On the drive home, Ben got a call from Leonard. He was at the house to check in with Kimmy. Most of the time, caseworkers call ahead of time to let them know, while other times it would be a surprise visit. This time was the latter.
Leonard's black car was parked out front when Ben pulled into the driveway. The older man got out with his zip folder tucked under his arm about the same time the kids piled out of the truck. Leonard greeted Ben when he opened his door, while coming up the driveway.
Miguel jumped out first, waving up at Leonard, and politely said hello. As any kid would do, he held up a macaroni art project he made in school, proudly showing it off even though that wasn't his case worker.
Miguel explained his thought process as Leonard complimented his macaroni art project.
Kimmy climbed out of the truck without acknowledging the man.
"Can you please at least wave and acknowledge Leonard? Please?" Ben asked, closing his door.
She briefly stopped to look in Leonard's direction before following Miguel and the girls though the garage, watching the ground at her feet. He apologized to Leonard before heading after them.
Several questions had already been floating through his mind since yesterday about what had gotten into Kimmy all of a sudden. He chalked it up to what foster parents call "the honeymoon phase" being over, and now maybe she was testing boundaries to see what Kimmy could get away with. A lot of kids in care do it to see what the foster parent would do, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Despite being proper with first names, Leonard was laid back with the kids and did not take Kimmy's silence as an offense. He followed Ben, catching up to Kimmy, and asked how she was doing. It was Miguel who innocently said she didn't talk, trying to be helpful. Leonard appreciated the help, at least despite already knowing.
Samson greeted everyone at the door and everyone took turns giving him pets and rubs, except for Leonard. He let Samson sniff around his legs and feet.
Ben helped with the snacks while Kimmy had her one-on-one with Leonard first, who asked how she was doing, using yes or no questions, in the front living room. He returned while Leonard was telling her visits with her mom and brother would start soon and filled Ben in as well.
"Will I need to bring her or will the parent aide pick her up?" Ben asked, standing with his hands on his sides.
"Since Stella needs transportation, the parent aide has agreed to pick her up," Leonard explained. "The visits will be once a week for now at five P.M. Would you be able to bring Kimmy?"
Five P.M. would be cutting it close to about the time Kayla usually got home. Unless she was working late or had her women's group. Though he could always just bring Miguel along, and the two of them could go to a nearby park or grab something to eat somewhere. "How long will the visits start out? The standard one to two hours?"
"For now, about an hour," he said with a nod.
Ben nodded to confirm. He then turned to Kimmy to ask if she told Leonard about the friend she made at school.
"Oh? What's her name?" Leonard asked Kimmy as well, assuming right away it was a girl.
"Lucy," Ben answered when Kimmy hadn't and added he had just met the mom, the reason they were late getting home.
Like Jennifer, Leonard trusted Ben and Kayla's judgment and gave the say for Kimmy to have playdates with Lucy. Ben told Kimmy to go have her snack. While she was heading for the kitchen, he reminded her about being grounded from her tablet and included that meant TV and using the computer as well.
Leonard, of course, asked about why she couldn't have "screen time."
"Kimmy decided to chuck rocks at our youngest," he explained this time, pointing out the scab Leonard might have noticed beside Miguel's eye.
Leonard made a note of the incident on a legal pad, with the other notes he made of the visit, and asked if Miguel was okay.
"He's fine. Thankfully, the rock that didn't miss him fortunately missed his eye." Ben filled him in on what they knew, including Kimmy hiding out on the side of the house the rest of the afternoon, until Claudia convinced her to come inside. "You sure there wasn't any kind of physical abuse in the home?"
"Not that we are aware of, no," Leonard said, briefly looking up from his notes before finishing his thought. "The mom does seem to have some anger problems, so it could be possible. But without evidence or statement from Kimmy herself, we can't be sure."
He stared at the floor, the thoughts still floating in his mind. Ben still hadn't told Kayla about his thoughts and fears that had surfaced since that first initial phone call from Leonard, and Kayla was supposed to be his best friend.
Leonard broke his thoughts, asking if he was still with him.
He wiped a hand along his face and just said it had been a long day.
"Since Stella has to do therapy as part of the requirements, I'm thinking it might be beneficial for Kimmy as well," Leonard said, moving along.
Ben agreed and added, "Two of our other kids will be starting therapy soon." Hopefully, they could get all three scheduled around the same time so they wouldn't be in and out of appointments all week long.
Leonard commented therapy can be an enormous relief in the healing process. For anyone, really. "It's amazing how far psychology has come these last twenty or so years."
Ben agreed once more.
Leonard stood to his feet, moving his zip folder back under his arm once again, and came over to him. The guys headed to the walkway of the kitchen near the front door so Leonard could let Kimmy know he was leaving, who just stared back at him. Ben suggested she walk Leonard to the door. She seemed to reluctantly get up from her chair and made her way over to follow them to the front door.
Once Leonard was gone, Ben turned to Kimmy to ask, "What do you think? Being able to visit your mom and brother soon?" while closing the door. Stella called almost every evening after dinner to hear about Kimmy's day.
Kimmy shrugged.
Ben forced a smile. Since that morning, he had wanted to sit with her and talk about what's been going on the last twenty-four hours and suggested they sit outside on the back patio.
He pulled out a chair from the table for each of them. Ben leaned forward on with his arms on his knees. "What's been going on, kiddo? Is there something we can do? Is one of the other kids doing or saying something to you?"
Kimmy sat on the edge of the cushion, staring everywhere but at him.
Ben tilted his head to try to meet her gaze. "Hm?" He gave her some time to respond before pointing out they knew from her mom Kimmy can talk. "Now, I don't think it's from stubbornness, as she says. A lot of kids are shy. But you don't have to be scared to talk to us. We're here to help."
Kimmy continued staring at the ground.
"We can't help you unless you tell us what's going on. It could even reduce your punishment." Ben may as well have been talking to a statue. He waved a hand in front of her face. Not too close to invade her space, but enough to get her attention.
She glanced at him, but quickly looked away again.
"Well, kiddo," he said after giving her some time, sitting up straight, unsure what else to say. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. I do need you to grab the broom and sweep up all these rocks you threw yesterday." Ben slapped his knees before standing.
Kimmy followed him around the side of the house to the side door, where he grabbed a broom they used outdoors. A lot of the bristles were sticking out and were pretty beat up. It was still in decent condition to sweep the driveway or patios. Ben also grabbed a dustpan and passed both of them to Kimmy, grabbing a second broom.
They returned to the back patio. Ben told Kimmy to go grab the scooter she had left in the grass and return it with the rest of the scooters. While she fetched the scooter, he moved some of the chairs to sweep up the rocks that had rolled under the table.
Like a lot of kids, she took her time retrieving the scooter. Ben automatically assumed she was stalling so he would sweep up most of the rocks, so he waited until Kimmy leaned the scooter against the house.
Ben called her back over and showed Kimmy how to sweep up the rocks before letting her take over, making sure she checked everywhere. He wasn't aiming for perfection, so if a rock or two got left behind, including one that had somehow gotten lodged between the patio floor and wall, it was no big deal. Growing up, Ben's parents had taught him if he made a mess, he had to clean it up himself to teach responsibility. That was the norm for as long as he could remember. His mom actually had a photo of when Ben was two, holding a mop when he had spilled his juice. He wasn't punished for accidents, but it didn't mean he got off the hook from cleaning it up.
While Kimmy swept up most of the rocks, Ben at least swept the rocks towards her to make things easier. Fortunately, the window and back door did not break. There wasn't even a hairline fracture. So, there wasn't any glass to sweep up. Ben still gave her a lecture about the dangers of throwing rocks and what can happen, while they worked.
He didn't want to be too hard on her since this was only Kimmy's first offense, who was probably dealing with a lot of pent-up emotions. This ordeal seemed to have come out of nowhere. Up until this point, Kimmy had done everything they asked of her without any defiance. Except for the picky-eating whenever he or Kayla suggested trying a particular food Kimmy didn't like.
Usually, Ben had always had a gift of reading people. Of course, there were times he was off. He could admit he wasn't perfect. But it would still be in the same ballpark. With Kimmy, it goes back to dealing with a statue and he could not help notice how his mind was obsessing over and fearing the worst. The kid obviously must have endured or witnessed some kind of trauma.
They finished sweeping up the rocks. Kimmy took the dustpan to dump the rocks back where they belonged. Since she still wouldn't open up to him, Ben dismissed her so she could relax before Quiet Hour.
Kimmy ended up starting on her homework sooner, which Claudia had offered to help. At least with her math homework. So for the last half of Quiet Hour, she read. Ben tried to see if she wanted to help him make dinner, but Kimmy wasn't interested.
While reading Kimmy's daily progress report, Ben noticed Thursday and Friday were half days around the same time as Miguel's visit with Ivan. Mary also had half days for both as well, which proved to be a problem. Not so much for Mary, since she was old enough to stay home alone. But Kimmy, on the other hand, could not.
"I know it's not exactly what we agreed on, but Kimmy's friend seemed to have come at an opportune time." Ben was filling Kayla in on the day's events later that evening, after the kids had gone to bed.
Kayla opened the microwave when it beeped and pulled out the plate of food Ben had set aside for her. "I mean, if you already met with the mom and she's okay with having Kimmy over. Or maybe if they're free, we can have them over for dinner. Either tomorrow or Wednesday." She set the plate on the table by her water she had already got when she came home.
Ben shrugged while leaning a hand on the edge of the island. "We could do that. It's kind of last minute, though."
Kayla sat down to begin eating. "Couldn't help to ask. And if they can't, there's always my mom. She can even pick both Kimmy and Mary up from school."
He considered that idea.
"I can also see if I can work from home as well. I'm meeting with some clients, but all of them will be through Zoom, anyway." Ever since the pandemic, it seemed like hardly anyone wanted to meet in person anymore. It saved time and gas, and documents could be emailed or faxed if needed.
"Let's go down the list, I guess. If Kimmy can't have her playdate on Thursday, we can ask your mom, and if neither can't, then you can see about working from home," Ben said.
"Sounds good to me. To be honest, I'm thinking having my mom stay with Mary might be good for her," Kayla said once she finished chewing.
"Why's that?"
"Well, I'm sure being alone while Miguel is visiting his dad probably will take its toll on her," she pointed out before taking another bite.
Ben leaned back against the island, crossing his arms loosely across his chest. The hearing still replayed in his mind. Not to mention, he also wasn't looking forward to facing Ivan on Thursday either.
"I'll call my mom tomorrow," Kayla said, breaking up his thoughts. "I'm sure it won't be a problem. She doesn't usually schedule appointments or anything during the late mornings. I'll tell her she'll at least have Mary. Plus, if Kimmy decides it's too much, my mom can pick her up early from her friend's house."
Ben let out a sigh, but then smiled. "It should be a crime to be way smarter than me."
Kayla snickered. "We just process information differently." Not that Ben was an idiot. He just needed help to slow down and think things through and having faith in his capabilities.
"Tio?" Both looked over to see Miguel coming around the corner, rubbing his eye.
"Yeah, bud?" He answered.
Miguel came over to him. "I had a bad dream."
Ben stood up from the island and held his hands out to lift the boy into his arms. Miguel immediately wrapped his arms around Ben's neck. He also laid his head on Ben's shoulder, waving when Miguel noticed Kayla was home.
She smiled and returned the wave.
Letting Kayla know they'll finish later, Ben carried Miguel back upstairs to cuddle with him until he fell asleep again.
Author's Note:
So, I noticed the boost this story has been getting and I'm surprised! Thank you to everyone who has stumbled upon this and for liking it!