“No thanks,” I said, sitting down on a stool at the island. “What’s up?”
“Makeyla moved out last week.”
I nodded. “My aunt told me. How’s Sofia doing? I heard she was upset.”
“She made a new friend in dance class, so that’s helped.”
“Great.” I waited for Richard to continue, but he just rubbed his finger along a scratch etched into the countertop. “Was that it?” I asked surreptitiously glancing at my watch. I didn’t want to be late.
He laid his hand flat on the counter and looked up. “No. Tim and I have been doing a lot of talking lately…about our family…about what we can realistically handle. The thing is, now that we have Aaron, we can’t really foster as many children anymore.”
“Oh,” I said because I didn’t know what else to say.
“In some ways the older kids are easier,” Richard continued. “They’re more self-sufficient. But they come with other challenges and, frankly, neither one of us is up to it right now.”
I nodded.
“But we care about these kids. We don’t want to just abandon them.”
“Of course.” I was certainly in no position to judge.
“Tim and I talked to the social worker yesterday, and she’s going to start looking for alternative placements. We haven’t told the kids yet though, so please don’t say anything to MJ or Sofia.”
“I won’t. I promise.” My mind was racing. What would happen to Sofia and MJ now? Maria had petitioned to regain custody, but she hadn’t even found a job yet. There was no way the court would grant her custody of the kids at this point. They would have to go to another foster home.
“We wanted to tell you though. Confidentially. Because of how close you are with MJ. Tim thought—”
We heard feet thundering down the stairs and seconds later MJ appeared in the kitchen. “Hey, Grace. I didn’t know you were here. Are we leaving?”
“Yes,” I said, reaching for my purse and praying he hadn’t heard any of our conversation. “Whenever you and Sofia are ready.”
“Cool, cool,” MJ said. “Can we stop for food on the way?”
“Didn’t you just eat breakfast a couple hours ago?” Richard asked.
MJ pulled opened the refrigerator and stared inside. “Yeah, so?”
I laughed as Richard shook his head. “I don’t think we have time to stop for food before your visit, but we can go to lunch afterwards if you want.”
“Okay,” MJ said and shut the fridge door. Then he shouted upstairs for Sofia, who appeared at the bottom of the staircase in a light pink leotard and matching tights. “Get your shoes on. Grace is taking us to see Mama.”
Sofia waved at me and ran back up the steps.
I turned to Richard, who gave me a meaningful look. He hadn’t come out and asked me to foster MJ and Sofia again, but I was sure that was his intention. MJ must not have told him or Tim about my suicide attempt either. The kid sure knew how to keep a secret.
Chapter 41
Maria was waiting for us on a picnic bench at the entrance to the park. She looked better today than she had the last time I’d seen her at the Wellstone Center. She’d gained a little weight and her skin was less sallow.
As soon as Sofia saw her mother, she sprinted to her and hugged her around the waist. MJ approached Maria too, but more slowly and he only gave her a quick peck on the cheek. I joined them but kept a few feet of distance between us. I didn’t know if Maria remembered me, so I reintroduced myself. “We met at the Wellstone Center.”
“Yes.” Her reply wasn’t unfriendly, but it didn’t invite conversation either.
I pointed to a bench across from the swings. “I’ll be over there if you need me.”
She nodded and returned her attention to her kids.
I tried not to make it too obvious I was watching them. I kept my phone in my hand and occasionally glanced down at it as I studied their interactions. When it came to Sofia, Maria acted like any other doting mother. She pushed her daughter on the swing and followed her around as she played on the climbing structure. Her interactions with MJ were more stilted, but I blamed him. MJ spent most of the visit standing next to her with his arms folded across his chest and a sour expression on his face. I thought about saying something to him but didn’t think I should interfere. I was supposed to be supervising this visit, not orchestrating it.
When the hour was up, I joined them and told them it was time to go. Sofia clung to her mother, but MJ seemed relieved. Maria whispered something to Sofia in Spanish, but whatever she told her didn’t calm her. Sofia cried all the way back to the car.
“It’s okay, Sofia,” MJ said. “We’ll see Mama again next week.”
That didn’t stop her tears either. I felt so helpless I offered the only thing I could think of to make her happy. “Who wants ice cream?”
That cheered her up.
Tim and Richard and baby Aaron were sitting on a blanket on the front lawn when I pulled up with MJ and Sofia. Instead of just dropping them off, which had been my intention, I parked and walked them to the house.
“Who’s taking me to dance class?” Sofia asked.
Richard glanced at his watch. “I will. Go get your stuff.”
Sofia ran into the house and MJ followed her. But when Sofia reappeared a minute later with a pink ballerina bag slung over her shoulder, MJ wasn’t with her. Richard and Sofia left, and I sat down on the blanket with Tim and the baby.
“Richard told me he told you,” Tim said, his voice low. Maybe he was concerned MJ was lurking somewhere he could overhear us.
“Yes,” I replied as I dangled the colorful plastic keys above Aaron’s head. He stared at them but was still too young to reach for them.
