Another Foster (Private)

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded and made a mental note of the girl’s bedwetting. She was thankful that she was accustomed to handling it with Rocky. When Alex took Kaley to the shoe department, she turned to her daughter. “What do you wanna look at while Daddy helps Kaley?” She asked, figuring the girl wouldn’t be entertained very long shopping for someone else. 
 

Kaley raised her eyebrows and looked up at Alex, the pink tube still firmly in her hand and mouth. “I like?” She asked hesitantly, not used to having a choice in things. Once he confirmed, she looked around slowly and carefully before her eyes lit up, grabbing a box with a pair of pink and purple light up Velcro sneakers. “Purple!” She exclaimed excitedly, showing them to Alex for approval. 

[justagirl4fun]

"Um, toys!" Rocky squealed and took off in the direction of the toy department.

"Those are great. Here, sit down," Alex said, smiling at her happiness as he led her to a bench. "Let's see if they fit." Once he had the shoes on he pulled her to her feet. "Walk around a bit. Do they feel good?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah laughed and followed Rocky along, letting her lead the way. “Toys it is!”

Kaley walked around in circles for a little while before she nodded. “See if they fit!” She parroted with a nod, starting to happily jump and stomp her feet, admiring her choice of footwear. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I guess they're good," Alex said with a laugh. "Now let's find a pair of sandals for playing outside, and then a nice pair. Then we'll look at clothes."

Rocky skipped all the way to the toy section. She quickly bypassed the first few aisles, filled with dolls and dress up clothes, and was about to head down an aisle of "boy" toys when she noticed bikes and scooters a little farther ahead. She had gotten a bike for her birthday but thought a scooter would be fun, too, but when she turned the corner a display of skateboards caught her eye. "Ooo, remember we saw those kids skateboarding at the park? I could do that," she said as she tried to get one down.

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley looked around and picked out a pair of multicolored play sandals and a pair of nicer brown ones. After handing them to Alex she started to wander off without thinking, starting to look up and down the other aisles. 
 

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Sarah said as she prevented Rocky from getting the skateboard down. “I don’t know if you’re quite big enough for that honey. Those kids were much bigger than you. What about the bike you just got?” She knew her daughter was a thrill seeker, but didn’t know how she felt about her skateboarding at only 5 years old. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex tossed the sandals in his cart with the sneakers and caught up to Kaley. "The clothes are over here. You can pick out anything you want."

"I could do it," Rocky insisted, but luckily her short attention span prevented her from pressing the issue. Just past the bikes was the sporting equipment. Next to a display of soccer balls were small, neon-colored cones. "Look, they're just like the ones we use at practice! I could practice my drills at home," she said, grinning up at Sarah.

 

 

 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley was readily redirected to the clothes. She happily picked out some skirts and shorts along with a few shirts. Almost all the things she picked out were pink or purple with the occasional other color mixed in. “Anything you want!” She chirped, repeating what Alex said. 
 

“We could.” Sarah started. “Is that what you want to get today or do you still want to try to go to the toy store?” She asked the small girl, hoping to get out of the mall completely without having spent too much money unnecessarily. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex found Kaley's size in the things she picked out, and added a few extra basic tees, tank tops, and sundresses to the cart as well. Then he spotted the pajamas. "Oh, you need pajamas, too. You like these?" he asked, holding up a few shorts sets in pink, purple, and a pastel rainbow print.

Rocky looked wistfully at the cones and set them back on the shelf. "Toy store."

[Shy-Diapers]

“Like these!” Kaley nodded before starting to wander again, having seen something in the distance catch her eye. She walked right off without thinking or saying anything, unaware if Alex knew or not. 
 

“We can maybe get the cones another time kiddo.” Sarah said as she ruffled Rocky’s hair. “Let’s go see if Kaley and Daddy are almost done. If Kaley is up to it maybe we can get a snack from the food court.” She suggested as they headed over towards the clothing section. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex  turned to grab some socks and underwear, since they were right next to the pajamas, but quickly realized Kaley was not nearby. He glanced around and soon spotted her wandering away. "Hey! Kaley!" he called as he hurried to catch up to her. "You can't walk away like that. You could get lost, or kidnapped," he scolded, though rather gently. "You have to stay with me." He kind of doubted his words would even register with her, as he was starting to suspect something was really not right with her, but he hoped for the best.

"Ooo, a snack! Like ice cream?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley tried to listen to Alex, though she didn’t really understand. She never really thought twice about just going where she wanted and not telling anyone. She didn’t even really process that she was wandering away from Alex, just that she was headed to where she was going. “Stay with me.” She repeated him, wanting to be good.

Sarah chuckled. “We’ll see but I think that’s a great idea.” She smiled as they found her husband and new foster daughter. “How’s it going with you two?” She asked Alex. “Is she holding up okay?”

[justagirl4fun]

"She picked out clothes, pajamas, and shoes. Seems to be holding up just fine, but we definitely need to keep an eye on this one. She keeps wandering away. And...well, we can talk later, but I really think we need to get her seen sooner rather than later."

Meanwhile, Rocky frowned as she checked out the cart full of stuff Alex had for Kaley. She was getting all that, but Sarah made her choose between the little cones and a toy? That didn't seem fair at all, and only supported her suspicion that Kaley was now the favorite child, but she didn't dare say anything in front of her father with the way he'd been acting.

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded and looked over at Kaley, her concerns growing. More and more she wished they had had any information on this girl. “Is there anything else we need to grab? I told Rocky she can pick something out from the toy store if she was good and maybe a snack or treat from the food court.”

Kaley looked up at the adults as they were talking about her, growing concerned. Was she in trouble? Was she going to be in trouble later? She wasn’t used to adults talking about her and having anything positive come of it. 

[justagirl4fun]

"I was going to get some socks and underwear before she took off on me, and I was thinking maybe we should get her some fidgets and sensory things of her own? I gave her the chewy thing that Rocky never used, and she seems to like that, but I don't think it will end well if I keep giving Rocky's things away. And the toy store is good, Kaley should have some toys of her own, too."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah nodded. “That sounds good.” She said before turning to Rocky. “Do you want to wait to go to the toy store with Daddy and Kaley and maybe get a snack after? Or do you want to go play around in the toy store while we wait for them to finish up.” She offered, figuring the girl would prefer to play around at the large toy store given they had toys meant to be tested out and played with in store. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky jumped up and down excitedly, clapping her hands. "Toy store toy store TOY STORE!" 

"Maybe you could take both while I finish up here," Alex suggested, thinking Alley would have more fun looking at toys. "I won't be long here. I'll run this out to the car and meet you in the toy store."

[Shy-Diapers]

Sarah chuckled and nodded. She grabbed both girls’ hands and headed out of Target and down the mall a bit to the toy store. Once inside she let go of the girls and let them go. “Feel free to go play and pick some things out Kaley.” Once both girls were playing, she alternated watching them, making sure neither girl was out of her sight for more than a few moments.

Kaley didn’t protest when Sarah took her hand and started to walk away with her. She turned her head to look back at Alex as she was walked out. She knew Sarah even less than she did Alex and she was just starting to feel attached to him. Everything felt so new and fresh still and nobody really explained much about why anything was happening. After a minute she turned her head forward again, left with her own thoughts about everything. Once at the toy store, she stayed still for a while before she finally wandered off to a corner of the play area and sat down, stacking some blocks carefully. 

[justagirl4fun]

Rocky scanned the aisles and soon found a large Jurassic World play set that came with a half dozen dinosaurs, a vehicle, and several action figures, all of which made noise. "Mommy, look, this is what I want!" she squealed as she dragged the box over to Sarah.

Alex grabbed the socks, underwear, and a package of Underjams, then found some fidget toys in the dollar spot. After paying and lugging everything to the car he drove around to the side where the toy store was located and found his wife. "How's it going? Did Kaley find anything she likes?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“She’s just been kind of sitting there stacking the blocks. She hasn’t looked at anything really.” Sarah said with a nod towards Kaley. When Rocky dragged the large play set over she raised her eyebrows and glanced at Alex. It was a single toy like she had specified, though she was sure it would be pricey. “Wow! That’s certainly a big toy!”

[justagirl4fun]

"We have blocks at home, seems like a waste to buy another set but I don't know what else she would play with. She seemed to like the Magna Tiles at home, but she just makes boxes out of them, over and over." Alex shrugged, not sure what to do, then eyed the play set Rocky had chosen and shook his head. "No. Absolutely not. That has to be $50, at least, and she just had her birthday," he said to Sarah, then squatted down to his daughter's level. "Rocky, that's too big, and you just got all kinds of toys for your birthday. Put it back and pick out something small."

Rock's lower lip quivered as she clutched the box and looked up at Sarah. "You said I could pick out a toy! You didn't say a small toy!"

[Shy-Diapers]

Hearing Alex was back, Kaley felt a little more secure and decided to get up and actually explore a little. She wandered up and down a few aisles before becoming entranced by a display of Calico Critters. She pushed her face against the plexiglass so she could get a better look at the huge scene with all sorts of animals. She was amazed and enthralled. 
 

Sarah sighed and shook her head. “I know honey. I didn’t expect you to pick out a huge toy though.” She said kindly. “Daddy is right sweetie, you just had your birthday. We can put this on your Christmas list if you’d like. Why don’t we go find some other dinosaur toys. We won’t get the whole play set but we can get a jeep or some dinosaur figures or some of the action figures.” She suggested, not wanting to spend that much money on a single toy when they had so many at home, but not wanting to have a meltdown and wanting her daughter happy. 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex found Kaley checking out the Calico Critters. "Hey, those are neat! You want to get some? You can pick out a house and two families."

Rocky dragged the set back and, with a bit of a struggle, put it back on the shelf. She wandered up and down the aisle a few times, but nothing else looked as fun. None of the little dinosaurs made noise, and the jeep wasn't going to be very useful on its own without action figures or dinosaurs. Finally she gave up and moved on to the next aisle, and the next, and the next, but nothing caught her interest. Finally she came to the sporting goods department and saw a net bag on a long elastic cord. The bag was meant to hold a soccer ball and the cord would be fastened around the waist to practice soccer drills solo. It wasn't really what she wanted, but it was small - and, though she couldn't tell prices yet, just over $5. She looked up at Sarah, half expecting to hear 'no' again.

 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley looked around at all the different animals and families. She loved animals and small things so these were amazing in her eyes. “Mouse!” She yelped happily when she spotted the white mouse family, they were her favorite animal and they looked so cute. She wandered up and down the aisle some more before deciding on the tuxedo cat family. Once she had pointed to the cats she looked around the houses, amazed at all the options. She stared in awe at a 3 story house that opened up. It came with all the furniture needed to fill the house, as well as a car. Being 6 and severely neglected, she had no concept of how much anything cost. 
 

Sarah looked at the chosen item, trying to figure out how it worked for a moment. Once she figured it out she smiled. “That looks great!” She said cheerfully. “And how about this. Sometime we can make some makeshift cones with some construction paper or we can use other obstacles.” She suggested with a smile. “Then you can practice with both.” 

[justagirl4fun]

Alex had no problem buying the house. The poor kid had no toys aside from a stuffed mouse, after all. "Good choice. You take the animals and I'll carry this," he said as he grabbed the house. "Anything else you want? Maybe a doll?"

Rocky knew that paper cones wouldn't hold up for long and decided to push her luck. "Well, these are only small too," she said, picking up a set similar to the one in Target that was $7.49. 

[Shy-Diapers]

Kaley happily carried the mice and cats, staring at them through the little boxes as she walked. She didn’t really feel drawn to the dolls, being more than thrilled with just the small animals she had in her hands and amazed that they’d have a house. She didn’t respond to his question, instead just smiled and followed where he went.

Sarah looked at the cones and sighed with a smile. “Okay honey. But that’s all okay?” She said firmly but with a smile. She knew she had said one toy but the girl’s items were under $15 total so she was fine with it.