first met had
been the first of many steps toward helping her regain some of the
faith she had lost.
And she realized now she had also lost a
piece of her heart to him even then.
“Do you remember your response to my offer?”
he asked.
Thinking back, she couldn’t recall exactly
what had been said. She shook her head.
“You said, ‘Who are you?’” He gently ran his
fingers through her hair. “I remember the sight of you standing in
the kitchen, looking around with an expression that said you liked
what you saw, and that it seemed to worry you. You had a big, dark
bruise under your left eye. I’ve often wondered how you got
it.”
Oh, yeah. She had nearly forgotten about
that. Sensing that he wanted an explanation now, she fidgeted
uncomfortably. “I was in a fight. At the shelter.”
“Mm-hmm.”
There was another long pause. Sighing, she
continued, “There was this boy, Phillip. Everyone called him
Porkchop. I don’t know how old he was, but he seemed huge to me…too
old to be in the same dorm with the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.
He cornered me in a bathroom.”
“ What? ” Gabriel’s hand stilled on her
head. There was a tone to his voice that she couldn’t ever remember
hearing before. It was chilling.
The words came out in an anxious rush now.
“He had followed me inside while everyone was out on the
playground. I had to use the bathroom. Usually one of the staff at
the shelter escorted us, but I hated it when they stood outside the
bathroom listening to me pee, so I slipped away when they weren’t
paying attention. When I opened the bathroom door to go back
outside, Porkchop was there. He clocked me before I even noticed
him. Then he dragged me back into the bathroom.”
Gabriel’s body was now rigid with tension.
She hated that she was the cause of it. “I swung and managed to
break his nose, and just about that time, one of the shelter staff
came in with another kid and saw what was happening. That was
it.”
Several breaths passed in silence. She didn’t
know whether to break it. Eventually, he relaxed.
“That’s why your DFCS worker got the funds
approved to start you in karate,” he murmured thoughtfully. His
fingers resumed their idle play with her hair. “I’ve always
wondered if she was trying to protect you from me.”
“You?” She shook her head and rubbed his
knee. “I overheard Mrs. Harris arguing with her supervisor about
placing me with Mrs. B after the incident with Porkchop. The
supervisor knew that Mrs. B had become your legal guardian after
your mama passed, and she was worried that I would react poorly to
you after what had happened. Mrs. Harris knew that Mrs. B was
pretty much my last hope. The karate lessons were a compromise so
the supervisor would agree to the placement.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s very
interesting, listening to the story about that day from your
perspective. I appreciate you sharing that with me.” He reached
over and put his glass on the table. When he sat back, he wrapped
his arms around her. “Here’s what I remember.
“Mrs. B told me that we were going to have a
new foster coming to stay with us. That wasn’t anything new. I’d
lived here since I was nearly a year old and had seen plenty of
kids come and go. This time it would be a girl about my age. I
remember wishing at the time that it was going to be a boy. The
last girl Mrs. B had fostered used all the hot water when she
showered and spent most of her time in the bathroom.”
Amber smiled. She would have loathed living
with that girl.
“But I remember thinking it was cool that
this new foster would be my age. We’d get to go to school together
and hang out. I didn’t know how long you’d be staying with us, of
course, but that didn’t really matter at the time. I remember Mrs.
B having some closed-door telephone conversations with this new
kid’s DFCS worker. It made me curious. Most of the kids who came
here were placed by Child Protection Services,
been the first of many steps toward helping her regain some of the
faith she had lost.
And she realized now she had also lost a
piece of her heart to him even then.
“Do you remember your response to my offer?”
he asked.
Thinking back, she couldn’t recall exactly
what had been said. She shook her head.
“You said, ‘Who are you?’” He gently ran his
fingers through her hair. “I remember the sight of you standing in
the kitchen, looking around with an expression that said you liked
what you saw, and that it seemed to worry you. You had a big, dark
bruise under your left eye. I’ve often wondered how you got
it.”
Oh, yeah. She had nearly forgotten about
that. Sensing that he wanted an explanation now, she fidgeted
uncomfortably. “I was in a fight. At the shelter.”
“Mm-hmm.”
There was another long pause. Sighing, she
continued, “There was this boy, Phillip. Everyone called him
Porkchop. I don’t know how old he was, but he seemed huge to me…too
old to be in the same dorm with the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.
He cornered me in a bathroom.”
“ What? ” Gabriel’s hand stilled on her
head. There was a tone to his voice that she couldn’t ever remember
hearing before. It was chilling.
The words came out in an anxious rush now.
“He had followed me inside while everyone was out on the
playground. I had to use the bathroom. Usually one of the staff at
the shelter escorted us, but I hated it when they stood outside the
bathroom listening to me pee, so I slipped away when they weren’t
paying attention. When I opened the bathroom door to go back
outside, Porkchop was there. He clocked me before I even noticed
him. Then he dragged me back into the bathroom.”
Gabriel’s body was now rigid with tension.
She hated that she was the cause of it. “I swung and managed to
break his nose, and just about that time, one of the shelter staff
came in with another kid and saw what was happening. That was
it.”
Several breaths passed in silence. She didn’t
know whether to break it. Eventually, he relaxed.
“That’s why your DFCS worker got the funds
approved to start you in karate,” he murmured thoughtfully. His
fingers resumed their idle play with her hair. “I’ve always
wondered if she was trying to protect you from me.”
“You?” She shook her head and rubbed his
knee. “I overheard Mrs. Harris arguing with her supervisor about
placing me with Mrs. B after the incident with Porkchop. The
supervisor knew that Mrs. B had become your legal guardian after
your mama passed, and she was worried that I would react poorly to
you after what had happened. Mrs. Harris knew that Mrs. B was
pretty much my last hope. The karate lessons were a compromise so
the supervisor would agree to the placement.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s very
interesting, listening to the story about that day from your
perspective. I appreciate you sharing that with me.” He reached
over and put his glass on the table. When he sat back, he wrapped
his arms around her. “Here’s what I remember.
“Mrs. B told me that we were going to have a
new foster coming to stay with us. That wasn’t anything new. I’d
lived here since I was nearly a year old and had seen plenty of
kids come and go. This time it would be a girl about my age. I
remember wishing at the time that it was going to be a boy. The
last girl Mrs. B had fostered used all the hot water when she
showered and spent most of her time in the bathroom.”
Amber smiled. She would have loathed living
with that girl.
“But I remember thinking it was cool that
this new foster would be my age. We’d get to go to school together
and hang out. I didn’t know how long you’d be staying with us, of
course, but that didn’t really matter at the time. I remember Mrs.
B having some closed-door telephone conversations with this new
kid’s DFCS worker. It made me curious. Most of the kids who came
here were placed by Child Protection Services,
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