A lot of people have been asking about a sequel to Our Little Corner of the World, it took me a little while to figure out exactly how I wanted it to play out but here it is. It's not necessary to read that one first but it might explain a little bit more. This story takes place a little over a year after that one ended. Let me know what you think!
Callie stood in her office lobby rocking slightly bouncing and swaying her body to calm the fussing toddler on her hip. Elizabeth let out another wild screech of protest and though Callie tried to quiet her, she couldn't blame her. Their short visit had turned into waiting for two hours in the lobby and now the 18 month old was tired and hungry. Finally Callie heard the clicking of heels and a familiar women came out to greet her. Callie could feel her brain bursting trying to remember her name. She worked on a different floor but Callie had seen her in passing. It was Carol or Carly something…
"So sorry this is taking so long, the mother is not entirely willing to sign away her rights and we just learned of another sibling that came out of the woodwork early this morning" Carol or Carly said.
"It's ok, should we come back or…? Callie asked, she wanted to be patient she really did but but she knew this system inside and out she knew how long things like this could take.
"I think she is signing the papers right now if you don't mind waiting 5 more minutes"
"Not a problem" Callie flashed a smile knowing it would be more like 30 minutes.
"Great" Carol or Carly said getting up and going back down the hall. Callie sighed finally giving in and going to the vending machine down the hall. She picked out the healthiest thing, pretzels and opened the bag. Elizabeth hungrily stuck her little fist in coming up with a handful of five. Callie pried 4 from her little fingers to keep her from stuffing them in her mouth. Callie sat down settling Elizabeth into her lap as her phone rang. Momma flashed across the screen.
"Hey momma" Callie said grateful for the distraction.
"Hi baby, I just wanted to see how your afternoon was going? Tell me about the new little one" Lena said, Callie could hear her trying to hide her excitement.
"I haven't met him yet, we have been sitting in the social work office for 2 hours. I guess the mom is having trouble with the papers and they are finding out about a new sibling, it's all very…typical" Callie sighed at how true that statement was. She had been crazy to keep Elizabeth with her today thinking it would be a quick in and out.
"Oh Callie I'm sorry sweet heart, I'm on my way home from work now do you want me to swing by and pick up the baby?" Lena asked.
"No, hopefully by the time you get here we should be on our own way home, with or without a foster child" Callie shook her head as Elizabeth ate the last pretzel and settled her head on Callie's shoulder.
"Maybe this is why not as many good, hard working families foster, it's so much time and hoops to jump through, what was wrong with you and mom?" Callie asked making Lena chuckle.
"Well your mom brought the twins home like lost puppies so we didn't have much waiting and hoops." Lena reminded her as Carol or Carly came back out of the office.
"Oh momma the social worker is coming. I'll call you back later" Callie said quickly hanging up her phone.
"Ok we are all set, Harry is on his way out, these are his things, and here is the check for this month by the looks of his bag he will need a lot of the basics. Here is my card if you need anything" She handed Callie her business card as Callie glanced down at it. Oh so her name was actually Katie.
"What about this sibling? I mean we didn't sign up for a sibling set but if…"
"Oh no worries. It's an older brother Harry has never met and he's on his was to a different foster home. If something comes up we will let you know but for now we think it's best if we just stick to the original plan?"
"So your not putting them together?" Callie asked feeling her eyebrows raise.
"There is no connection, it might end up make it harder for you. This is better for both boys believe me" Katie assured her.
"Ok" Callie just nodded.
"Let me go get Harry and you will be all set" Katie said disappearing back into her office as Callie let out a sigh sitting back down. Elizabeth was now asleep on her shoulder which meet Callie was down to one hand when she would meet this boy and try to help him with his stuff. Katie came back into the hall a minute later followed by a little boy trailing behind her.
Callie took her first glance at the little boy she had been wondering about since she got the phone call yesterday evening. He was small for 7 but he looked strong for his size. He had milk chocolate skin a few shades darker then Lena's with thick dark curly hair almost in an afro on his head. His eyes were taking her in as well and she offered him a smile despite the scowl he was looking at her with. Callie forgave him for it, if she thought she had had a long day, his must have been ten times longer.
"Harry, this is Callie" Katie introduced them.
"Hi Harry, it's really nice to meet you" Callie said offering him her hand. He studied her for a minute before loosely taking her hand and allowing a hand shake.
"Harry has his things in his backpack" Katie said.
"Great, are you ready to go? Do you have any questions?" Callie asked. Harry just shook his head.
"Callie is a good friend of mine, she's really nice, you will like her house, and I will see you next week for your visit." Katie told Harry. He just nodded at her and started toward the door. Callie quickly gathered her things and jogged to catch up with him.
"So the car is over here, are you hungry? Do you want to get some lunch somewhere?" Callie asked leading him through the parking lot.
"No" Harry said.
"Ok, you can slide in on this side" Callie said juggling Elizabeth still asleep and her bag to unlock the car and open the back door.
"I want to sit in the front" Harry said.
"Umm, I don't think your old enough" Callie said confused.
"My mom lets me sit in the front" Harry narrowed his eyes at her.
"Well that is her choice but I'm sorry I am not comfortable with you sitting in the front. Maybe your mom has a different car and it's ok but in this car it's not safe" Callie said. she was trying to be gentle but firm she knew he was testing her.
"Then I'm not getting into the car" Harry said. Callie was surprised by how stubborn he was.
"Well it's a long walk to my house but it is your choice" Callie shrugged she put her bag on the floor and walked to the other side lowering Elizabeth into her carseat and buckling her in luckily she didn't wake up. Callie tried to look indifferent to Harry but inside she was begging him to just get into the car, she didn't know what she would do it he refused again.
"Who's she?" Harry asked watching her from the open door on the other side.
"This is Elizabeth" Callie said.
"Is she a foster kid?"
"No she is my daughter"
"I'm not a foster kid, my mom is coming back" Harry said.
"Of course she is" Callie nodded as if she was as sure of that statement as Harry was.
"Listen it's a long walk home, why don't you just get into the car and we will get there faster, when we get to my house I would like to show you all the cool stuff we have" Callie said. Harry looked at her for a minute finally climbing into the car and sitting down. Callie breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed into the drivers seat and started the car towards home. Harry looked out the window quietly and Callie allowed him the silence as she kept glancing back at the kids.
"So my husband Will will be hime from work pretty soon. He's s excited to meet you, he finally has someone to play soccer with" Callie said.
"I don't like to play soccer" Harry said.
"Well that's ok, what do you like to do?" Callie asked.
"I like video games. Do you have a lot of video games?" Harry asked.
"Well we actually don't have any video games. But we have a lot of regular games" Callie said trying to still sound upbeat.
"Great…" Harry muttered turning back to the window as Callie pulled into the driveway.
"So this is the house, you can leave your bag here and I will show you around let me just put the baby down" Callie said quickly putting Elizabeth into her crib and closing the door.
"So this is your room here, I hope you like super heroes" Callie said opening the door to her office turned bedroom when they decided to start fostering. It was complete with a bed wardrobe, desk night stand and toy box. She was pretty proud of it and thought it was pretty welcoming. They were going to keep in plain so it could be for both a boy or a girl but when they got the call about Harry Callie had gotten a little over excited and went out to buy a super hero quilt to put on the bed. Harry looked around and just shrugged.
"Ok, well this is the kitchen, and living room and the bathroom is through there. There is also a basement too we have a ping pong table and a bunch of games down there. And we just ordered a play ground for the back yard now that spring is coming so maybe you can help Will put that together this weekend and you can play outside all the time. We have a big fenced in back yard" Callie said moving throughout the house showing him around. Harry followed her not seeming to be impressed by anything she said.
"So you can go play if you want, there are some legos and toys in the living room. I am going to be in the kitchen starting dinner" Callie said.
"Ok" Harry nodded and went into the living room. Callie stood by the stove checking on him every few minutes but she was happy to see he was pretty engrossed in the legos he was building.
Callie sent a text to Lena letting her know they were home and knew she would pass the message onto Stef. Mariana usually called her at the time as she was driving home from work but Callie was thankful her sister decided to skip the call today. As much as she knew her family was excited she knew they could all be a bit much and didn't want to overwhelm the little boy. Dinner was almost down when Elizabeth started crying from her room. Harry stood up immediately.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked
"Oh she just want's to get up. Callie said looking at the legos that lay all over the living room floor as she went down the hall.
"Hi love, are you ready to get up?" Callie greeted her toddler as Elizabeth offered her a smile reaching up her hands. Callie quickly changed her diaper bringing her back out into the main part of the house. She didn't have the heart to tell Harry to put the legos away, they would have to figure out a new system for them but today was not the day to interrupt him when he seemed to be calmly playing. So Callie grabbed some of Elizabeth's toys and the baby gate locking the little girl in the kitchen with her. Harry came to the gate watching Elizabeth for a minute.
"Was she bad?" He asked.
"No, I just want her to be where I can watch her for now, once Will comes home he can watch her and then she can come out" Callie assured him. Elizabeth sat trying to put her little people in the school bus glancing up at Harry. Callie found herself wondering how it would work between the two of them. Or if Harry would even be here long enough for Elizabeth to remember him. So much about his case was up in the air he could be here any amount of time. All Callie knew was that he had been bounced in and out of foster care his whole life. He was never in one place for more then a few months before his mother got custody again and he went back to her. He would be with here for a while before getting sent back to foster care. Nothing in his life was very stable but he seemed used to it. Harry went back to playing and Callie heard Will's car pull into the driveway a few minutes later. She opened the gate scooping up Elizabeth going to Harry.
"Will is coming in he's happy to meet you" Callie said so he wouldn't startle the younger boy. Harry stood up as the front door opened.
"Hi baby" Will smiled greeting Callie with a kiss taking Elizabeth from her and tossing her over his head the way he always did when he came home making her squeal.
"Will, this is our new friend Harry" Callie said turning his attention to the little boy standing in the middle of the living room.
"Hi Harry, I'm glad you will be staying with us for a while" Will said offering Harry a smile.
"Harry has loved playing with the legos" Callie said.
"Oh yea?. I like legos too, those are Callie's brothers old ones, maybe this weekend we can go out and get a new set you can put together" Will said. Harry just nodded again and turned around going back to playing.
"Dinner is in a few minutes ok buddy" Callie said.
"Ok" He nodded as Will followed Callie into the kitchen putting Elizabeth in her high chair and going to wash his hands.
"How did I do?" He asked.
"That was very good" Callie said offering him a smile. Will had been so nervous about first meeting Harry. Even though they had both attended all the required classes and Will had read books he was still scared he would overwhelm the kid. He had no experience with foster care other then the stories Callie told him. He had begged her to coach him on what to say, and she caught him on the phone with Stef last night asking her advice. Callie had to smile when she thought about how much work he was putting into it.
"How has he been so far?"
"Quiet, a little stubborn but nothing out of the ordinary" Callie said as Will started to set the table.
"And his case?" Will asked.
"Complicated" Callie just shrugged and Will just nodded.
"I hope he's not picky" Callie sighed cutting up some of the chicken pie she had made fine enough for Elizabeth who was banging her spoon on his tray.
"I'll go get him" Callie said as Will placed the dish on the table Callie went into the living room.
"Hey Harry dinner is ready if you want to go wash up" Callie said
"What is it?"
"We're having Chicken pie"
"Yuck" Harry made a face.
"Well I think you should try it, there is also salad and rolls I'm sure you will find something you like" Callie said.
"My mommy lets me eat chicken nuggets with ketchup and french fries every night" Harry said.
"Well I'm sorry but that is not what we are having for dinner tonight. You don't have to eat but you do have to come to the table" Callie said trying to channel yet again her firm but gentle voice. she would have to take more pointers from Lena on that one.
"Fine" Harry stood up following her into the kitchen sitting down at the table across from Elizabeth.
"So Harry what do you like to do?" Will asked.
"I like to play video games" Harry said picking up his fork and swirling the pie around his plate.
"Oh yeah which ones?" Will asked.
"I like Call of Duty and this Zombie one I have. When you shoot the Zombies their guts get all over you" Harry said showing more excitement then Callie had seen from him all day. She tried not to outwardly winch at his violent game choices.
"Oh yeah? What else do you like to do? I saw you really like the legos" Will said.
"Yeah, but only because Callie said you guys don't have video games"
"No we don't. but we have some other cool stuff. Have you ever played ping pong?" Will asked. Harry shook his head.
"Oh it's the best I'll show you how to play after we eat" Will said trying to get Harry excited again. The boy just shrugged picking up his dinner roll and taking a bite. Elizabeth watched him as she picked up a fistful of her chicken eating it. Will placed her little fork in her hands trying to get her to use it but she just picked up the chicken with her free hand.
"Is she a baby?" Harry asked looking at Elizabeth.
"She's one and a half, she's almost not a baby anymore but sometimes she still is" Callie said.
"Baby" Elizabeth echoed one of her words.
"When will she be big enough to play with?"
"Well you can play with her now. She loved the big blocks and playing outside" Callie said excited Harry was taking a notice to her.
"Those are boing" Harry stated turning back to his plate and was quiet the rest of dinner.
Callie got Elizabeth ready for bed while Will tried to take Harry downstairs to play for a while. When Callie called them up Harry put up another fight about having a bed time but Callie stuck to her firm but gentle tone and he eventually did lay down and she turned out the light as she and Will went into their own room closing the door.
"He's tough" Will sighed laying down putting his arm behind his head.
"But he's a good kid. I can see it. It's just a lot of change for him, I feel bad" Callie said.
"Yeah, he has these few seconds where you can almost see the real kid then he gets mad about something."
"It's normal" Callie nodded.
"You think we can help him?"
"I think if he's here long enough we will see the real kid, the happy kid more. But who knows how long he will be here, his mom keeps getting custody back"
"How does that keep happening?" Will asked.
"It's sticky, most judges favor bio parents too, they think biology is the best thing for kids, but it isn't always the case." Callie nodded.
"We did ask for this, we asked for the high risk kids" Will said. Callie nodded. She specifically had asked for a kid who was hard to place. She knew what that was like and she wanted to really be able to make a difference. But the problem with Harry would be timing. He wouldn't be here forever, he was not up for adoption, at some point his mom would get him back. Callie just hoped he would be here long enough to get some positive in his life.