Kayla got home after dinner and chores were finished while the girls were watching MTV in the family room. It was perfect since all they had to call was Miguel, who was working on his latest Lego project, in the upstairs loft they used as a community play room.
Ben had saved her a plate, but Kayla assured she would eat later so they could have the meeting wrapped up by Miguel's bedtime.
With all the kids in the family room now, the first words out of their mouths were, "Are we getting a new kid?" Even while Miguel was hurrying into the room like they would start without him.
"We might be getting another kid, yes," Kayla told them.
"Is it a boy?" Miguel asked, pouncing onto the couch next to his sister.
"Is it another girl our age?" Mary asked, on the edge of her seat towards the woman.
"It is another girl," she confirmed calmly.
Miguel moaned, slumping back into the couch while Mary cheered, "Yay!"
"Kimmy is nine years old, however. Which is one of the reasons why we called you all for a family meeting."
Claudia raised her hand part way up where she was still slouched on the couch while watching TV. She didn't wait to be called on. "I already said I'm okay with her being in my room."
"Yes, Ben told me, Claudia," Kayla assured the oldest girl. "I'm glad you are willing to let a kid room with you. That's very sweet of you. But what if Kimmy isn't comfortable rooming with you, an almost adult?"
Claudia shrugged. "I will let her know I'm fun to be around, then. I just don't think Mary should have to give up her room just because of that."
"I mean, I'm okay doing it if I have to," Mary pointed out. "I'm just worried about Miguel." She glanced over at her brother, who was still laying on the couch where he had dropped, with a sour look on his face. She reached over to tickle his knee sticking in the air.
"That's why we wanted to ask you first and see how you both feel about it," said Ben. "See if Miguel would be willing to try being separated from you now that he's had some time with us." He turned to the youngest in the room. "What do you think, bud? Would you be willing to try not having your sister in the room next to you?"
Miguel sat up. "Um." The sour look turned into a worried expression.
"You can say no," Kayla reassured him.
"I don't know," he said instead, while looking over at his big sister.
She nudged him with the back of her hand to encourage him. "You can do it."
Miguel was still unsure to say yes, even with the encouragement from everyone. He fidgeted with a toy car that had been left there as he drove it along the couch cushion beside him.
Claudia exaggerated a loud groan. "For God's sake, just have Kimmy stay in my room. Case closed already."
Ben looked over at Kayla. Neither of them have seen Claudia fight this much on something. "What do you think?" In their state, there wasn't a rule per se, regarding the same gender rooming together if there was a large age gap. But usually it's the teenager who doesn't want to room with a much younger kid.
Kayla shrugged. "We can give it a try if this is really what you want, Claudia. But, since she's younger, you're gonna have to be open to things like a night light if she still needs one."
"Didn't you say she's nine, though?" Mary asked.
"Some kids can still need a night light when they are older, regardless of any age," she explained.
"Yeah, Mary," Miguel told his sister, who also still slept with a night light, along with a CD that played soft lyric-less music.
"Hush, you," Mary playfully scolded, receiving a tongue aimed at her. So, she pushed on his head to knock it away, playfully.
Miguel got up onto his legs and tackled her, knocking her back in a headlock.
"Okay, you two. Settle down," Kayla told the siblings before turning back to Claudia. "Is that all okay?"
She shrugged it off as if it wasn't a big deal. "I already said yes."
"I'm just making sure. A lot of teenagers your age are usually fighting to have their own room."
"Like my cousin when she was a kid," Ben said, holding his arms folded across his chest.
"Well, I'm not your cousin," she pointed out with a quick shrug, with a slight attitude this time. Neither he nor Kayla called her out on the attitude, letting it slide for now.
"That is true, yes," he agreed with her. "But if things don't work out, we may have to make some room changes if we go through with this arrangement. Is everyone clear on that?" Ben looked around at the kids, who each responded differently. "Alrighty then. Class dismissed."
Miguel stood up on the couch to step over to the nearby ottoman, where Kayla was sitting in the matching armchair. "Since you're home, does that mean we can read a chapter tonight?"
She reached out to boop him on the nose with her finger, causing him to giggle. "You bet, bud. But, first," Kayla turned back to Claudia as she was getting up to head upstairs to her room. "Claudia, I wanted to talk to you before the end of the night."
"Sure," Claudia said with a casual shrug before turning back to head upstairs.
-- & --
While the kids got ready for bed, Kayla warmed up the plate Ben had set aside for her. Ben helped Miguel with his bath. Mostly, he oversaw the events since Miguel showed him he could now dress himself. He at least helped with wherever Miguel couldn't reach, like his back.
When Miguel was ready for bed, including teeth brushed and face washed, Kayla had come up to read the next chapter with him.
Since Kayla was planning on talking with Claudia once she was done reading to Miguel, Ben headed back downstairs to the family room to turn on a football game, which Samson came into the room. Ben repeatedly rubbed the dog's head in his hands while paying attention to the game and threw his favorite chewed up toy for him for a while.
Mary eventually returned, changed into pajama pants and a lime green tank top. "Can I watch with you?" she asked, leaning on the back of the couch.
Ben leaned his head back against the couch to look up at her. "Is your project all done for tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Ben asked to see it, which Mary hurried into the front living room to fetch the now decorated posterboard. She brought it back to show him and gave a brief presentation of what it's for, to practice on him. He praised her for a job well done and gave the okay to give back her screen time.
Mary hurried to go put her project away and came back to sit with him, asking questions about what was going on while laying close by. They watched for the last hour of the game when it was close to bedtime.
Ben made sure both the front door and back sliding glass door were locked and followed Mary upstairs. The two of them parted ways for the night in the hallway, which he gave her a kiss on the head and went to his room to get changed and wait up for Kayla, who was talking to Claudia. In the meantime, Ben sat up in bed, reading from the book of Mathew, chapter eleven, in his study bible.
He had never really been a serious reader, not even as a kid. Now and then, he found a book that piqued his interest, but it was rare. The bible, however, was not one of them. Most parts were boring to read for him and he had so many questions throughout the whole thing. One in particular was that everyone jokes about Moses and the burning bush thing, but why was no one talking about the fact Balaam's donkey speaks and he answers like this was a normal thing? Though, whenever he reads it, the donkey always sounds like the actor, Eddie Murphy, in his head.
Regardless of the questions he always had throughout the entire book, Ben still held onto a faith in God and in Jesus after these last few years. It wasn't something he could explain exactly. Again, that was Kayla's talent, while his talent was just being a friend. But, ever since his wife came into his life and introduced him to the Big Guy Upstairs, everything else seemed to fall into place.
Ben dropped the book open on his stomach and stared up at the ceiling after he finished reading the section. He had left a voicemail, letting Leonard know they would take Kimmy. Since it was already late and she wasn't an emergency placement, the older man wouldn't get it until the next morning. It was rare when they were given a day for a new placement. Usually, it was two, three hours tops.
Ben just couldn't stop thinking about this little girl and wondered why she chose not to speak outside her family. Was it just a shyness that most kids go through in new, uncomfortable places? Or was there something keeping her from speaking? Miguel was shy and timid when he first came to their home. He had been so terrified he barely could speak and could only manage a head motion to yes or no questions. But he was able to at least tell Kayla his sister's name so they could contact their case worker to have both him and Mary together. But, apparently, this kid didn't even say one word.
So far, only neglect was reported.
You have to help this kid! The same voice inside his head, he's heard practically all his life screamed. It was the same voice that influenced his dream of becoming a foster parent, which few guys have. Most of the couples in their training classes were there because the wife wanted to do it and some took a lot of effort to convince their husbands while others jumped on board with the idea of helping support their wives, and especially the kids.
Kayla had never seen herself becoming a mom before she met Ben. She had been one of those career-focused people. But then she met and got to know Ben, who shared his passion with wanting to help kids who had suffered trauma in their lives, and fell in love with his big heart. Though, she also helped keep him grounded because sometimes his big heart can get him into trouble. Saying no was a struggle for Ben, which was why they had agreed that they wouldn't take in a placement until Ben had talked it over with Kayla, and she helped talk him through if it was a right fit or not. If Ben had things his way, they'd have a house full of kids and everything would be pure chaos, twenty-four-seven.
Ben stared up at the ceiling so far in thought he hadn't heard Kayla come into the room and sit on her side of the bed until he felt his arm being touched. He flinched at the touch, spinning his head over in Kayla's direction. His heart fluttered.
"Kay, you scared the crap out of me," he informed her, using a nickname only Ben was allowed to call her.
She snickered at him, but apologized. "You're not obsessing over this new kid, are you?" Kayla unfortunately knew him well enough to call him out when that voice of his shows its face.
Ben just shot her an annoyed glare. "I am not obsessing over anything," he stubbornly denied. He turned his head to stare in front of him at nothing in particular. "I was just thinking."
Kayla leaned close to him and began affectionately rubbing his upper arm. "You want to talk about it?"
His head dropped back against the headboard with a soft thud, now staring up at the ceiling.
Kayla continued to rub his arm, moving up and down over his shirt sleeve.
He stared at the ceiling for a moment before changing the subject. "Everything go okay with Claudia?"
"Yeah, we talked a little about the bullying and that it's only verbal harassment."
Ben placed the bookmark inside where he had been reading. "She was very adamant when I suggested going down there and talking to the school for her, that it would be a Karen thing for me to do and then had her explain what that even means." To be fair, even while growing up, he never kept up on what the other kids were doing, either. So the stuff that was relevant then was lost on him, as well.
"That term had been floating around the internet for a while," she said, adding it was one of the things mentioned by her co-workers whenever they talked about their kids or by kids of relatives or by friends' children.
Ben shook his head. "I will never understand some of the stuff kids come up with."
Kayla reached her head up to affectionately kiss him on the cheek to help him feel better. "That's why I love you." He knew she meant it as a tease.
Ben was an easy target to pick on. Though, at the end of the day, it was all in good fun. They let the kids join in, especially Kayla, but if the kids took it too far, she would then step in and let them know as a warning. There hadn't really been a reason for Kayla to do that until Claudia came to them. So far, though, it never escalated further than a warning, thankfully.
Serious now, Kayla said, "We did talk about the stuff that had been bothering her and I encouraged Claudia to vent."
Ben looked over at once when he heard Claudia had vented to Kayla. Until now, she hadn't wanted to, especially to him. Even when Kayla had offered before.
To help the kids learn to trust them, Kayla used the method of asking what the kids needed whenever they needed to talk, whether that was advice or if they just needed to vent. That way, there would be no confusion and they could open up without judgment. Ben was still working on getting better since he was always wanting to help the kids feel better and didn't like seeing them upset. Guess letting Claudia skip school for the day helped her feel comfortable venting to Kayla.
"I also let her know that if the girls ever got physical, she has to let us know," Kayla continued. "But since it's only rude comments and jokes they're making, I told her we won't do anything for now, and told her unfortunately that kind of stuff doesn't stop after high school."
He shrugged. "That's how kids learn that kind of thing in the first place. By watching the adults in their lives. Doesn't make it right, but what can you do?"
Kayla looked over at him with a shrug of her own. "You can only control yourself and how you react."
Ben smiled on the outside, but on the inside, it pained him to know one of their foster kiddos was having to deal with bullying after everything else she's been through.
Things were silent for a moment before Kayla broke it.
"I have an important meeting first thing in the morning, but Kevin says I can be there by Zoom. So I can be here when Kimmy arrives."
He let her know he had already left a voicemail for Leonard. By lunchtime tomorrow, Leonard would probably bring Kimmy, so it would give them plenty of time to prepare. Or Ben at least while Kayla focused on work related stuff.
"You sure you're okay?" she asked, making sure, not letting it go, completely. She gave his arm another affectionate rub with the back of her fingers this time.
He reassured he would be, and that it was only the "new placement" jitters he usually gets every time. It's even worse when they get a day to prepare.
Kayla suggested saying a prayer to help him feel better. She started off by thanking God for the blessings they had, including the ones from the day, including Claudia feeling like she can open up a little more to them, and said a prayer for her, and also for Mary and Miguel, and their situation. And, lastly, they said a prayer for Kimmy and her family, along with her and Ben, to keep an open mind and to be able to share some love with them, however long she may be staying.
"In Jesus' name," Kayla prayed, which both said, "amen."
The couple finished with a kiss on the lips this time.