Claudia had gone straight to her room, without bothering with any of her gifts under the tree, and called her grandmother to complain to her first. Claudia's grandmother then called Kayla.
Kayla kindly and respectfully explained their house rules and their reasoning to the elderly woman, who only wanted to understand why her granddaughter couldn't keep her phone with her at all times. The grandmother was kind and respectful in return and accepted their reasoning. So when Claudia couldn't get her way there, she stuck to her original plan the following morning and called her caseworker. When he wouldn't budge either, she demanded to change foster homes.
David, her caseworker, said he would look into other homes. With how many times she moved, in the last two years alone, David was running out of possible homes willing to take a feisty teen like her as he referred to Claudia.
She at least thanked Kimmy for the Christmas card and pinned it on her bulletin board above her bed. If anything, the kid was the only one she willingly spoke to without an attitude.
Despite the bad attitude and rude remarks, Ben nor Kayla did not take Claudia's phone from her. Kayla had to check in every evening when they went to bed to make sure Claudia plugged in her phone with theirs and the girls' tablets. She wanted to have a heart-to-heart to understand Claudia's desperate attempts to keep her phone with her, but the girl kept it to her same "cuz it's mine" reasoning and Kayla had to assume it was just a teenager thing whether it was something under the surface or not.
Claudia refused to join them on Tuesday for dinner at Ariel and Oliver's house and Kayla didn't fight her to come. Instead, she promised to bring her back a plate of food.
Since everyone was probably sick of ham and turkey, Oliver made his special steak enchiladas dish while Ariel made Spanish rice.
Kimmy was surprised to receive more gifts when Christmas was over. She still made them each a belated card before knowing she was getting something in return. Ben had informed his cousin the kid had been playing her old Wii game, so Ariel had dug out an art book that was released for the game, along with an old plush of the wolf. She washed it first since the plush had been stored away in a closet and had that old, closet smell.
When Kimmy pulled the wolf plush out of the Christmas gift bag, she held a thumbs up out to the lady.
"Aw, you're welcome, sweetie," Ariel snickered, returning the gesture with her own thumb.
The book kept the kid occupied the rest of the evening while the adults talked over dessert. Maple curled up with her in the armchair. It was an adorable sight, Kayla snuck a picture of the pair.
-- & --
The girls returned to school with the holidays finally over, including a chill New Year's at home, bringing a whole new year of possibilities.
Claudia started her new job at a discount clothing store shortly after the semester started. She worked after school into the evening and on weekends. Since she got off after dark, Kayla volunteered to pick her up. Though Claudia had begun opening up to Kayla, she returned to speaking only a few words since the commotion over her new phone. Kayla didn't take it to heart, though, and continued the way she had been communicating with the teen.
Ben, on the other hand, was about ready to drop the rule in fear of losing what they had already gained. They had to stick to their guns though, and follow through, otherwise, Claudia would think she could get away with this kind of behavior.
Kimmy started her after-school art class the second week of the semester. Their afternoon routine changed now that they only had two kids to pick up and both had someplace to be. Claudia was picked up first but Kimmy had to be dropped off before her.
Halfway into the third week of January, Kayla suggested letting Claudia borrow her bike in the garage. She had to replace the tires but since the two were similar height it worked out perfectly. Claudia rode the bike to school, leaving Ben with only one kid to drive to school. It took an argument and a quick web search of brain injuries from bike accidents to convince Claudia that a traumatic brain injury risk was more important than her hair, which could easily be fixed and wore the helmet.
Eventually, the four of them fell into a steady routine that seemed to work. It was hard, of course, without Mary and Miguel. But knowing the siblings were okay, and occasionally checking in with them, Ben and Kayla felt okay enough to give the go for another placement call. They also ran it by the girls, who both shrugged them off. Of course, in the fostering world, it did not take long for Ben to receive a call on the thirtieth of January.
He had just pulled into the driveway, coming back from a meeting he had with Kimmy's team, in preparation for her court review hearing in February.
Ben was starving for lunch, having not eaten since early that morning. But of course, he took the call to find their caseworker on the other line.
He exchanged pleasantries with her before Rose got right to the point of her call, explaining a caseworker had approached her with a seventeen-year-old boy who was turning eighteen the next day. Despite turning seventeen, he planned to sign the forms that allowed foster kids to stay in care until their twenty-first birthday so he could finish his senior year and take advantage of the benefits the young man had.
"I know your age range only goes up to seventeen, but you're the closest foster home to him at the moment," she explained. "John is a sweet boy. Never gives anyone trouble."
"So, why isn't he able to stay at his current placement?" Ben asked, pacing around the garage.
"They love him and wish nothing but the best for him. But they also only go up to seventeen, and with how much of a need there is for kids in care, they want to give his spot to another since John will officially be an adult."
Ben got right down to the usual questions he had to ask for new placements. "Okay, well, we have two girls at the moment. Sixteen and nine. Will that work with a boy his age?"
"Like I said, John is a sweet boy. Never had any major issues with anyone except for a minor disagreement here and there. Typical teenage stuff but never got violent. He's even adored by the littles like an older brother."
"I mean... That's good for Kimmy, but what about Claudia? Do you see any issues there?"
"Honestly, from John, no. He would give Claudia her space. He's very respectful towards girls of all ages. He has an adopted sister who has already aged out of the system and going to college..."
"Hold on," Ben interrupted. "He's been adopted?"
"Yes," she replied and briefly explained why John was in care again. "He entered foster care at seven when his parents were killed in a car crash caused by a driver who swerved into their lane during a monsoon storm. John survived and was placed with one of our older foster moms, who eventually adopted him and his foster sister. But being the age she was, with diabetes, she also passed away, forcing both kids back into foster care when John was fifteen, where he's been ever since. Same foster home. Despite all the tragedy though, he remains optimistic and happy for the most part. Of course, Delilah is remembered as someone who saw joy in all circumstances and was certainly a bright light in a lot of the kids' lives she took in."
Ben continued with more standard questions. Even though Rose kept saying John was a sweet young man, he still needed to ask if there were any behaviors, because no kiddo was perfect, especially those with trauma, and it sounded like John may have some trauma if he survived a car crash where he lost both his parents and then an adopted mother to diabetes that forced him back into foster care. But John had gone through therapy over the last nine years since he was eight, and besides a slow temper, if provoked enough or saw someone he cared about provoked enough, John remained just a carefree, kind soul with an unfortunate childhood like so many other kids.
He also asked about any medications and if John had recently been to the doctor which John had requested personally he wanted to continue seeing the one he's been seeing with his previous foster family since he had been going for a while and would already have to switch in six months anyway, along with his dentist and optometrist.
Which brought them to school. Since it was the last semester of high school, it was highly requested by John and his team that he stay at his school in Avondale. So Ben and Kayla would need to be okay with an extra drive in the morning if that fits into their schedule.
"What time does school start for him?"
"About eight-fifteen," she replied. That was cutting it close to Kimmy's start time.
Once Ben had as much information as he could think to ask about, he told her he would talk it over with Kayla and promised to get back to Rose by the end of the day. He immediately called Kayla and left a voice message briefly filling her in on John's situation and to call him back as soon as possible. With tax season upon them, Kayla was swamped with paperwork and meetings all day and couldn't call him back until she could go on a late lunch break at her desk.
Ben filled in the rest he couldn't fit in a voicemail. "So, what do you think?"
"Honestly, I don't see any reason why we couldn't take him, other than he's a year above the age range, and we expected going in we might be helping older kids with college stuff. If his previous foster parents aren't helping him," she said.
"Sounds like his team is in his corner though and are probably helping him," he assumed.
"Well, regardless, it's fine by me. I'm pretty sure I drive by that school on my way to work anyway, so I can take him so you can focus on getting Kimmy to school in the morning."
So, it was settled.
Ben called Rose back and told her they would gladly take John in so he could finish his senior year of high school. With the knowledge of John coming on his birthday, Kayla planned on stopping at the store to pick up a cake mix and ice cream, and a present, to throw him a small birthday party tomorrow night. This meant Ben had to call Rose back, who gave him the caseworker's phone number since he would know more about John personally than she would.
John was a theater kid and was heavily involved with the theater club in school. Though his back-up career he was going to school for was to be a lawyer, he had a dream job to pursue acting on the side and loved movies, including musicals. So Kayla looked for anything related to that. Since she got off work in time to pick Kimmy up from her art class, Kayla brought Kimmy along to help pick out a gift.
Kimmy didn't know much of the theater other than another animation storyteller's YouTube channel called, "Let Me Explain Studios," who took theater all through high school, as well. Kimmy noticed a journal notebook with the name of a musical she recognized from one of the girl's videos and showed it to Kayla. Thankfully, Kayla recognized the musical as well and found a set of writing pens to go with the notebook.
For the cake, since John wasn't a fan of chocolate but loved cheesecake, Kayla grabbed a cheesecake with cherries on top from Target's bakery section and vanilla ice cream. There was chocolate syrup already in the fridge for those who wanted to add chocolate to their slice.
Ben cleaned and vacuumed Miguel's old room and the shared bathroom for most of the day Tuesday and got it ready for John's arrival that afternoon after he got out of school. Kayla managed to leave work early that day so both of them could be home and ask any other questions that would have slipped Ben's mind. Though, Ben was usually pretty thorough.
John and his caseworker, William, got there around four, giving Kayla time before she needed to pick Kimmy up from her art class. The young man gestured to politely let William step inside first before following suit, setting John's stuff inside the door where the Christmas tree had been. All four shook hands, introducing themselves.
The young man was already a foot taller than Ben with short, sandy blond hair he combed gel through so the front stuck up in the air. Green eyes shined through behind round, thin glasses.
His handshake was firm with confidence while remaining gentle and respectful.
Ben offered to show him the kitchen if he was hungry for a snack and asked if John had a favorite food they could make for dinner, even if it was take-out.
"I don't want to be a bother," John said humbly.
But Ben insisted they did that with all the kiddos their first night, regardless if it was their birthday or not. "We want you to feel welcomed." He also apologized for calling him a kiddo, knowing some of the older teens did not feel comfortable with being referred to as a kid's term of endearment.
John shrugged it off and reassured there was no offense taken.
"So, you take theater in school," Ben said, trying to make small talk and show interest.
"Yeah, I tried out for the school production of "Alice and Wonderland" my freshman year to help take my mind off my adopted mom's passing and fell in love with performing ever since," he shared openly, which surprised Ben.
Ben quickly shook off the shock. "Well then, I'm looking forward to seeing ya in action."
John's face lit up as he told Ben the options the theater department was thinking of doing for their spring production and how he was hoping for "The Wizard of Oz."
William and Kayla joined them in the kitchen walkway when John offered to walk William to the door. Ben and Kayla stared at each other, impressed by how polite the young man was.
They gave John the grand tour before helping carry his stuff to his room. Ben pointed out the tablet he could use while John stayed with them, having reset and cleaned off Miguel's fingerprints from the screen. Not an easy task. Ben thought he was over the grief but he felt himself get emotional all over again when he had to clear the device of the boy's favorite games and apps.
Kayla asked if he had a phone and filled him in on the rules. "I understand it's a lot to ask for a teen to turn in their phone, but we promise it's not to be controlling."
"Hey, fair. I don't mind and understand," he shook his head once and assured them it wasn't a problem. John explained he was on a plan with his sister and paid his half by working in the cafeteria during lunch.
Ben and Kayla eventually left John alone to unpack.
Kayla left to pick up Kimmy while Ben got started on making green chili burritos for dinner, a favorite of John's.
John met Kimmy next when he came down for dinner.
John held up his fist in a friendly gesture. "Nice to meet ya, Kimster."
Kimmy stared between John and his fist for a moment before timidly tapping his fist with hers. She then climbed into her spot at the counter to eat dinner, not even moving closer when the cheesecake was brought out to the table to sing Happy Birthday.
Later, Kimmy came by John's room to shyly give him a birthday card she made to welcome him. Seeing someone else in Miguel's room for some reason made her stomach feel queasy and a wave of anger washed over as she watched the guy sitting where Miguel had once watched his cartoons. Kimmy crunched up the card behind her back and left the doorway in a hurry. Over the next couple of weeks, while John got settled, she stopped being nice to him and would refuse the fist bumps. John didn't take it personally but Ben noticed the sudden change and shared his concern with Kayla, who had also noticed the kid going out of her way to ignore John.
Kayla waited until they were on their way back from a visit to confront Kimmy. "We can't help you unless you tell us what's going on." Kayla suggested writing it down and promised Kimmy wouldn't be in trouble if she told the truth. But one of their house rules was to treat each other with kindness and to talk it out if there was a conflict with someone. They didn't make her talk it out with Miguel at the time since Kimmy was still learning and the circumstances with her struggles with talking itself. Kayla reminded her of how it felt being the new kid and what John might feel.
"What makes you upset, sweetheart?" Kayla kept asking. "John doesn't know what he could've said or done. Miguel didn't know either, except he was trying to help when you took the scooter onto the grass."
Kimmy stared out the window, listening and feeling the shame envelop her once more.
"Ben has noticed you giving him strange looks before. Is it that you don't like guys? Or don't trust them?"
Her gaze dropped towards the door handle.
"That's understandable if that were the case, sweetheart," Kayla reassured her. "I used to not trust guys myself. After my parents divorced, my dad made promises he just couldn't keep. We were supposed to have weekends with him. Well, the weekend would come but he never would, and my brother and I would spend all Friday evening watching for him, hoping to see his car. Then he'd call Monday evening, promising next weekend for sure all over again until he just stopped calling altogether. He just disappeared. We never heard from him again, not even our mom."
Hearing Kayla's story made Kimmy think of her own dad when he too left and they never heard him since, either. Not that he ever promised anything to begin with.
Kimmy was startled when Kayla continued. "Then, one day, when I was eleven, he called us out of the blue and wanted to see us. He promised again for sure and this time he kept his word. My heart nearly leaped out my chest when I heard that doorbell and he was standing there on the porch. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. A woman was with him, who scrunched up her nose the second our eyes met. He seemed to be doing better and for a while, we spent those weekends he always promised. But I guess his new lady friend of his wasn't fond of children and didn't like having to share. She gave my dad an ultimatum. It was either her or us."
Out of the corner of her eye, Kimmy saw Kayla's shoulders shrug. "It should have been pretty simple what his answer should be." She was silent for a moment. "That was the last time we heard from him since. My dad left a huge hole in my heart that day, sweetheart, that couldn't be filled no matter what I tried. It took a few losers to figure out that only Jesus could fill it and for a while, he was the only man I let into my heart."
Kimmy returned to looking out the window. Since Christmas Eve, Kimmy had tried a few more times to pray whenever she was alone. She hadn't had a desire to visit Ben and Kayla's church, still thinking it was some kind of school. However, the curiosity was there in the back of her mind, especially each time she listened to Wynonna's music. It just did not seem like Kimmy was getting an answer.
"Then, one day, as if from nowhere, this guy waltzes into my life while visiting the church I went to at the time. We talked for a while, tells me he's just checking things out. We laughed like I hadn't laughed in a long time. When we go to part company, he asks me out for coffee. I told him, no, that I only dated those with a relationship with the Lord. Well, the next thing I hear, that guy has continued to come to church and slowly gets involved. I ran into him Easter Sunday to find him helping a boy who was struggling to find any eggs like the other kids. Says he nearly forgot why he joined when he tells me I'm the reason. He pointed out fathers are usually the ones the guys go through anyway if that was the key to my heart, so he had been getting to know God more and fell into his own relationship with Him. I was stunned. I went home later and could not get him off my mind for days. I prayed and prayed, not wanting to put my heart out there again, and realized I had been using Jesus as an excuse to not put myself out there again."
Kimmy sucked in her lip when she felt it quiver.
"I know you and Miguel became buddies," Kayla said and shrugged once more. "And John's been a sweetheart so far. Even with the way you've been treating him. When we asked him about it, he said he didn't want to get you in trouble in case you were having a hard time about something else. But we do need to know when something is bothering you, sweetheart. It's not okay to take it out on someone, whether they caused it or not. That's not how you resolve conflict. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Kimmy nodded without looking at the woman. Out of the corner of her eye again, she saw Kayla glance up into the rear-view mirror.
"I know talking isn't easy for you. You can write John a note and leave it outside his door if you don't want to give it to him directly." She added that a friend from her women's group suggested making homemade mailboxes to hang outside everyone's doors, since not everyone had been home at once, as a craft.
Kimmy thought about everything Kayla was telling her. It was kind of mean of her to ignore the guy, she could admit. The thought of seeing John living in Miguel's old bedroom just made her so upset. The worst part was she did not know why.
She tried to say something but the words came out in mumbles.
"What was that, sweetheart?" she heard Kayla ask gently.
Kimmy took a deep breath. "M-miss Miguel." It was an admittance to herself as much as it was toward Kayla.
"You miss Miguel?"
She nodded that time.
Kayla gave a heartfelt moan. "I miss him, too. Miguel and his sister. But we'll see them again. In fact, Mary's birthday is in a few weeks and we're invited. It was just their time to go. Just like someday you'll be able to go home with your mom and brother."
Kimmy's eyes filled with tears, wishing she was never taken away from her mom and brother. Stuff like this never happened at home. She was safe in her room, playing her Switch and Archie curled up right beside her. Never having to worry about anyone coming or going.
Except maybe her dad.
Kayla reached behind her seat and brushed the back of her fingers along her knee. Gestures like that were a foreign concept to Kimmy that felt weird but weirdly comforting as well. She at least added, that they did not expect Kimmy and John to be buddies, considering the significant age gap. Nor did they need to get along.
Just kind.
Later that evening, after dinner and after the trash was taken out, Kimmy wrote a note to John, explaining why she was mean to him, ending the note with a sincere apology. John was sitting on his bed when she slid along the wall and ducked her head through the open door. It took a minute before he looked up and noticed her hugging the door frame.
"You can come in," he assured her, with a gentle smile.
Kimmy hesitated for a minute. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she inched her way into the room and over to his bedside. At arm's length, she passed him the note, tensing up as if expecting a hit. Her heart raced as she stood there on trembling knees, holding her eyes shut to not make eye contact.
But John calmly took the note, asking what it was. While he was reading, Kimmy stole a peek at him with one eye barely open. That's when she noticed the large sketchbook against his knees and an unfinished sketch of a desert hiking trail. It had distracted her enough, Kimmy jumped away, startled when John spoke again.
He apologized first for startling her. "It's hard when your best bud moves away, huh?" He said it with sympathy similar to how Kayla would speak to Kimmy. No guy had ever spoken to her like that. Not even Ben and he was the most nicest guy she had met.
Kimmy managed a timid nod.
"It's hard because you're happy they get to go home to their family, but you had gotten used to them being around." He chuckled a little. "And don't get us started on the fact we can't go home yet, huh?"
She nodded some more, a little less timid this time.
John reassured all was okay between them. He offered a fist bump once more.
This time, Kimmy didn't leave him hanging and left him alone to finish drawing. Only, something inside her made her grab her sketchbook out of her backpack and inch back to his door. Despite accepting her apology, her heart rate raced once more as she peered around the wall.
It took another moment before he noticed her. "Need something else, Kimster?"
Slowly, Kimmy raised the sketchbook to show him.
He beamed. "Oh, you draw too?" John invited her back in, letting Kimmy show him.
This time, she moved a tiny bit faster and already had the sketchbook open to the first page by the time she reached him. Most of the drawings were what the kids learned in class. She had also used it to draw on her own time, showing John each drawing at a time while turning the pages. He was familiar with some of her character drawings from when he was around her age, except for her drawing of Edward Elric.
When she finished, he flipped through his sketchbook and showed her what he had drawn.
A lot looked like scribbles and stick-figure drawings. He explained that's how an artist learns how to draw people. It didn't take long for Kimmy to realize he too was in an art class, only he was being graded.
She ducked backward when he stood up. Kimmy watched him grab something out of his closet. John searched through a box of stuff until he pulled out another sketchbook. This one was smaller this time. He sat on the foot of his bed to show Kimmy his sketches from his Art 1 class when he was just starting out as an artist. The sketches weren't as neat and clean as they were now. They were more like the way Kimmy's drawings looked now, reminding her of Mal's advice on how it takes a lot of practice to get better at art.
Ben came to the door, reminding Kimmy she needed to get ready for bed.
Kimmy groaned to herself. Just as she was about to leave, John offered her one last fist bump and told her good night on her way by.
She smiled a little and returned the fist bump with a little more confidence this time.