Tom and Charlotte's Choice

[Ishigreensa]

"Daddy didn't come up and check on me, though, did he?" Jessica frowned.  "Just because he wants to settle her doesn't mean he can't carry Lani and check, but no... I'm ten.  I don't need to be checked on.  Lani needs help.  Only Lani."

Jessica crossed her arms.

"Whatever.  I'll clean up the mess."

She frowned looking at the floor.  Mommy doesn't understand.  If just talking to them, they can ignore her.  If daddy didn't even check on her when she knocked down a chair, then why would he pay her attention if she just said something, nevermind he always does.  But they never had an intruder before that would take his attention from the little princess.

"But Lani better not say I said something meaner than I said, still," she whimper-whispered to herself.

 

Tom smiled, and pointed to the room at the end of the hall next to the master room.

"That one down there is yours.  I'm sorry it's a bit plain, but we didn't really know what to put in there for you yet.  You do have blankets and a small table, but as far as decorating, let's see how things work out for a week or two, and then go shopping then?" he asked her.  He didn't want to decorate it too soon because that would be cruel to have her look all permanent if something didn't work out, and he was putting this, at least on a week's trial, maybe two weeks.  He hadn't told Charlotte yet, just how long, because he needed to talk to her in private about that, and honestly, he wasn't sure how long they should put it on trial.

He walked her down and showed her the bed.

"You can count the blankets," he told her.  "We don't mind if you pull the blankets off or whatever.  But as it is summer, we just put a quilt, a light blanket and a top sheet for now.  If you are still with us in the winder, then we'll add more and heavier blankets so you'll be warm enough, okay?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“Jessica, think for a second.” Charlotte said with a sigh. “Do we both always check on you together?” She asked. “No, sometimes Daddy checks on you and sometimes I do. I just volunteered.”

She sighed and shook her head, standing up to leave. She figured Jessica could use some space and time by herself. Clearly no matter what she said it wouldn’t help at the moment.

She saw Tom and Lani talking in the spare bedroom and decided to do some work in her office. She needed to take some deep breaths after it seemed both girls didn’t want her around  

 

“It’s okay.” Lani chirped. She was just amazed at how nice everything looked. Nothing looked dirty or worn. “My room at home is plain too.” She said with a light shrug. “Mommy said we don’t have money for stupid things like decorations.” She said casually, repeating her mother’s words without thinking anything of it.

She was about to say something about the amount of blankets, not used to having access to so many, but her small face visibly fell. “Winter time?” She asked sadly, her voice whimpering a bit. She looked down at her feet with a frown and worried expression. “I’ll be away from mommy in the winter?” Nobody had really explained how long she’d be in foster care for, and the thought that she’d be away from her mom for months was scary and painful.

[Ishigreensa]

"Sweetheart," Tom squatted down and rubbed her back.  "They didn't tell us how long you'd need a home, okay?  And Winter isn't really that far off, you know?  It's already August, and school starts in a couple of weeks, and then winter is really just around the corner from that."

He sighed.  Maybe she needed some hope.

"You know, they didn't tell us it would be a long stay," he told her.  "They didn't say anything, really, so they could come next week, they could come in a month.  We don't know, sweetheart."

He patted her back.

"Well, I wouldn't call posters and children's needs stupid," he whispered to her.  "But you know, sometimes people say that word when really they are just angry that they can't do it.  It must really frustrate your mom that she can't get you everything she wants to."

He did think that telling a child what she could and couldn't get based on money was very sad.  Maybe it was the only way to explain to her why she couldn't have it, but that didn't make things easier for a child.

"How about we just get a few things for the room, a few things that you might be able to take home with you when you go back?  Would you like that?" he hoped to cheer her up.

 

Jessica crawled back into her closet to pout and think about what mommy was telling her.  She was obviously missing something.  Sometimes, she hated how she was.  Sometimes, it felt like she followed and understood everything perfectly, sometimes, she only got half of it, and most frustrating, was when she thought she understood everything, and then realized she should have thought more on what was being said.

She stayed in there for a while, knowing that daddy was busy, and mommy was wanting to be there, but she wasn't daddy.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani sniffled and rubbed her teary eyes. The little girl did her best not to cry but it was hard. She really missed her mom and just wanted to go back.

“I miss mommy.” She said sadly, sounding like a younger child for a moment. All of a sudden she started to have more worries popping into her head. “I’m ‘sposed to take care of her….” She trailed off. She was so used to helping her mother and now she wondered who was doing that while she was gone. Tom’s words did help calm her down though, even if deep down she was still worried.

“Mommy calls lots of things stupid.” She said with a small shrug. She didn’t think anything of that idea. “Mommy doesn’t get me anything I want.” She said, though she didn’t seem upset about it. “She says money is for more important things.” She shrugged, not seeing anything out of the ordinary with how things were at her home.

“Really?” She looked thrilled. “Like, uhm, a toy?” She seemed so excited by the idea of having a toy she wanted. She didn’t have too many toys at home, and most of the ones she did have were from when she was quite a bit younger.

 

 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom smiled as the little one talked a little bit more about what her issues.  

"We all need to take care of our mommies, don't we," tried to show some empathy. "But you know, there are a lot of different ways to do that.  One, is that we listen to them, and understand how we can make something easier for them to go through by our own behavior, but there is a limit to a small child's ability to do things.  Mommies sometimes need big people's help, and when that is necessary, then to protect the child and to help the mommy get better, then they a system in place to get your mommy the help she needs while taking care of the child.  That's what is happening right now.  Did anyone ever explain that to you?" he asked her.

"I know," he said sitting with her and rubbing her back as she talked about how her mommy said that money is for important things. "I'm sorry that your family is struggling so much with that, that you are not being allowed to have the things a child should have.  It is hard when you see other people with things you'd like to have, but you know you can't have them because you're struggling, especially if you have so little to start with."

He patted her little back and whispered.  "But you are in a safe place where you can relax a bit, sweetheart.  Your mommy is getting some help that only big people can give, and meanwhile, your mommy will realize that you are safe, and that will make her happier, eventually."

"Of course we'll have to get you some toys," he said decided right then that it was wrong to send her back even if he didn't fully trust her and worried she might be a thief, she would not learn not to be one if people kept giving up on her without trying to teach her different.  "I know all of this is really hard for you right now, baby, but you need to do me a very big favor for now on, okay?"

He patted her leg.

"If you don't have something, and you really want it, before you give in to taking it without permission, I'd like you to ask for it.  The food I showed you in the kitchen, where it is put purposefully where you are allowed to get it from, you can consider that food your food and Jessica's and you kids don't have to ask for that food.  It's already yours.  Anything in this room, that we put anywhere in her, including in the closet, the dresser, or on the table, but also just anywhere you can see it in the room, those things are to be yours, baby."

He smiled.  "So, tomorrow, we are going to get you some decent things to wear, and yes, we'll get you some toys, sweetheart.  You need more than one or you'll get bored really fast."

Tom then lifted her up and started to carry her to the bathroom to show her where things were in there to use.

"This bathroom up here, is primarily where you and Jessica will be taking a bath and brushing your teeth.  You will see that if you open the cabinet here, there is only toothpaste and child safe stuff here."

He opened the mirror cabinet and pulled out a new wrapped toothbrush, the generic kind that was white so it could have been for a boy or a girl since they had no idea what kind of kid they might end up fostering when they were first approved.  He took it out of the package and gave it to Lani to hold.

"This is yours."

He showed her where she should put it near Jessica's purple one.

"The toilet there is for anyone that needs to use it at a moment, and there is a toilet downstairs that you can use, too."

 

Jessica eventually came out of the closet, and she peeked into the hallway, sort of spying on her daddy leading Lani around and saw at the moment they were in the bathroom.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani shook her head. Tom didn’t seem to understand how she had to take care of her mother at home. “Mommy’s sick. I’m ‘sposed to take care of her.” It was clear no one had fully explained to her what was going on.

She shrugged a bit. She didn’t often feel that jealous of other kids around her. The only times she did were when she was hungry or in trouble.

Her brown eyes lit up when Tom mentioned multiple toys. She was thrilled! She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten multiple toys at once.

Her face fell and she looked down when she realized Tom was talking about her stealing. Of course he didn’t trust her not to. Why would he? “Yes Mister, I understand.” She responded obediently, embarrassed to be in this conversation in the first place.

In the bathroom she held onto her toothbrush and placed it by Jessica’s when the time came. She was doing her best to take everything in and keep track of what Tom was telling her. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom smiled and nodded.  "And that's why you can't take care of her," he told her when she said her mom is sick.  "It's too much to expect of a little girl to take care a sick adult when there is no one to even take care of your own needs, sweetheart."

He patted her back.

When Tom saw her face get a little red, and saw her look down, he realized that she understood exactly where the little talk was coming from, but if he was going to teach her not to steal, then it had to be done.  However, as she said she understood, he decided that was enough for now.

Setting her on her feet, he whispered.  "I can leave for a minute if you'd like to use the toilet, sweetheart.  I don't want you to feel like you can't go if or when you think you need to go, okay?"

Jessica slipped around the corner and peeked into the bathroom at them, wondering what daddy was talking to her about.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani was a little confused by how Tom talked about her mother. She shook her head. “I take care of myself at home all the time.” She explained, not used to consistently relying on her mother for care. “I’m almost eight! I’m not a little girl anymore!”

She blushed when Tom mentioned using the bathroom. She wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to him. “I don’t gotta go.” She mumbled shyly. She wasn’t used to anyone reminding her to use the bathroom or suggesting she do it. Outside of school obviously, at school the whole class would get reminded, but not her individually.

She noticed Jessica out of the corner of her eye and frowned. She didn’t like this bigger girl trying to be in her business. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom didn't like that she compared being a big girl her age to taking care of herself and her mother the way it sounded.  It didn't seem right to him.  He had not really looked in her file that closely as yet because Charlotte was the one that was originally excited to have another kid in the house, but now, he was starting to wonder if there was something else going on.

Kids in some families, like in his own, thought they took care of their mommies by listening to them and doing small things for them like picking up the floor or something, but what this little girl said, really didn't make any sense.  He frowned.

"Well, you are going to be eight," he agreed with her.  "But in our house, a kid doesn't even touch the stove until she's 12, and then only with a parent's help until the kid is 16.  That's the way it's always been where I'm from.  You might be old enough to dress yourself, clean yourself up, or do other things that are simple, but some things, a parent needs to be at least watching for safety, sweetheart."

Maybe that's why she was taken?  he wondered.  Maybe someone caught her cooking alone or maybe she didn't have any food because her mom couldn't cook.

He decided to drop it for now because it wouldn't help her.

"Okay, well, I just thought I'd ask if you had to go in case you were scared or embarrassed to ask yourself.  I know you are in a strange house at the moment."

He picked her up and started to carry her out when he saw Jessica.

"Hey sweetheart."

"Daddy?  Does that little girl cook by herself?"

"Not in our house, she doesn't," he replied so he wasn't lying but was avoiding the question because it wasn't right if the girl was doing so.

He continued to take Lani down to the kitchen again, and out the back where the washer and dryer are.

"This is where we will wash clothes.  You don't really need to worry about these machines that much because Charlotte will be normally doing that, but this is the direction to the backyard."

And he took her outside to look at the yard.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani nodded along. She didn’t really understand Tom’s strange rules but she wanted to be good and do her best to follow all of them. She was used to using the stove at home, she hadn’t learned how to use the oven yet, but she figured out the stove by herself pretty easily.

She scowled when Jessica started talking about her like she wasn’t there. “I’m not a little girl!” She protested unhappily. “I’m right here.” She mumbled, already starting to dislike this other girl.

She nodded about the laundry. She decided when it came time she’d try to help out and wash her own clothes. She already did that at home so maybe she could be helpful here.

“You have a backyard?” She asked excitedly. At her own home they technically had a yard, but she wasn’t really allowed to use it. It was small and had lots of weeds and her mother didn’t really approve of her getting unnecessarily dirty. 

[Ishigreensa]

Jessica was following them, and when the girl scowled and then protested not being a little girl, Jessica frowned.

"I thought you were just talking to daddy, so I was asking daddy," Jessica told her.  "You didn't seem to want to talk to me earlier, so I didn't ask you."

"Girls," Tom said.  "Stop it right now."

Jessica scowled.  "Stop what?"

"Stop trying to get on each other's nerves.  That is not going to make any peace.  Jessica, she is younger than you, so I'd expect you to show her a little decency first."

"Why does it always gotta be me?  She lied about me calling her names so I had to explain to mom I called her a brat earlier because she was being mean to me, and now you're taking her side, too, and you didn't even come and see if I was okay when the chair fell over!"

Tom sighed.

"Jessica, honey, your mom went and checked on you.  You know that normally, only one of us does that.  What are you so worried about?"

Jessica looked down.  "Nothing," she mumbled.

"Then tell her you are sorry for being impolite."

"Me--ee?" Jessica looked up at him.

"You're the elder girl," he told her.

"Fine.  I'm sorry I made you upset," Jessica said not meaning it.  She was upset herself, and saw no reason to be sorry when the little rat was starting it all on her, and this was Jessica's house.  That little firefly better learn that this is her house or she wasn't going to share it with the intruder.

Tom whispered to the little one.  "Honey, you and Jessica need to learn to get along.  You both live here, now, understand?"

He brought her outside in the backyard.  There was plenty of room to play around, and hidden just inside the little bit of trees they had, there was a little one room play house, that would easily fit upto seven children playing around in it.  

Tom had had this little one room play shed built for Jessica on her last birthday because sometimes she and her friends got a bit noisy, and neither he nor Charlotte really liked to quiet her down, so he told her that when mommy has a headache or needs to get stuff done for the next day, and needs some quiet, Jessica can now take her friends out there, and they even put some old mix-matched cups and little bowls out there so they could play house and eat there.  Of course, it had not running water, so any dishes had to be brought into the house to wash if they got dirty.

"That house is mine," Jessica told the little intruder.  "My friends and I play there because it was my birthday present last year."

Tom gave Jessica a look.

"You can go in it, if you want," Jessica said.  "But you gotta try and be nice around my friends when you are in it."

Tom sighed.  That seemed fair to him.

"Well, that's pretty much all we have," he told Lani.  "We do have a basement cellar, that you have to get to it through an outside door, but as there is really nothing in it right now, I don't want anyone playing in there.  I am thinking about fixing it up someday," something he had been saying for about three years, to be honest, "but I've really haven't had either time or money, both at the same time," he told the girls.

Jessica nodded.  "Daddy works a lot and buys stuff we need so he doesn't ever get to the cellar."

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani flinched a bit when Tom scolded her and Jessica. She stared at the floor and went silent. She wasn’t trying to get on Jessica’s nerves, she was just trying to defend herself.

“I’m sorry.” She whimpered quietly, not looking up from the ground.

She wanted to defend herself and stand up to Jessica being mean to her, but she didn’t want to upset Tom or get in trouble. She had to be good or else she’d risk being sent away. It didn’t seem fair to her. Jessica got to call her a brat and a liar, and all Lani did was tell her to mind her own business.

“Yes Sir.” She responded instinctively when Tom addressed her directly. She didn’t understand why she was at fault too, but then again lots of things in her world didn’t make sense to the little girl.

She was amazed by how big the backyard was. It seemed huge to someone who wasn’t used to having access to one. She didn’t like how bossy Jessica was being with her, but she couldn’t say anything in front of Tom.

Not wanting to say the wrong thing, she just nodded along to everything the two of them were saying. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom noticed that the little one had flinched, and not really knowing what else to do, he just hugged her.

He knew she was in a new place, and probably just didn't know the rules yet, but he felt like he had to put a stop to whatever was going on without picking sides, and so he did what he could think of best.

"If you want, you can play or you can read a book, or we can watch television together," Tom told the little one, trying to soften his tone.

Jessica stayed near daddy, not liking that the intruder was hogging her daddy from her.

Tom started to walk back into the house, and picking up the folder that Charlotte had left in their important drawer in the kitchen, he went to the living room, putting Lani in his lap if she didn't seem interested in anything else, and he turned on the television for the kids, but rather than let them fight over what to watch, he turned it to the cartoon Disney channel.

Then he started to read the little girl's file.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani didn’t verbally respond when Tom continued to speak to her. She didn’t know what was okay to say and what was misbehaving. She got scolded for defending herself, so she didn’t know what else she’d get scolded for.

She opened the book Tom had given her earlier and started to read. She looked up at him when she noticed he was reading her file. She frowned.

“You’re gonna send me back.” She said with a sad sigh. “Cuz you’re reading about how bad I am.” She stared down at her lap, her face devoid of any joy or hope it previously held.

She fidgeted in place uncomfortably, knowing exactly what her file said. She knew it talked about her history of bullying other kids, that it said she stole from kids and stores, how she doesn’t get along with other kids, and much more.

[Ishigreensa]

Tom sighed.

"Honey, I'm just trying to figure out what we need to do for you.  I can't do my best for you if I don't learn what is going on, and though I am going to ask you about things in a while, I just want to know what to ask about, sweetheart."

He shook his head.

"No one is that bad without a good reason, though, sweetheart."

He patted her lap.  "Just let me read what the file says, and then we'll talk about it in a bit.  If you are going to stay here, you need to know I'm not going to do things that are serious behind your back or lie to you about it.  I've already told you before that I am not sure about keeping you.  I am feeling less towards the option of just returning you though.  Even if half the things in your file are objective, meaning that it is all fact, or true, you probably need a little guidance in your life.  I expect that some of this is a misunderstanding though.  You are a child, and no one is that bad, baby."

He continued to read to get what information they had on her, looking not for generalizations that meant they had no proof of the behavior, but more for specifics, like if someone at school on a certain day complained that she had started a fight, or if someone accused her to stealing something specific from someone.  He knew that sometimes, even he made mistakes where he thought Jessica did something but didn't have proof and found out later that she hadn't even done whatever was thought.  And he was pretty lenient with her.

 

Jessica frowned because she was sitting right there.

"What do you mean because of how bad you are?" she asked innocently.  "Little kids are supposed to be bad sometimes because I was.  We just don't always understand all the rules all the time," she said to Lani despite knowing that Lani didn't like talking to her.  "I don't think it's fair if people send you back just because you're a kid."

Jessica looked down feeling bad.

"Daddy, we aren't sending her back just because of her not knowing all the rules are we?"

He shook his head no.

"Watch cartoons, Jessica."

Jessica saw the change in the little one's actions, something that she couldn't put her finger on, but it made her feel sad.  It was like she completely changed when daddy started to read her file.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani frowned. She felt like she said something wrong. She stared at her lap. She was too anxious and scared to focus on her book at the moment, even though she was excited to read it a moment ago. The reminder that she might not get to stay wasn’t reassuring either, even if Tom had meant it that way.

Her file had some specific but still vague information. It had specific instances of her stealing from stores a few times, bullying other kids, and some broad information of behavioral issues and suspected of more bullying and stealing though nobody had hard proof.

She felt tears sting her eyes when Jessica started asking her about how bad she was. She wanted to defend herself and say she wasn’t a little kid and for Jessica to mind her own business. She couldn’t though, not if she wanted to stay with the family. Tom had already told her off for how she talked to the other girl, so she chose to just stare at her lap. 

[Ishigreensa]

Richard started to look over the file, and Jessica just looked sadly at the television.  Lani didn't want to answer her, but she couldn't have guessed that it was as bad as it was, and even if she had, she'd more wonder why a kid stole more than twice.  One?  Maybe a dare.  Twice?  Maybe a thrill.  But three times, and there was something definitely driving it.  Jessica didn't have that information though, so for all she knew, the little kid probably forgot to make her bed, probably made noises when they weren't supposed to.  Her friends said that they had rules about noise and stuff and were surprised that Jessica was allowed to play as loudly as she wanted.  Normally, because she was allowed to, there was really no reason to test how loud she could do it, so she played normal loud most of the time anyway.  But just knowing that loudness can be a rule....

Jessica looked over at Lani.

"You can be loud if you want.  I'm loud all the time," she looked back at the television.  She didn't know why she was helping her though.  Lani didn't like her, and things would be a lot easier for Jessica if Lani wasn't here, but something inside her, whispered in her ear, that Lani was still her baby sister, and just because she was eight didn't change the fact that she could still be her little sister, in time.

"Um, I'm going to the bathroom," she jumped up and ran upstairs instead of to the one downstairs for some reason.  she didn't even really know why.  She just thought of the bathroom, and the one that she thought of was up on the second floor.

Tom saw all the accusations against her, and he worried a little more over the actual ones with details and dates.

Jessica was still out of the room, so Tom picked the little one up and brought her upstairs and to her own bedroom where Jessica wasn't allowed to disturb them.

Tom sighed and patted her lap next to him while he sat next to her on the bed.  He wanted to understand her side of things.

"Lani, I'd like to ask you about some stuff in your file before I just tell you rule about some of it, okay?  I'd be happy to let you stay with us, if you'd be okay telling me if you have a side of the story to some of this, if there was a reason for stealing, like at the store, and then us making a plan so you don't do some of this anymore.  Is that okay with you?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani stared silently at her lap while Tom continued to read. She was fighting tears and doing everything in her power not to cry. She was focusing all her energy on being quiet and good that she couldn’t help but squirm and fidget in her seat.

She felt her heart race and stomach drop when Tom carried her to her room. She felt like he was going to punish her before he sent her right back. She was so upset and disappointed. She knew she shouldn’t have gotten excited by how nice he was to her.

When Tom eventually confronted her, she couldn’t stop the tears anymore. She burst into tears and was already full on sobbing. It took a few tries for her words to be coherent and comprehensible.

“I’m sorry!” She blurted out immediately, starting to hyperventilate already. The poor girl was clearly distraught and terrified. “I know it’s bad! I’m sorry!” She continued, choking on her own words. “I wanna be good! I promise! I don’t wanna be bad! I’m sorry!”

After that, she couldn’t get any more words out. She was just sobbing and shaking and hyperventilating. The tears falling down her face made it clearer that she desperately needed a bath. The little girl hadn’t had one since coming into foster care. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom's heart broke, as he saw her struggling to get the words out that she knew it was bad and that she wanted to be good.  He wasn't sure she knew how, but at least she seemed to know it was wrong.  He rubbed her back, and picking her up again, he hugged her tight.

"Alright, sweetheart. Alright.  We'll see how we can help you stop this cycle, okay?"

He hugged her again, and he patted her little bottom.

"Can Charlotte, the lady that came and got you with me give you a little bath?  You might feel a little better if we clean you up a little bit, sweetheart."

 

Jessica came out of the bathroom and went back to the living room to watch cartoons where she didn't see daddy, and got a little upset that he had left her alone again.  Lani kept taking her daddy away, even when she was letting her sit on him, and she just wanted to be near him.  Maybe she shouldn't have gone to the toilet or something?  She probably could have held it a little longer?  Maybe?

But thinking like that had led to her wetting her pants at school on more than one occasion, although in most of those instances, it was because either the teacher told her to wait, or the teacher didn't notice her hand in time, and she was trying to follow the rules in fourth grade.  But at the moment, she wasn't thinking about school, only that she left the room, and so daddy and the little girl had left her alone again.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani sobbed hard. She was embarrassed and stressed. She knew if she wasn’t good and this family didn’t want to keep her that she’d go to a group home and potentially not see her mother again.

“I can bathe myself.” She whimpered when Tom suggested that Charlotte bathe her. She didn’t know why but she didn’t want Charlotte to do it. She didn’t trust the woman and didn’t want to be bathed by her either.

 

Charlotte came out to the living room to check on what was going on. She was surprised to see Jessica on the couch alone.

“Hey kiddo, what’re you watching?” She asked as she sat down next to her daughter. She wanted to make conversation and show her that she’s important too. 

[Ishigreensa]

"Honey, maybe you can bathe yourself," Tom told her.  "But I feel it would be neglect to have you do it on your own this time.  You obviously were not given a chance to bathe in a while, and I'm worried about you getting sick, sweetie."

He rubbed her back.

"How about this?  I don't think you'd want Jessica to do it. Jessica seems to make you uncomfortable, and you don't seem to want Charlotte to do it either.  I'm not sure what else to do, sweetheart.  I could do it, but I don't want to scare you...."

He let that linger as an option.

"I want you to know something, sweetheart.  No one in this house is blaming you for not taking a bath.  You are an eight year old child, who should be cared for, and even if you forgot to take one, which I kind of doubt, it does make sense to me that the only reason you didn't take one, is you weren't told you could."

He hugged her and sighed.

"So, I'm afraid an adult does need to do it for you this time, even though I know you are a big girl and can do it yourself normally.  So....  We can get Charlotte, or....  I can do it, if you wanted."

 

Jessica looked sadly up at her mom.

"I just went to the bathroom, and Lani stole daddy away again when I was in the bathroom."

She had tears in her eyes as she told her mom, from her point of view what happened.  "When daddy was looking at her papers, Lani said she was bad, but I don't understand.  I mean, she is eight.  What, does she just play loudly or sometimes knock something over?  It's like people don't really know or understand a little kid, and then try to take them in their home.  Plus she smells really bad.  I don't think anyone bathed her, too.  And I got sad and tried to be nice to her, but now, she stole my daddy away.  I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore."

She looked down.

[Shy-Diapers]

“The other foster homes didn’t let me take a bath. Nobody kept me long enough.” Lani said sadly.

She wasn’t thrilled with the idea of anyone bathing her if she was honest. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to take a bath by herself. She was almost eight years old and had been doing it herself for quite a while now.

“You can do it.” She said with a sigh. She didn’t like any options but knew she had to pick or it would probably be Charlotte bathing her. She really wasn’t comfortable around her at all yet and was very wary of her.

She hung her head and rubbed her eyes. The tears were gone but she was still clearly upset. The poor girl had gone through so much and was struggling to keep it together.

 

Charlotte frowned and tried to think of how to respond.

“Sweetie, just because Daddy and Lani left, doesn’t mean she stole him. He should’ve told you if her had to take her somewhere so you knew where he was going. That’s his responsibility, not Lani’s.” She started gently.

“It’s not polite or kind to say that people smell bad. Lani has gone to live with lots of different people and didn’t stay long. She probably hasn’t had a chance to take a bath.” She explained, not wanting to tell her daughter about Lani’s personal history.

“Don’t worry about that.” She requested, not able to properly explain things to Jessica. “It’s Daddy’s and my job to help and take care of her. It’s all stuff for the grown ups to worry about.”

“Lani didn’t steal Daddy away. I’m sure you were being very nice to her. Remember that she just got here though, she’s not used to everyone. I’m sure she’ll warm up to you eventually. It’s like when you start a new grade and you don’t know a lot of people or your teacher. But Lani doesn’t know anyone and she has to live with us. That’s scary for someone to go through.” She hoped her explanations and comments were doing more good than harm, though she couldn’t quite tell. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom frowned when he saw her hesitancy.  He should have known though, by the way she insisted she was a big girl, so he decided maybe a compromise.

"Lani, you want to clean yourself?  But I'm afraid you are but eight years old, almost nine, and like you said, no one let you bathe in a while, so can I just watch and make sure you clean up good?"

He didn't like the idea of watching her, but her choosing him to bathe her over Charlotte, told him that he probably shouldn't suggest Charlotte again.

"Okay, well let's take off your shoes and socks," he told her, and then we'll go to the bathroom to finish undressing you."

 

Jessica looked up at her mommy.

"But I don't get what I'm supposed to do.  It feels like she doesn't want to talk to me, and then she gets mad when I talk about her to daddy because she doesn't want to talk.  She's like trying to cut me out of the family completely, and I don't like it."

She looked down.

"I understand she has a hard time, but that doesn't give her the right to not let me talk to my own daddy."

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani nodded. The compromise Tom suggested seemed fair to her. “I’m almost eight.” She corrected though, not wanting Tim to be mistaken on her age. She didn’t mind it, but felt like he should know how old she is.

She nodded and took her shoes and socks off, her feet having blistered and her shoes having holes in the soles. She started to worry when he mentioned undressing her. She was worried he’d find the chicken nuggets she’d stuffed in her pocket earlier and get mad at her. She sighed a bit and set down her backpack with her dirty shoes and socks, letting go of it for the first time.

 

Charlotte shook her head. “Sweetie maybe it’s best that you don’t talk about her in front of her. That doesn’t feel very nice all the time.” She suggested calmly.

“You don’t like when people talk about you to other people when you’re there. That doesn’t feel good. I don’t like it either. I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you in time.”

She smiled as she thought. “You know, she doesn’t want to talk to me either. It’s not just you. She’s scared and nervous. It’ll get better sweetie.”

“You can still talk to Daddy all you want. But talk about things that aren’t Lani. I’m sure you can talk about so many things that not talking about her in front of her won’t be hard.” She said cheerfully. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom saw her little feet, and he shook her head at what he saw.  He grabbed her shoe, the first one she got off and looked again at her feet.

"Does this shoe even fit, baby?" he asked her.  "I'm just asking because it doesn't look like it to me, honey."

He picked her up when she had her shoes and socks off, and he walked to the bathroom carrying her.

Indeed, he did put her on her feet and started to run the bath for her while he let her take her clothes off herself, but as she dropped the clothes on the floor, he gestured to the tub.

Tom waited for her to get in, and then he started picking up her dirty clothes as she bathed.  He smoothed them out and folded them, with the idea of putting them in the laundry basket while she was washing in front of him.  She was almost eight, so not so little that she didn't know some basic cleaning that she should do.  He felt something in a pocket and pulled out a nugget.  

He knew that they only time she could have gotten the chicken was at McDonalds, so he shrugged.  Maybe she was full at that moment, but wanted to save the chicken for later.  It was her  food, so there wasn't anything on the surface wrong with it, except her clothes were not that clean.

"Honey, did you want to eat some chicken nuggets later?" he asked her when she was in the tub.

 

"I didn't mean to be mean to her.  I just wanted to understand what was going on.  She's the one that said she was bad, and the only think I could get from that... she's only seven, is that she was too loud or something."

Jessica listened to her mommy a little more.

"I don't  like to be talked about, but it wasn't like that.  I didn't say she smells to daddy at all.  I just wanted to let her know that she's allowed to be a little bit loud here, like a natural child.  I mean, she said some weird stuff, but I asked daddy if we are going to keep her because it not right to not keep her just because she's loud or something.  I just don't want her to steal my daddy."

Jessica heard her mommy once again tell her that daddy wasn't being stolen, but she wasn't so sure about that.  He had never suddenly disappeared on her before?  Or did he?  She never noticed it before.

"Can you hold me," Jessica asked her mommy.  AT least she had her mommy's attention, and she climbed up into her lap.