Read Online The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah) by Mackenzie Morgan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mackenzie Morgan
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desk.”
~ ~ ~ ~
After dinner, Kalen cleared the dining room table and set out a fresh pitcher of scog and four clean mugs. Once everyone was settled, Pallor took over. “I hired a lawyer who has some experience dealing with the type of adoption that we’re interested in. We need couples who for one reason or another don’t want to go through the regular procedure.”
“Why?” Duane asked.
“Because I need to keep a close eye on the child, and with regular adoptions, that would never be allowed. Everything would be kept secret. I wouldn’t even be able to find out who had him.”
“Oh,” Duane said quietly.
Pallor waited to see if there was anything else, and then continued. “Our lawyer contacted some of the lawyers who specialize in private adoptions and found six couples who were willing to agree to let me visit the child a couple times a year. I just spent the past two weeks interviewing them.”
“Have you decided which one you want to go with?” Laryn asked.
Pallor shook his head. “I’m not willing to make that decision by myself. I want all of us to be in agreement about which couple takes this child. If I need to, I can go back and try to find some others, but frankly, we need to get this settled as soon as possible.” The others nodded, so Pallor continued, “Kalen has suggested that it would be best if none of you actually know the name or location of any of the foster parents. I understand his concerns, so I’ve gone through the folders and marked out all identifying information. I have a financial statement and a background search as well as my own report on each of the couples, and each of you will have a chance to go through those before we make a final decision, but I thought I’d give you a brief summary first.” Pallor paused, looked around the table, and began.
“First, couple A,” and Pallor described his reaction to the Haverstons, their reasons for wanting to adopt a child, and their dependence on his mother’s good graces for their income.
“What about the place where they live? Is it suitable for a child?” Kalen asked.
“I can’t speak for all the houses, but the one I visited was lavish, with white furniture, white rugs, expensive glass vases everywhere, and high-priced paintings on the wall. Not at all the kind of a place where you picture a young boy running around. They seemed to be the type who likes to flaunt their wealth, even though they had nothing to do with earning it.”
“I don’t know about anyone else,” Duane said, looking around, “but I don’t like the sound of this couple. I hope they aren’t all like that.”
“They aren’t, but none of these situations is really ideal. We can’t tell them anything about him, about his parents, about his powers, or about the role he’ll have to play on Terah. For all they know, he’s just some child whose mother can’t be bothered to raise him. Under those conditions, the type of parents we’d normally pick would never consider having an outsider oversee the way they raise their son.”
“I guess you’re right, but I still don’t like them, even if they are willing to let you keep an eye on things,” Duane said as the others nodded.
“Our second couple, couple B, live on a farm,” Pallor said, and then he described the Peters, their farm, and their views on school. He also pointed out that although on paper they looked well off, their money was so tied up in the farm that they were living one season to the next, and one bad year could wipe them out. “They want a son so that he can help out while he’s growing up and take over the operation of the farm once he’s grown. They fully expect him to support them in their old age.”
“A farm’s not a bad place to grow up. In fact, considering that life on a farm is the closest thing Earth has to life on Terah, it might have some definite advantages,” Laryn said. “But it sounds to me like this couple is more interested in cheap labor
~ ~ ~ ~
After dinner, Kalen cleared the dining room table and set out a fresh pitcher of scog and four clean mugs. Once everyone was settled, Pallor took over. “I hired a lawyer who has some experience dealing with the type of adoption that we’re interested in. We need couples who for one reason or another don’t want to go through the regular procedure.”
“Why?” Duane asked.
“Because I need to keep a close eye on the child, and with regular adoptions, that would never be allowed. Everything would be kept secret. I wouldn’t even be able to find out who had him.”
“Oh,” Duane said quietly.
Pallor waited to see if there was anything else, and then continued. “Our lawyer contacted some of the lawyers who specialize in private adoptions and found six couples who were willing to agree to let me visit the child a couple times a year. I just spent the past two weeks interviewing them.”
“Have you decided which one you want to go with?” Laryn asked.
Pallor shook his head. “I’m not willing to make that decision by myself. I want all of us to be in agreement about which couple takes this child. If I need to, I can go back and try to find some others, but frankly, we need to get this settled as soon as possible.” The others nodded, so Pallor continued, “Kalen has suggested that it would be best if none of you actually know the name or location of any of the foster parents. I understand his concerns, so I’ve gone through the folders and marked out all identifying information. I have a financial statement and a background search as well as my own report on each of the couples, and each of you will have a chance to go through those before we make a final decision, but I thought I’d give you a brief summary first.” Pallor paused, looked around the table, and began.
“First, couple A,” and Pallor described his reaction to the Haverstons, their reasons for wanting to adopt a child, and their dependence on his mother’s good graces for their income.
“What about the place where they live? Is it suitable for a child?” Kalen asked.
“I can’t speak for all the houses, but the one I visited was lavish, with white furniture, white rugs, expensive glass vases everywhere, and high-priced paintings on the wall. Not at all the kind of a place where you picture a young boy running around. They seemed to be the type who likes to flaunt their wealth, even though they had nothing to do with earning it.”
“I don’t know about anyone else,” Duane said, looking around, “but I don’t like the sound of this couple. I hope they aren’t all like that.”
“They aren’t, but none of these situations is really ideal. We can’t tell them anything about him, about his parents, about his powers, or about the role he’ll have to play on Terah. For all they know, he’s just some child whose mother can’t be bothered to raise him. Under those conditions, the type of parents we’d normally pick would never consider having an outsider oversee the way they raise their son.”
“I guess you’re right, but I still don’t like them, even if they are willing to let you keep an eye on things,” Duane said as the others nodded.
“Our second couple, couple B, live on a farm,” Pallor said, and then he described the Peters, their farm, and their views on school. He also pointed out that although on paper they looked well off, their money was so tied up in the farm that they were living one season to the next, and one bad year could wipe them out. “They want a son so that he can help out while he’s growing up and take over the operation of the farm once he’s grown. They fully expect him to support them in their old age.”
“A farm’s not a bad place to grow up. In fact, considering that life on a farm is the closest thing Earth has to life on Terah, it might have some definite advantages,” Laryn said. “But it sounds to me like this couple is more interested in cheap labor
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