“I’m interested, for sure,” Mindy said quickly.
“Good. When can you come meet her? We can set her up in your home as a foster child until the adoption can be finalized.”
“Um, I work tomorrow, but I could come by after work and meet her.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you then,” Mr. Stewart said, and then abruptly hung up.
Mindy stared at the call ended message blinking on her cell phone. Something about this whole situation felt strange. Mindy knew there had to be something Mr. Stewart wasn’t telling her, but she crossed her fingers and hoped that this little girl would be able to come home with her. Her dream of being a mother had suddenly gone from a years’ long project to potentially happening in the next few months.
Mindy got up to put the frozen pizza in the oven, and then went to look at the second bedroom in her townhome. She had kept it simple, with a small, twin bed and small dresser. The color scheme was a neutral gray pattern. She’d hoped to someday let her newly adopted child choose his or her own bedding and decorations. Mindy picked up a small white teddy bear from the bed and hugged it close. Maybe that someday was just around the corner.
Mindy spent the rest of the evening making plans, between shoving bites of pizza into her mouth. She would have to find childcare, and she’d need to buy new clothes and toys for the little girl. She frowned as she realized that Mr. Stewart hadn’t even told her the little girl’s name. Her intuition warned her that something about this little girl was unusual, but she pushed away the sense of foreboding that suddenly filled her. Mindy crossed her arms and set her face in a hard line as she stared down at her to-do list. She was sure that whatever Mr. Stewart wasn’t telling her was something she could handle. She would do her best to be the mother that this little girl desperately needed.
* * *
“Miss Mindy, are you here to see Sophia?” Drew asked.
Mindy looked down at the freckled little face staring up at her with a concerned look. Within two seconds of stepping into the orphanage, she had been surrounded by concerned, little faces.
“Is Sophia the new girl?” Mindy asked. She rolled the name around in her head. It was a beautiful, classy name.
“Yeah. Mr. Stewart says she has to go. She causes too much trouble. He said you would take her because you’re desp-uht. What’s desp-uht mean?”
“Desperate,” Mindy corrected. “It means you want something so much that you’ll do anything to get it.”
“Are you desp-uht to take Sophia home? Why you not desp-uht to take me home?”
Mindy felt her heart breaking, and she felt anger burning in her chest at Mr. Stewart. Whatever his reasons for thinking Sophia caused trouble, and whatever his reasons for not thinking Mindy would make a good mother, he shouldn’t be burdening these children with his problems and prejudices.
Mindy belt down and gave Drew a hug. “I wish I could take you all home with me. I love you very much. But there are lots of rules about who I can take home and when, and I have to follow the rules. But even if I can’t take you home, I will always make time to come here and play with you, okay?”
“Pwomise?” Drew asked.
“Promise,” Mindy said, giving Drew another hug. “I have to go talk to Mr. Stewart now, but I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”
Drew nodded, and then skipped off with the other children. Mindy went to Mr. Stewart’s office and knocked on the door. When he bellowed for her to come in, Mindy pushed the door open and took a seat in her usual chair.
“Mindy! So good to see you. How are you?”
Mindy frowned. Mr. Stewart was keeping something from her. He never acted this happy to see her. Why was he so eager to pass Sophia off ?
“I’m great, how are you?”
“I’m fantastic! Thanks for coming by. I think you’re going to love Sophia. She’s a little shy, but she’s a sweet child.”
Mindy knew she might be jeopardizing her chances of taking Sophia home if she pressed Mr. Stewart for details, but she had to know what had caused his sudden change of heart. She took a deep breath and looked him squarely in the eyes.
“Mr. Stewart, I really appreciate the opportunity to potentially foster and adopt Sophia. But we both know that you have been strongly opposed to my adopting. What made you change your mind?”
Mr. Stewart leaned back and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I think Sophia is a sweet child, but she needs more one on one time than I can give her here. I think she would thrive much better in a home environment than here.”
Mindy frowned again. “That’s true of all the kids here.”
“Well, yes, but I think it’s true of Sophia specifically,” Mr. Stewart said, and waved his hands dismissively. “Why don’t you come meet Sophia and see for yourself what you think?”
Mindy knew Mr. Stewart was hiding something from her, and she didn’t appreciate being brushed off. But she couldn’t turn down a chance to meet Sophia. So she nodded and followed Mr. Stewart out to the backyard. He looked around a moment, and then pointed toward the swingset.
“Ah, there she is,” he said. “Sophia! Could you come here please?”
Mindy watched as the little girl who had been staring at the ground slowly raised her gaze to where Mr. Stewart stood. Even from this distance, Mindy could see that the girl was strikingly beautiful. Her dark hair hung sleek and straight around her shoulders, and her eyes were such a bright blue that Mindy could see the color from across the playground. She wore a pair of black leggings and a pale pink hoodie. Her feet had black canvas sneakers on them, and she kicked herself slowly back and forth on the swing. She seemed to contemplate what Mr. Stewart was saying, and then slowly shook her head.
“I’d like to stay here,” she said.
Mindy raised her eyebrows in surprise at how clearly the girl spoke. Most of the kids her age here struggled quite a bit with their pronunciation.
Mr. Stewart didn’t seem impressed with Sophia’s clear diction. He let out a frustrated sigh, and once again admonished the girl to leave the swing set.
“Sophia,” he said. “When I ask you to do something I expect you to do it.”
Sophia gazed at him calmly, and then shook her head again. She went back to looking down at the ground, rocking herself slowly back and forth on the swing with her feet.
“Sophia!” Mr. Stewart said. His voice took on a sharp tone that made even Mindy cringe.
“It’s okay,” Mindy said. “I’ll go over there and talk to her.”
Mindy walked to the swing set and sat on the swing next to Sophia.
“Hi, Sophia,” she said. “I’m Mindy. Is it okay if I sit here?”
Sophia shrugged, and kept swinging.
“How do you like it here?” Mindy asked
Sophia shrugged again. “It’s okay, I guess. But I probably won’t be here very long. Every time I get used to a place, they decide they don’t like me and move me.”
Mindy frowned. “What makes you think they don’t like you?”
“I cause trouble,” Sophia said simply.
“What kind of trouble?” Mindy asked.
“I’m not supposed to say,” Sophia said. “They told me if I say why I’m different, that nobody will want me.”
Mindy’s heart broke a little at the matter-of-fact tone in Sophia’s voice. Clearly, something about Sophia was different. The fact that the girl had been bounced around so much, and that even Mr. Stewart didn’t want her, signaled that there was something deeper going on. But, Mindy wanted to give the girl a chance. Sophia seemed to have a sweet, mellow spirit, and there was a certain intelligence in her eyes that went far beyond her years.
What would you think of coming home with me?” Mindy asked.
Sophia tilted her head sideways and gave Mindy a long, hard gaze. “Whatever,” she finally said. “Doesn’t matter if I stay here or go with you. Either way, I’ll be moving again soon.”
“Well, I’d like you to stay with me for quite a while. It will be up to you how
long, but I hope you stay for a long, long time.”
Sophia scrunched up her nose, and shrugged again. Mindy did a double take at the familiarity of Sophia’s expression. Sophia’s scrunched up facial expression had a remarkable resemblance to the way Zach scrunched up his nose when he was thinking. The more Mindy looked at Sophia, the more she thought the little girl looked just like Zach. It was a strange, almost eerie coincidence.
Mindy squeezed Sophia’s shoulder. “I’ll let you get back to swinging,” Mindy said. But if it’s okay with you, I’m going to make plans with Mr. Stewart for you to come home with me in a few days.”
Sophia shrugged, and didn’t seem to show much interest in what Mindy was saying, so Mindy gave her shoulder one more squeeze and then returned to where Mr. Stewart was standing. Mindy had never seen Mr. Stewart appear so anxious. He twirled his thumbs around each other in rapid little circles and let out a nervous laugh.
“So, what did you think?” he asked. “She seems like a bright girl, doesn’t she?”
“She does. I think she’s a smart, sweet little girl. Let’s go back inside and discuss this,” Mindy said, and started walking back toward the building. Mr. Stewart followed silently. For the first time since she’d known him, Mindy felt like she had the upper hand in the conversation. Mr. Stewart sat meekly in his desk chair and waited for Mindy to speak.
“What’s the deal with her, really?” Mindy asked. “She said she’s been bounced around several places, and she doesn’t think that she’ll be staying here long, either. She told me that she was not supposed to say why. Do you know anything about that?”
Mr. Stewart let out another nervous laugh. “I’m not sure what she means by saying she isn’t supposed to talk about it. She’s been through several orphanages in the short amount of time that she’s been without her mother because she doesn’t get along well with any of the other kids, that’s all. That’s exactly why I think she would do better in an actual home, and I was hoping you could take her.”
Mindy could smell Mr. Stewart lying from a mile away. She knew he was hiding something from her, but maybe it didn’t matter. Whatever it was, she was sure she could handle it. After all, she handled all types of people with all types of attitudes every day in her job as a nurse.
“And you’re sure that nobody knows anything about the family?” Mindy asked. Something about the way Sophia looked like Zach was nagging at the back of Mindy’s mind.
“We can’t find any information about any extended family. The mother’s name was Rita Wilcox, and she had an expired Idaho driver’s license. She’d been in a small town in Idaho for a few years, apparently. But no one knew where she lived before that. The girl’s birth certificate is from Idaho, and, like I said earlier, only has the mother listed.”
“And no one has any idea who the father might be?” Mindy asked.
Mr. Stewart shook his head. “No, no one has any information. I think it’s likely that Rita didn’t know who the dad was. But, in any case, we have no leads on anyone else who might be even remotely related to Sophia.”
“Okay,” Mindy said. “Well, I’d like to bring Sophia home as a foster child, and see how things go. If she likes me and we seem to click, then we can start the adoption process. How long will everything take?”
“Well,” Mr. Stewart said. “You’ve already done a lot of the legwork for adopting and fostering. You’ve done a home study, filled out the necessary paperwork, and done the necessary background checks, so we should be able to get Sophia home with you as a foster child within a matter of days. The adoption will obviously take longer, and we’ll have to get a court date set for that. The average time to finalize everything is about six months. But Sophia should be able to live with you during that time.”
Mindy nodded, and stood. “Okay,” she said. “Let me know if there’s any more paperwork you need from me, and I’ll get it done right away.”
Mr. Stewart slid a folder across the desk to her. “There are a few more things we need. Here’s a folder of forms for you to fill out. It should be pretty straightforward, but, of course, feel free to ask me any questions or to consult a lawyer. You can fax it over when you’re done. As soon as I get approval from Sophia’s caseworker, we can set things up for her to go home with you.
Mindy took the folder and thanked Mr. Stewart, then left his office. She stuffed the folder into her large purse, and went to the back door of the building that looked out at the play yard. She saw the familiar faces of the kids she spent time with every week as they ran around playing tag. A small group of them sat in the sandbox building a large mound of sand that Mindy assumed was intended to be a sandcastle. The swing set was empty, except for Sophia, who still sat slowly pushing herself back and forth with the scuffed toes of her black canvas sneakers. Mindy decided that she would play with the children for a few minutes and then go home and start on the paperwork. Whatever the issues were that Sophia was facing, Mindy would help her through them. Mindy couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to a four-year-old girl to lose her mother, the only family she had ever known. The poor girl probably felt traumatized and very alone. The best thing anyone could do for her at this point was to give her a permanent, stable home—and that’s exactly what Mindy would do. As soon as Mindy set her purse down on a bench near the building wall and started walking toward the sandbox, Drew spotted her and shrieked in delight.
“Miss Mindy! Miss Mindy! Come over and play in the sambox,” he said.
Mindy smiled and nodded, heading in his direction. But when she glanced over at the swingset to invite Sophia over as well, the little girl was gone. Mindy glanced at the door just in time to see Sophia’s small, slender form disappearing back into the building. Sophia somehow walked the same way that Zach walked. Mindy couldn’t quite explain it, but the resemblance was uncanny.
Mindy told herself that she was crazy, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Zach was somehow connected to this girl. She watched Sophia’s silhouette until the door closed behind it. She finally tore her eyes away when she felt Drew’s little hand grabbing hers and pulling her toward the sandbox. But, long after she had stopped looking, the image of Sophia’s walking into the building with slumped shoulders remained etched in her mind. Mindy already felt her heart filling with love and concern for the child, and she determined that no matter what it took, she would provide the love and safe place to land that Sophia needed.
Whatever trouble Sophia might cause, Mindy would love her through it.
Chapter Nine
A few days later, after a whirlwind of filling out paperwork and setting up childcare for the hours she would be at work, Mindy got the approval to provide foster care for Sophia. It was Tuesday morning when Mr. Stewart called her with the news, and Mindy almost forgot about her lunch date with Zach amidst her excitement. She was tempted to cancel, but thought better of it. She needed to eat, after all. And, although she had received the approval to bring Sophia home, she wouldn’t officially be able to pick her up until that Friday. In the meantime, she might as well keep herself as busy as possible to help speed up the wait.
Mindy arrived at the pizzeria before Zach, and found a booth in the back corner. She sat facing the door so that she could see Zach when he walked in, and then started looking over the menu. Right before their scheduled meeting time, the bells above the front door jingled as Zach entered the restaurant.
Mindy let her eyes skim appreciatively over the outline of his body. He was wearing a snug-fitting, long-sleeved black T-shirt that showed off his bicep muscles. He also wore a pair of relaxed fit blue jeans, and Mindy noticed again how long his legs were. She couldn’t deny that she loved looking at him. Although he acted like an asshole the majority of the time, and she would never actually date anyone like him, that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the eye candy.
Zach looked around the restaurant with a tense expression that relaxed into a smile when he saw Mindy. He gave her a little wave, and hurried over to the booth.
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br /> “Hey there,” he said. “Thanks for meeting me. How’s your day?”
“Pretty good so far,” Mindy said. “I just got some good news that I’ve been waiting several days to hear.”
“Nice,” Zach said, flashing Mindy a bright smile. “Are you going to be vague and annoying and leave it at that, or are you going to share what the news was?”
Mindy laughed. “Well, believe it or not, I’ve actually been trying to adopt a child for quite some time. It looks like I’m finally going to be able to adopt a little four-year-old girl. I just got approved to bring her home on Friday as a foster child, and I’ve started the legal process to formally adopt her. I’m so excited to be a mom. I know it’s probably a little weird to tell you all of that, since I don’t know you that well. But I’ve waited so long for this that I just want to tell everyone who will listen.”
To Mindy’s surprise, Zach seemed somewhat upset by her statement. He coughed a few times before speaking.
“That’s great,” he said. “I’m so happy for you.” His voice sounded sincere, but all of the color had drained from his face.
“What’s the matter?” Mindy asked. “Are you okay? You look really pale all of a sudden.”
Zach looked up at her, and managed a weak smile. “I’m great,” he said, even though it was obvious that he wasn’t.
Mindy resisted the urge to press him for details, and instead went back to studying the menu. Zach’s emotions seemed to be on a never ending roller coaster ride. From the moment she had met him, he’d been angry one minute and happy the next. Or he’d acted rude and then just as suddenly switched to friendly. The guy needed to get his act together. Mindy had never met a man whose emotions were all over the place as much as his. Which was yet another reason that she might admire his good looks, but she would never date him.
This time, Zach seemed to recover quickly from whatever had caused his sudden shift in mood. After a few minutes of silently perusing the menu, he returned to his normal, chatty self. They ordered drinks and pizza, and then he started talking Mindy’s ear off about his preparations for the smokejumping season. He detailed how he had checked and repaired his gear, and how he was intensifying his workouts to be ready for the physical demands of the job. Mindy didn’t quite understand how he could possibly need to be in better shape than he already was, but he seemed pretty adamant about the fact that he was not in top firefighting form.
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