by Mark Tufo
“Danny, this is Sandy in placement,” Sandy said into her phone. “Yeah, I’ve got a kid here going to the Templeton household. I’ll call to let them know they’ll be having an addition. Can you secure me transportation to Wheat Ridge? Thank you.” She hung up.
“I have friends here,” Callis said.
“You’ll make new ones,” Sandy answered, never skipping a beat. She’d heard every plea from the kids and had a pat answer for each and every one of them.
Callis hung her head when she realized the adult was not communicating with her, but only placating until she could get her out of her office.
“Hello, yes, is your mommy home?” Sandy asked.
Callis looked up when she thought the woman was asking her. She sunk back down when she realized the woman was on the phone.
“Hello, Mrs. Templeton, this is Sandy Cummings at the Child Social Services. I have one for you if you’re interested.” There was a moment of silence. “Today, yes I’d definitely like her to be dropped off today. I can send the paperwork with her, just sign it and send it back like usual.” Another pause. “Yes, of course I can send the first month’s allotment with her.” Sandy rolled her eyes for Callis’ amusement. Callis didn’t see it. If she had, she wouldn’t have seen the humor in it anyway. “Wonderful…thank you.” She hung up.
“Excellent,” she said to Callis.
“You don’t really care do you?” Callis asked, her intuition cutting to the bone of Sandy.
Sandy was on the verge of denial but even she didn’t think she could lie that convincingly. She had thought about spewing forth a litany of profanity, however, that didn’t seem appropriate either. “Danny will be here soon. Why don’t you go wait outside?” The same fake smile stayed plastered on her cheap lipstick stained teeth.
Callis pulled herself up off the seat as if she weighed three times her present mass. Depression and angst pushed down on her soul. She closed the door silently behind her and eyed the row of cheap upholstered chairs along the hallway that led to the exit. She resignedly sat down as she realized the only place she would go, if she ran, would be home and these people would find her there.
Her head was once again hanging down as she heard the approach of footfalls.
“Hey, kid, you must be Callis.”
Callis looked up through red-rimmed eyes. “You’re Danny?”
“How old are you, sweetheart?” he asked as he sat down. Danny had graduated in the bottom of his engineering class and had yet to find a career in his chosen profession. That had been three heart breaking long years ago. Social Services, especially when dealing with kids, had made him lose more than a few nights of sleep. He had a feeling tonight was going to be one of them.
“I’m almost eleven,” she answered, her gaze never wavering from his.
Her spirit wasn’t broken yet, he thought as he looked at her. But in the seven years that it took for her to get out of being a ward of the state she would lose that light. “This your first time in foster care?” he asked, not knowing her case file.
Her head nodded. Tears silently fell from her eyes. “My parents are both dead,” she said as she pressed her hands to her face.
He wanted to pick her up and hug her fiercely, give her some comfort, but that was a big Social Services no-no. He was taught and re-taught to not get emotionally attached to his charges. He constantly wondered at the wisdom of that train of thought. How could you not? These were kids, and for the most part, they were being thrown to the wolves. The kids knew it, and so did the department. He needed to get his other career going or he was going to end up like Sandy Cummings who had thick layers of veneer over her entire spectrum of emotions…or he was going to end up with a pistol in his mouth and a large exit wound at the top of his head.
“I’m sorry, kid, I am,” he said to her, almost reaching over and grabbing her hand.
Callis looked up. The kindness in the man was hard to miss. She could see him struggling with trying to offer her more. They sat there for a few moments more.
“You ready to go?” he asked her.
She nodded. They both stood and he led her to the waiting van. The ride was quiet, Callis mostly kept her head against the cool glass of the passenger side window, tears occasionally showing. Danny contemplated asking his live-in girlfriend if she would help him raise Callis. He knew the futility in that, though. Miranda was holding out for him to get a higher paying engineering position, and if that didn’t happen sooner rather than later, she would leave him high and dry. She was much more interested in the material. He sometimes wondered why he stayed with her. Because she’s hot, he thought, that’s why.
Jodie Templeton was standing on the front porch overseeing her workers like a pit crew boss in a coal mine. The Templeton homestead was a modest style ranch; the lawn was impeccable—although it should be with all the cheap labor she had working in it. Danny shuddered as he pulled up. He was as guilty as Sandy when it came right down to it. Oh…he’d think about the girl a little longer than Sandy for sure, but other than that, he wouldn’t do anything. The next orphan would come along and Callis would just become another distant nightmare.
“This is your stop,” Danny told her.
“Are you getting out with me?” Callis asked.
He shook his head. “Please give this to Mrs. Templeton,” Danny said as he handed a packet of papers to Callis.
She took them and opened the door. She never turned back to wave at him as she headed up the cement walkway. There were two boys about fifteen years old, and a younger girl around nine, in the yard. The boys were digging post holes. They stopped to look at Callis as she went by.
“Hot, I mean…except for the bloody eye and no tits,” one of the boys said to the other as he whacked him on the shoulder.
“Dude, come on man she’s not much older than Frankie,” the other replied. Callis figured Frankie was the nine-year-old who was pulling up weeds around the house.
“Come on, come on. I don’t have all day,” Mrs. Templeton said. “Give me the papers and dump out everything you own on the lawn. Including your pockets.”
“What?” Callis asked.
“Oh please tell me they didn’t send me another stupid kid. I specifically told them I don’t want no more stupid kids.”
“I’m not stupid,” Callis muttered.
“You getting smart with me? Huh? I don’t want no smart-asses either.” Jodie Templeton placed her hands on her hips. “Dump your shit out. I want to make sure you ain’t bringing no drugs or pornography into my God-fearing house.”
Levitt, the boy that had leered at Callis, had stopped working to watch the scene unfold. Like a hawk that missed nothing, Jodie’s head whipped up. “Did I tell you to quit working, boy?”
A healthy-sized blister broke, oozing sticky pus down his hand as he plunged the shovel into the ever-deepening hole.
“Busted,” Sam said laughingly behind the other boy’s back.
“Shut up, Sam, or I’ll cut your throat. I’ll cut all of your throats starting with the pretty new girl.”
Sam did as he was told. He hadn’t known Levitt long enough to know if the boy was idly threatening or telling the truth. But the mere fact that he said those things was unsettling, and the kid easily had fifty pounds of pure muscle over him. Better to err on the side of caution. Besides, he only had two more weeks living at the Templeton workhouse before he got shipped to his next destination and away from the boy with the insane eyes.
Callis began to pull out her meager amount of clothes.
“Oh for heaven’s sake, you act as if this is Gucci,” Jodie said as she upended the bag, scattering the clothing as she shook everything out.
Callis’ face reddened as her undergarments became visible. The heat in her face intensified when she realized the mean boy was watching her.
Mrs. Templeton kicked the pile around getting grass and dirt on the clothes. “Your pockets now…turn them inside out.”
Callis could feel herself
begin to wither as she did what she was told. A few moments later, the inspection was complete.
“Well, pick up your stuff and go help Frankie do some weeding. This isn’t some spa and sauna,” Jodie Templeton said as she retreated back into the house where she plopped down on her couch, feet on her ottoman, a large glass of iced tea in her hand, and the latest installment of Judge Judy on. “Kids are a pain in the ass, but they pay well,” she said as she pulled out the check from amongst the paperwork Callis had handed her, the rest she threw on the coffee table.
“What’s your name, new girl?” Levitt asked.
Her head was once again hanging low as she mumbled a response.
“What did you say? Did she say Dallas?” Levitt asked Sam.
Sam wanted to be anywhere but here. He’d seen the bigger Levitt intimidate every kid in the house, including himself. He just hoped he could be out of this latest hellhole before something bad really happened—and with Levitt around, he knew it was just a matter of time.
“I think she said Callis,” Sam answered, hoping that would somehow appease Levitt, although anything short of subservience probably wasn’t going to do it.
“Yo, mini-bitch, look at me when I’m talking to you,” Levitt said hotly.
Callis looked up at him. She was on the verge of crying again.
“You gonna cry, little girl?” Levitt asked, mimicking concern. “Awww, are your parents dead…or did they just not want your pathetic ass?”
“Levitt, come on, man, we’ve got a bunch of holes to dig,” Sam said, hoping to deflect some of the attention the girl was getting.
Levitt spun on the smaller boy. “Stay out of my business, you wop, or you’ll have to deal with me later.”
Sam put his hands up in a placating manner.
“Where were we, little darling?” Levitt leered.
Callis was shaking, her knees threatened to collapse in on themselves.
“Hey, you little bastards! It isn’t break time, get to work!” Jodie yelled from the window.
“Yes, Mrs. Templeton,” Levitt yelled back. More quietly he added, “I’m cutting her throat first, Dallas. But you I’m going to save for last.”
Sam thought running away that night would be a good idea. He needed to make sure he hastened his departure from the up and coming mass murderer. It was too bad, he thought, Mrs. Templeton was a task master for sure, but at least she hadn’t beat him like so many of the other homes.
Callis moved woodenly over to Frankie who handed her a trowel.
“He just tries to scare people,” Frankie said softly, looking past Callis making sure Levitt hadn’t heard.
“He did a pretty good job,” Callis responded as she got on her knees next to the younger girl.
“My name’s Frankie.” She extended her dirt clod-encrusted hand.
“Callis,” she replied as she shook the girl’s hand.
They worked the remainder of the day. Callis made sure to never look up; she could feel the oppressiveness of Levitt’s gaze on her throughout the day.
“Alright, I don’t want anyone calling Social Services on me.” Jodie laughed at her own wit. “Get your asses in the house and cleaned up, everyone let the newbie in on the house rules,” she added as she closed the door.
Frankie turned to Callis. “We get five minutes in the shower each and it goes from highest age to lowest…me.” She pointed to herself. “Then we have to come down and present ourselves to Mrs. Templeton. When she’s satisfied we’re clean enough, we have to clean the main floor or cook dinner—whichever she assigns us. I usually mop the living room.”
“How many kids are there?” Callis asked as they were walking around the side of the house getting ready to go in.
“Well, you’ve met Levitt, Sam, and me, then there’s just Mrs. Templeton’s baby, Joshua. That’s it for right now, sometimes there’s more…sometimes there’s less.”
“How long have you been here?” Callis asked.
“Almost six months. It wasn’t so bad until Levitt showed up, he’s a jerk.”
“How long has he been here?”
“Almost two months, and he seems to get worse by the day.”
“You mean he wasn’t always so pleasant?” Callis asked. It wasn’t meant to be funny, and neither found any humor in it, it was merely a reflection.
“I’ll be thinking of you while I wash up,” Levitt whispered into Callis’ ear as they filed into the house.
Callis was unsure what he meant, but the menace in his voice was unmistakable.
“Hurry your little asses up, I’m starving,” Jodie said as she sat back down. “Aw shit,” she snapped as the baby began to cry.
“Want me to get him?” Callis asked, wanting to be as far away from Levitt as possible.
Mrs. Templeton looked at her for a moment. “Yeah, why don’t you make yourself useful.”
The rest of the kids went upstairs as Callis went down the hallway to the nursery. Joshua didn’t appear more than six months old. Callis picked him up and he immediately quieted down. She placed him on the changing table.
“Ewww, you’re a mess,” Callis said as she peeled the diaper back. She placed the soiled disposable in the specially designed receptacle. “Wipies, wipies, wipies, where are the baby wipes?” Callis asked as she kept one hand on the baby’s stomach and the other rummaging around in the over-sized baby bag. “Ah success,” she said as she found what she was looking for.
“You are stinky.” Callis smiled for the first time in what felt like years. “What does your mom feed you? Is it broccoli?” Once the baby was cleaned up, she tickled his belly. Joshua cooed affectionately. She placed a new diaper on him, picked him up, and turned to bring him into the other room to get him some food.
Mrs. Templeton was standing in the doorway. “Surprised to see me?” Jodie asked. “You can’t really believe I’d trust any of you little shits with my baby, do you? Although I don’t think you knew I was there, he likes you.”
Josh was playing with Callis’ ear and mumbling happily.
“Have you ever been around babies?” Mrs. Templeton asked.
“No ma’am,” Callis answered, hanging her head slightly.
“Well, congratulations! It looks like you’re a natural. You’ll make a great teenage mother. I’m going to give you all the practice you need so that when your time comes in a few years you’ll be ready. You are now officially Josh’s nanny. That means when he gets up at night, you get up at night. When he’s hungry you’ll feed him, when he craps himself, you get the honor of cleaning him. Understood?”
“Yes, Mrs. Templeton.”
“Good. Now give me my baby and go get cleaned up. Oh…and one more thing, your bag is in the communal bedroom upstairs. Bring it down here, you’ll be sleeping in Josh’s room.”
Callis wanted to thank God for the small favor, but she still was holding a grudge that she would need to work past.
“Where are you going?” Levitt asked as he pulled a shirt over his muscular torso.
“I’m Josh’s nanny,” Callis blurted out, grabbing her bag and trying to get out of the room quickly.
Levitt blocked the doorway and her escape. “Do you think that’s going to help you?”
“Please,” Callis pleaded, “I haven’t done anything to you.”
“Oh, it’s not about what you’ve done to me, it’s about what I’m going to do to you,” he said as he moved to the side so Callis could squeeze through.
Callis was outside the bathroom door when Sam finished up. Levitt was still in the doorway looking her up and down. Sam rushed past not willing or wanting to get in the middle. He hoped no harm would befall the girl, but he wouldn’t intercede on her behalf. Fostering had taught him a valuable lesson—that he was on his own, nobody but he would look out for his well-being. It was a hard, lonely lesson; one etched in blood, and he would not soon forget what helping other people got you.
Callis moved quickly into the bathroom making sure to lock the door.
“That won’t save you, baby,” Levitt whispered on the other side of the door.
Callis gasped in surprise and anguish, she turned the water on hoping to drown out his words. She spent nearly half of her allotted time shaking in the middle of the floor before she realized she needed to clean up. If she was dirty, she might lose her new job. And if that happened, she would not have anything between her and Levitt.
Mercifully he was not outside the bathroom when she was done. Mrs. Templeton had called him downstairs to rearrange the furniture so that the late day sun was not shining in her eyes while she watched the news.
Callis rushed downstairs and placed her bag in Josh’s room before Levitt could make his way back upstairs.
“Oh good, Callis, this baby…he’s getting so heavy,” Mrs. Templeton said. “Wouldn’t have even kept the little mistake if it wasn’t for the food stamps he brought in.” She handed the baby to Callis as if he were a sack of potatoes.
Josh smiled as he was deposited in her arms. Callis smiled back, the baby eased her heart. She sat on the floor with him where he played with his toys, always looking around to make sure his new playmate was within his sight line.
Frankie was in charge of dinner that night. The kids ate macaroni and cheese from a box and instant mashed potatoes. Mrs. Templeton had Chinese food delivered for herself. By the time the meal was eaten and the kitchen cleaned it was approaching seven o’clock.
“Okay, all you little wards of the state, I don’t want any of you little shits checking off a box stating I wasn’t a fair host. You’ve got two hours to do as you please before bed time. Stay quiet and stay out of my way,” Mrs. Templeton told them.
“I can’t imagine what I’ll do with a whole two hours,” Levitt said sarcastically, his gaze fixed on Callis.
“Smartass. Get out of here,” Mrs. Templeton said as she turned to Callis. Levitt dragged his finger across his throat in a slicing manner. Callis’ eyes grew wide. “You’re not going anywhere, Callis. You stay down here and watch Joshua,” Mrs. Templeton said, expecting some disagreement. She was surprised when the young girl looked eager to oblige. “Well good. I’m going to watch TV then.”