The usual evening routine followed dinner.
Ben and Kayla waited to give Kimmy a chore so she could get settled in. Usually, they give the kids at least a week or so. Sometimes the kids settled in quickly and were able to help out within a week. But Sometimes they needed a little extra time. It just depended on the kid.
Samson seemed to take an instant liking to the kid. After he was fed, Samson spent most of the evening in the upstairs loft with Kimmy until Ben called him to go outside one last time for the night before they went to bed. The two of them had been snuggling together on the floor while watching her videos. It was an adorable sight to find coming up the stairs, that Ben had asked Kimmy if he could take a picture of them on his phone.
Kids were not allowed to be shown on social media for privacy reasons. Some foster parents skirted around the rule by pasting a sticker over the kid's face. Kayla just didn't share any photos. Both she and Ben took photos of the kids, but it was only to save memories. For them and for the kids' parents to keep them posted on how their kids were doing, which the parents especially loved.
Ben had offered Kimmy to send the photo to her mom but promised no one else.
Kimmy looked away as if thinking about it and nodded.
So, Ben pulled up the camera app on his phone and stood up to take a picture. He offered to show it to her, but Kimmy wasn't interested.
Ben took Samson downstairs to get his leash and harness, remembering he hadn't taken him out for a walk in a couple of days. He asked if Kimmy wanted to come, but she declined. Mary and Miguel jumped on his offer, though, while Kayla stayed with Claudia and Kimmy.
Since it was late, they were only gone long enough to walk around the block. Ben usually made an effort to take Samson on walks. Some days were hectic and there wasn't enough time. It also helped some kids open up when it was just them.
When they got back, both humans and dog hydrated.
While Kayla helped Miguel get ready for bed, Ben offered to call Kimmy's mom for her. Leonard had given Kayla Stella's number for now while they finished getting visitation settled, but phone calls had to be monitored. Stella had been very vocal and angry towards CPS, including to her own daughter. Ben could understand the hostility of having her children taken from her, but agreed that shouldn't be put on a kid who was dealing with being separated from her family and moving around strangers.
Stella answered on the third ring. "Hello?"
Ben had placed the call on speaker so both he and Kimmy could hear. "Hello, is this Stella?"
"Speaking."
Ben smiled over at Kimmy, who was now sitting up. "Hey, Stella, this is Benjamin Ross. You can call me Ben. I am here with Kimmy. My wife and I will be her foster parents for the time being and we thought we would call so you both can say good night and let Kimmy tell you about her day."
Ben let Kimmy speak, but with him there the conversation was one-sided, with Stella only talking. He at least stepped in to share. He told her about coloring with Miguel and jumping on the trampoline afterwards, and having pizza for dinner.
"Speaking of, do you have any particular diets you feed Kimmy? Or is anything okay?" It was a question they tried to ask the parents if they could, especially if the family was vegan or vegetarian, or if there was a specific religion, or even food allergies the caseworker wasn't aware of. In all the stress and anxiety from their kids being taken and minds racing, not everything comes to mind in the moment.
"Other than she's a picky eater with fruits and vegetables, she'll eat anything you give her," Stella said, and pointed out pizza was her favorite. "Has she annoyed you with her boyfriend yet?"
As soon as her mother said it, color filled her cheeks and discomfort spread across the kid's face, which she buried into the floor.
"Uh, are you referring to...?" Ben searched his memory bank of the guy Kimmy was watching earlier.
Before he could say more, Stella said it. "She's obsessed with him. She watches him more than her cartoons."
If it was possible to dig herself into the floor, that's how Kimmy looked, practically.
He smiled at the sight. Nine was the age kids usually developed crushes, right? "She was watching him all afternoon until we had our quiet hour." Ben explained what that was to Stella, who told him good luck. Kimmy wasn't fond of anything to do with school or homework. "Has she gotten any kind of extra help?"
"She won't speak up to ask for help," Stella said, as if she was annoyed.
"Well, while Kimmy's with us, we can try to help with that." Ben then reassured he and Kayla knew how important keeping the line of communication open and Stella could call them any time she had a question about anything or wanted to see how her daughter was doing and they'll send pictures when they can, including the one he just took with Kimmy cuddling with their dog, which he gave his condolences for the loss of theirs.
Stella thanked him, and not just for the condolences. "Nice to see someone isn't an asshole."
Ben glanced over at Kimmy, who was sitting up again, picking at a loose thread in the carpet. "There will be no judgment towards anyone," he said to keep the conversation lighthearted. "We're all doing the best we can with the current circumstances."
But Stella continued to push judgment, which Ben said he would have to hang up if she continued comments like that in front of her young daughter. She backed off. He then turned to see if to give Kimmy another chance to tell her mom anything, but again, with him there, no words came.
Ben assured, they'll give her time and said good night for now and let Stella say good night to Kimmy.
After the call, he asked if Kimmy took showers or baths, and showed her where the towels and washcloths were in the linen closet and let her be so Kimmy can get ready for bed and let her know he would go put her tablet on the charger for her.
Everyone else got ready for bed as well. Claudia and Kimmy shared the hallway bathroom, since Mary and Miguel had their own.
When Ben poked his head in to say good night, he asked if Kimmy had a toy to sleep with and if she wanted one. She showed him a plush of a life-like rabbit laying on the bed.
Asking for permission first, Ben sat on the edge of the bed. "We're just across the hallway if you need anything. Don't be afraid to wake us, okay?"
She nodded.
"If you want a drink of water during the night, you are welcome to go downstairs. Same if you need a midnight snack. The kitchen is always open unless there is a name on it. The only thing is no electronics after bedtime. Fair?"
Before Kimmy could answer, Claudia spoke up from a book she had to read for school. "No."
Ben stifled a sigh. They have already had several arguments with Claudia not agreeing with the "no electronics after bedtime" rule.
He turned back to Kimmy. "We don't do this to be mean. We're just trying to help make healthy habits, especially when it comes to screen time." Ben also pointed out he grew up while TV, computers, and video games were widely becoming dominant in almost every household.
Ben stood up, patting the bed beside her foot. "Good night, girls," he told both of them as he headed towards the door.
"Good night," Claudia replied while Kimmy laid down. She reached over to turn on the lamp on her nightstand and Ben turned the ceiling fan light off so it wouldn't be too bright for Kimmy, reminding Claudia not to stay up too late.
"Yeah, yeah." Claudia returned to her reading.
-- & --
Kayla was saying good night to Miguel and Mary when Ben stuck his head in to do the same. Miguel wanted a hug and kiss from him when he saw Ben.
Ben gladly went over and leaned over to wrap the boy in his arms, kissing the side of his forehead. "Good night, buddy. Sweet dreams, okay?"
"Good night, Tio." Miguel squeezed Ben in return.
He then headed through the bathroom to Mary to do the same.
Once all four of their foster kiddos were taken care of, Ben and Kayla headed to their room to get ready for bed.
While Ben was changing in their closet, he noted he spoke to Kimmy's mother over the phone so Kimmy could say good night and let Kayla know she had their phone numbers.
"Did you make sure to supervise the conversation the entire time?" Kayla asked from the bathroom.
"Yep," he replied, changing into a white undershirt he wore to bed. "Stella seems understanding and cooperative. At least with us. She's appreciative of us sending texts and photos to keep her posted on how Kimmy's doing."
"I can imagine," she said in a sympathetic tone.
Ben finished changing and joined Kayla to brush his own teeth, which she asked how he was doing. He wasn't sure how to answer.
Ben thought back on the day. What stood out to him the most was in the kitchen when he was letting her decide dinner, and how she got so overwhelmed, it brought on tears.
Kayla sensed his silence and reached over to touch his arm, reminding him to give it time.
He loved this job so much that it wasn't even a job to him. Kayla's salary paid most of their bills and stuff, so the money they received for being foster parents went directly to support the kids, including fun trips on the weekend and school breaks. School lunches, visitation with family members, helping someone with their homework, playing a game. Sure, there may have been rough days, but seeing a kid smile, much less laugh, after the trauma these kids have been through felt all worth it and Ben wanted to do all he could to help them, no matter how long they were in their home.
Since Kayla needed to work on the week's Bible study chapter, she and Ben stayed up a little while longer and discussed it together.
-- & --
The next morning, Kayla insisted on taking over getting the kids up and ready for school while Ben focused on breakfast and lunch. Though, poor Kimmy got a rude awakening, along with a heart attack when Claudia's alarm clock went off.
She tried going back to sleep since she wasn't enrolled yet. But since Kayla had to go back to work and Ben was taking the other kids to school, she had to get up, anyway.
Kimmy came down, dressed in basketball shorts and a graphic T-shirt with Minecraft characters on the front.
Ben greeted her when she came around the corner. "Do you like oatmeal?"
Kimmy shrugged.
He chuckled. "Well, care to try some? Mine's a homemade recipe."
Kimmy shrugged some more, so he scooped some oatmeal into a bowl and took it over to the table for her, since it was hot.
Miguel was already sitting at the table, finishing his bowl of oatmeal, and gave his recommendation to Kimmy.
While Ben poured some orange juice for her, Kimmy scooped out the strawberries and dumped them on the table beside her bowl.
"Not a fan of strawberries, huh?" He said, setting the cup near the front of her bowl.
Kayla came downstairs, dressed for work. "I told the girls to wrap it up. They should be down in a bit," she said, pouring some coffee into a travel mug.
Ben poured a bowl of oatmeal for her, passing it to her, along with a kiss, good morning. To his relief, the older girls came down with Mary first, followed shortly by Claudia, each taking a bowl of oatmeal from him and sat around the table.
Kayla was the first to finish and rinsed off her bowl in the sink. She kissed Mary and Miguel good-bye, wishing all the kids a great day, before kissing Ben one last time. As always, she told them not to give Ben too much trouble.
"Ha ha, very funny," he called after her with sarcasm and heard her laugh as she headed towards the garage.
After breakfast, Ben helped Miguel with his shoes while the older girls raced outside to see who got to sit in the front seat.
Kimmy, who already had her shoes on, waited inside with the boys.
"You can head out there with them. We'll be right out," Ben told her, tying Miguel's shoes, who wanted to tie the other shoe on his own.
Kimmy headed outside with her hands in her shorts pockets.
Miguel was successful at the first part, but needed some guidance on the rest. Ben still let him do it for the most part, so he would learn. It took a couple of tries, but he eventually was able to make a bow.
"I did it!" He declared.
"Yeah," Ben held up his hand for a high five, "great job, buddy."
Miguel returned the high five, jumping on his feet.
Once the guys got outside where the girls were waiting, Ben was greeted with protests to hurry up because they were melting out there. According to Mary, anyway.
Ben unlocked and started the truck, realizing he could have given one of the girls the keys.
Since Miguel was the smallest, he had the boy move his car seat to the middle of the back seat while his sister and Kimmy sat on either side of him. Thankfully, they headed for Claudia's school first, who needed to speak to one of her teachers about an assignment she missed the day Ben let her miss.
On the way, whenever Ben glanced in the rearview mirror, he noticed Kimmy inch closer towards the door. If Miguel accidentally brushed against her, she would recoil further, pinning her arm as close to her body as if any kind of touch was painful.
Ben pulled up to the high school to let Claudia out of the truck, wishing her a great day.
As soon as she was out, Mary was jumping up front to take her place. So, Ben suggested Miguel scoot over to give him and Kimmy their own space.
On the way to Mary's school and even his school, Miguel tried once more to be friendly towards Kimmy, telling her anything his four, almost five-year-old mind can think of, asking questions like what her favorite so and so, and stuff like that until Ben suggested asking yes or no questions so Kimmy can answer through head motions.
"Like, what?" He asked with a shrug.
"Like, do you like tacos?" It was the first thing to pop into his mind.
"I love tacos," Miguel said instantly.
Ben chuckled. "I mean, ask Kimmy the question."
"Oh." Miguel turned his head towards Kimmy and asked her.
Kimmy looked at him again and nodded, which brought on more questions as Miguel asked whether she liked any word he could think of for the rest of the way to his school. He even got goofy with his questions, laughing at his own jokes. It received a few weird looks from Kimmy. To be fair, it brought some life into her face.
Since Ben had to walk Miguel to his classroom and couldn't leave Kimmy alone, she had to go in with them. She waited outside the classroom, kicking at rocks that had gotten kicked onto the sidewalk.
Ben was only gone for a minute until he returned. "Well, guess it's just you and me for a day, kiddo."
Kimmy followed a few feet behind with her hands in her pockets, watching the ground in front of her. She split from him to head to the other side of the truck and started to climb into the front seat.
"Sorry, kiddo, you gotta ride in the back," he said, motioning towards the back seat with his head.
Kimmy stared at him for a moment, but did as she was told and climbed into the back seat.
There was no law in Arizona that said kids couldn't ride in the front seat. Ben had always ridden up front with both of his parents and his grandparents while growing up. But since cars were different these days, Kayla suggested they follow the warning their vehicles came with, especially since these kids weren't theirs. Like Kimmy, that was also a foreign concept for a couple of the kids they had to explain to.
Turning in his seat, Ben suggested, "How about we do some shopping since it's just us for a few hours?"
Kimmy just shrugged.
Ben chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."
He turned forward and started the truck. He asked if Kimmy liked any music, even listing through the popular genres. It didn't seem like Kimmy was at that age yet where she was into music and just settled on one of his country stations for now. Though, he asked if Kimmy's family had any religious beliefs, making a mental note to ask Stella before Sunday to see if Kimmy can come to church with them if she wanted to.
He then backed out of the parking space and headed for the Target closest to their house.
Author's Note:
So, I was not expecting any of my Gilmore Girls readers to be interested in this story, but I am glad some of you seem to like it! I always said I wanted to do this for a living someday and I had made it a goal this year to finally get serious and pursue my dream! I should mention, since I plan on hopefully publishing this story, anything might be changed, added, or deleted entirely, so if there's anything that stands out to you or like, let me know!