible for her to get any meaner.

  “Sorry.” The new girl stopped in front of me. She was a good six inches taller than me and her dark brown eyes were bright and untroubled. “They’re jerks.”

  I nodded, surprised that her tone was easygoing. Like it didn’t bother her at all that the girls were making fun of her.

  “I’m Eden, you’re Olivia, right?”

  She must know my name because Mrs. Lomax liked calling on me in class more than the other kids. I was pretty sure the teacher did it to show everyone how much I didn’t know. It was the same treatment for the two boys who always acted like class clowns. I never acted up, but it didn’t seem to matter to the teacher. “Yep.”

  “Come on, let’s go sit on the wall over there.” She pointed to a place far away from Krystal’s group. “My dad’s coming to pick me up if you need a ride home.”

  She tugged on my arm, which didn’t really give me a choice, but for once I didn’t mind. Krystal was still yammering about something. It was so much easier to ignore her when someone else was there.

  “You should have seen this jerk at my last school. Krystal’s easy compared to him.” She sat on the edge of the wall and looked off toward where the cars come into the parking lot to pick us up. “My dad says to feel sorry for them, but sometimes it’s hard.”

  I nodded again. It sure was hard. I didn’t feel sorry for Krystal or any of her friends. I just wanted all of them to leave me alone.

  “Have you always gone to school here?” she asked me.

  “No.”

  “Do you like it here?”

  I shrugged, not sure how to answer. I loved living with M and Briony, but I didn’t like Krystal and she wasn’t moving any time soon.

  “You don’t talk much, do you?” She grinned, showing a little gap between her two front teeth. “That’s okay. My dad says I talk enough for everyone around me.”

  I laughed, which surprised me. Usually only Caleb could make me laugh after Krystal picked on me.

  “Is that your mom?” Eden pointed toward the parking lot. M was getting out of her car, her eyes on me, smiling.

  For a second I wished I could say yes. I really liked M, even let myself start to love her, and it would make things so much easier. But she wasn’t and I felt guilty for wishing she was. I had a mom, a great mom.

  “No.”

  Eden stiffened and stood as M began walking toward us. “Do you know her?”

  I frowned at where she stood, blocking me from seeing M. “Yes.”

  Eden relaxed and sat back down. “Like a sitter or something?”

  I shook my head and frowned again. I hated telling people I was in foster care. Kids really didn’t get it. “I stay with her.”

  “Hi, Olivia. You got out early, huh?” M stopped in front of me. She smiled at Eden. “Hello, I’m M.”

  Eden brightened and waved. “Hi, I’m Eden.”

  “Nice to meet you, Eden. How long for Caleb and Hank?” M looked at her watch. She knew exactly when they’d be out of class, but she needed something to talk about. She didn’t talk much either.

  “A couple minutes.”

  “Are they your brothers?” Eden asked me. “I’ve got three. They’re all in high school. I was the big surprise.”

  M chuckled. “Do you need a ride home, Eden?”

  “No thanks. My dad’s coming by to take me to his jobsite today. He’s a plumber. I’m helping him for the rest of the school year because my brothers are all freaking out about their finals right now.”

  “That’s a skill that will always come in handy,” M commented as she watched the doors on the middle school across the street open and a stream of kids flow out.

  It got a lot louder. M and I usually just waited quietly until Caleb and Hank found us, but today, Eden chattered on. It was kind of a fun change.

  “Hey,” Caleb called out. Hank waved his hello.

  “Hi, guys,” M said and signed at the same time. She was as good at signing as Hank was. She’d been teaching me since I came to live with them because Hank was always over at the house. The weirdest thing was, sometimes I thought it was easier to speak in sign language than it was out loud. “Do you know Eden?”

  “Hey, Eden,” they both said because they were real friendly like that.

  Eden chatted to them as easily as she would her own brothers. M watched us closely. She’d noticed it, too, but she noticed everything.

  “You guys should take off before the parking lot gets too crowded to get out of here,” Eden told M.

  “We’re in no hurry, are we, guys?” M asked.

  In response, Hank and Caleb dropped onto the grass next to us, ready to stay as long as necessary. I didn’t want to leave Eden alone with Krystal and her gang still hanging around. M wasn’t about to leave her alone either. Not that she knew about Krystal, but M was super protective.

  “Cool.” Eden settled back beside me on the wall. “Hey, you didn’t say. Are these guys your brothers?” Her fingers waved at Caleb and Hank.

  My shoulders dropped. I’d have to tell her.

  “I am,” Caleb said and smacked Hank. “He might as well be.”

  “Yep,” Hank added.

  I was too shocked to speak. I guess Caleb must be getting tired of explaining who I was to his friends. I looked up at M, expecting to see her shock. Instead, she was smiling and acting like what he said was perfectly fine. I’d lived in some homes where the foster parents insisted we call them Mom and Dad and all the other kids our brothers and sisters, but M and Briony never made me do that.

  “Cool.” Eden accepted it easily. “You have any sisters?”

  I shook my head. I didn’t have any brothers either, but it was nice that Caleb thought I was kinda like a sister. He treated me better than a sister, or at least the way I’d seen brothers in other homes treat their sisters.

  “Me, neither, but I always get my own room. Two of my brothers share at home and all three have to share at my mom’s. Makes them so mad.” She started laughing like it was fun to make her brothers mad.

  “Nice,” Caleb reached back for a high five from her.

  “There’s my dad.” Eden pointed to the pickup pulling into the parking lot. She sprang off the wall ready to race over to him. “Nice meeting ya. See you Monday, Olivia.”

  “Bye,” I called as she sprinted off to his truck.

  “She’s cool,” Hank signed to me, and Caleb nodded.

  I smiled, wondering if I’d made a real friend. Then I looked at Caleb, wishing for real that he was my brother. The longer I stayed with them, the more I wished for what I thought were impossible things.

  9 / OLIVIA

  THE CLASS WAS GETTING loud, but M just kept scribbling on the white board. If this were my class, our teacher would be yelling at us to be quiet. M didn’t teach her classes that way. She let her students speak up, talk to each other during class, and encouraged discussion when she was teaching. It wasn’t like our class where Mrs. Lomax talked and we listened. M asked her students questions and let them carry the discussion by themselves if they wanted. If I had a teacher like M, I’d love school.

  She turned back from the board, and the students settled down instantly. I didn’t really understand what today’s subject was, but I liked listening. Based on the number of people in M’s classes, she was really popular. Briony teased her about it all the time. Briony’s students really liked her, too, but she never h
ad classes this size.

  “What about output efficiency techniques?” M asked to no one in particular. That was another thing that was different from my teacher. Mrs. Lomax would call on someone. If they didn’t know the answer, she wouldn’t just let them off the hook. It could get really embarrassing.

  One of the guys in front started talking without raising his hand. M let them get away with it as long as they weren’t interrupting someone else. After he finished talking, M asked the rest of the class if that made sense. That was M’s way of getting the class to tell him he was wrong instead of her telling him outright.

  She started up the steps to where I sat at her desk. M moved around a lot in her classroom. She told me it kept people from texting in class or whispering to each other and kept their attention focused. Her desk was up on the third row of the eight rows of seating. I wasn’t sure why she didn’t have her desk down at the front of the room, but it was probably for some really good teaching reason.

  A stack of stapled paper sets sat neatly on the corner of her desk. Her eyes landed on them and looked back at me with a smile. She didn’t need to ask, but she whispered, “Would you mind passing these out, please?”

  I stood and picked up the stack of papers on her desk. Whenever she needed something handed out, she’d ask me to do it. She thought I got bored just sitting here. Once a month my school had half days, so M would come pick me up and bring me back for her last class. Briony did the same when she was on pickup duty. Hank’s grandmother would pick up the boys at the normal time. I didn’t mind coming back to work with them. Their students were entertaining, and it was neat to see them teach.

  Heading up to the top row, I counted out the handouts and gave them to the first girl sitting there. She smiled at me, over smiled, really. Some of M’s students did that with me because they thought they could kiss up to their professor if they were nice to me. They all thought I was M’s kid because she didn’t really tell them who I was when she introduced me the first time.

  “Thanks, Olivia,” M said as I got down to the bottom row. “You’ve just been handed a case study on a now defunct manufacturing company. Work in groups of four or five to get this analysis done by next Wednesday. We’ll see where you’re at on Monday. That’s class for today, guys. Be safe out there.”