The New Foster

[Ishigreensa]

Tom nodded.

"Well, I'll bring some extra clothes for Lani for just in case.  The fair can be a lot for a little girl that has never been to one, and we wouldn't want Lani being worried too much."

He didn't say why he would bring the extra clothes for her in front of the children, but assumed that Charlotte could guess.  And it wasn't like there was any evidence looking Rebecca in the face as to his reasons since the little one had not done any daytime wetting up to this point.

Tom was just being prepared because Lani was an eight year old, soon to be, and she was going to be in a completely new environment that he doubted she had ever seen anything like in person.

"Television doesn't really show what it's like to be there," Tom turned his attention to address Lani.  "It's an exciting place though, and most children find one thing or another that they like about it."

He picked her up.

"I'm going to get this one ready for bed.  Can you maybe grab her sheets from the dryer?" he asked Charlotte by the time Rebecca had left the kitchen area.  "I know I could, but it's hard to do anything without her being right there because she's still just getting used to her surroundings," Tom added with a pleading look at Charlotte.

[Shy-Diapers]

Charlotte nodded. It made sense to her to pack extra clothes for something like the fair for any kid under 9 or 10. They might get dirty or any number of things.

She got up and nodded, heading to the laundry room to grab the bedding. When she emerged she had them in her arms. “Do you want to put the sheets on or want me to come up and do it?” She asked.

 

Lani looked down a bit. She felt like she said something wrong when Tom said things aren’t like they are on TV. She knew that already so she felt bad being told. People on TV were always happy and nice and nobody had a mommy like hers who was always sick all the time like she did. 

[Ishigreensa]

"If you wouldn't mind putting the sheets on while I'm dressing her, that would be a lot of help," Tom told Charlotte.  "But I know she gets anxious about you right now sometimes, so I'll leave that up to you.  Just even having them already in the room for us will help a lot."

He carried the little one to the potty.

"I know you don't have day time problems," he told her.  "But if you go just before getting ready for bed, that might help a little bit with your night time problems, too, sweetheart."  He had only said this when he had her in the bathroom and the door closed so that Rebecca couldn't hear them.

Of course, Rebecca was supposed to try to go before bed, and she shouldn't be drinking any water at this time either as it was only about an hour from her bedtime, not that Tom would say that to Lani.

 

When they were in the bathroom, privately, Tom squatted by her, and he whispered to her. "You already know that the things you see on TV are not always the same, don't you?" he asked her.  "I don't know why, but I suddenly realized I might have said something obvious to any eight year old."

He hugged her with her still on the toilet.

"I'm not going to do this tomorrow.  We made a deal, and I won't be force checking you ever five minutes unless you give me a reason to, but you do know you can ask if you want to go tomorrow, right?"

He smiled at her.

Once she had enough time to try, he picked her up and carried her to her room to get her some pajamas on.

 

By this time, Rebecca was setting out a pair of shorts and a comfortable T-shirt.  She also set out a pair of Bugs Bunny panties that had the girl pig on the back of her butt with the words in purple under it, It's Fair Time.

Being all set to get dressed the next morning, she went and grabbed her roller shoes, and put them next to her bed thinking she'd wear those down to breakfast and if mom and dad didn't say anything, then that probably meant she could wear them to the fair, too.

Then, she went to the bathroom, and after brushing her teeth, downstairs because daddy had Lani in the one upstairs, she used the toilet, and then went to find mommy.

"Good night, mommy."

She was a bit tired, but the real truth why she was trying to turn in early, was she couldn't wait for tomorrow when she'd get to go to the fair.

[Shy-Diapers]

Charlotte nodded and followed Tom and Lani upstairs. When she saw Tom taking her to the bathroom she decided it was a good chance to put the sheets on. She made quick work of getting them on and making the bed before slipping out before they finished in the bathroom.

She smiled when she ran into Rebecca in the hall. “Goodnight sweetie.” She said with a hug and a kiss to the top of her head. “Sleep well.”

 

Lani blushed and looked at her feet when Tom brought up her bedwetting. She was still shaken up from how scared she was for anyone to find out. She also just hated thinking about waking up soaking wet and cold.

She didn’t protest being taken to the bathroom though. She was able to get a little bit out and nodded to Tom. She knew she could tell him when she needed to go, it just hadn’t come up yet.

She nodded again when Tom mentioned TV. “TV is different.” She confirmed. “Everyone on TV is nice and they don’t yell and nobody is sick for a long time.” She said softly. She was stating it casually and as a fact, but it was clear it did hurt her a little bit to think about.

 

 

[Ishigreensa]

"That's true," Tom said in response when she brought up about the world in television.  "They don't think a lot of heavy topics are child appropriate, and so they try not to present these themes in stories that they think children will be watching."

He sighed and carried her to her sink to brush her teeth, helping her where she needed help, and then he picked her up again and took her to her room where the bed was ready for her.

"Now remember," he told her as he started to put her into her bed.  "You don't need to hide wetting the bed anymore, and I do want to know right away so we can wash your things and keep them nice for you, okay?"

 He had put some towels under her for the night, but the next day, he was definitely going to get her something for night time, maybe if he could have Charlotte distract Rebecca, or maybe Charlotte could get it if he distracted both of the girls.  He'd have to see what he could work out with Charlotte.

After kissing the little one on the cheek, and settling her into bed, he reached for a book, and started to read her to sleep.

 

Rebecca smiled when her mom kissed her and said goodnight to her.

"Thank you for taking us to the fair," she said before running to her bedroom to get ready to sleep.

Rebecca yawned and grabbed a favorite stuffed animal to put under her head much like a pillow, but in a cuddle sort of way, and closing her eyes, she went to sleep.

 

Once he was sure that Lani was sleeping, he walked quietly to go find Charlotte.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani didn’t have anything more to say to Tom about TV. She just knew TV was very different from reality.

She let Tom start getting her ready for bed. She nodded and looked down at her feet when he brought up her bedwetting again. She felt a little like he was constantly bringing it up to her. She knew she was supposed to tell him when she wet the bed.

She crawled into bed with her new dragon friend and smiled when Tom started to read for her. It was a pleasant experience she wasn’t used to. Nobody at home ever read to her so she was amazed that this was something people actually did. Her mom never even showed interest in Lani’s love for reading.

After some reading, Lani was out cold. She was so tired from the day she’d had. It had been so much worrying and crying for such a little girl.

 

Charlotte was in the master bedroom on her phone in bed when Tom eventually came to find her. She’d already cleaned up from dinner and was ready for bed now. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom came into the room yawning.

"I'm going to brush my teeth and get ready," he told Charlotte.

As he started towards the bathroom in their room, however, he paused and looked back.  "I don't want to say anything bad about the girl's mom," he looked up at the ceiling.  "So, I'll just state a fact.  They are really poor, and the child doesn't even have very many toys, and when the bear she had a while ago got a little sticky, her mom threw it out instead of cleaning it up a bit."

He looked back at Charlotte and then went into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He was sure that had not been in the reports.  It actually seemed nothing that the girl said was in the reports.  How could social services not know half of the stuff she said, and why didn't they tell them if they knew?

He came back out when he had his teeth brushed, and as he undressed, he hit Charlotte with another tidbit.  "I guess her mom has been sick maybe two to two and a half years.  I just found out she used to walk to school completely by herself.  She didn't even have friends to walk with her, and she's done it since first grade started.  I know that normally, it would be prudent to question the child's memory, but her memory was too specific for this to be something she got mixed up."

He put on some shorts and then crawled into bed.

"Like I said, I'll not say anything bad about the woman as I don't know the specifics.  But those are the facts."

Tom sighed.  "She told me she wets the bed at home, too, so when we get a chance, I want to take her to see a doctor and make sure it's nothing physical.  The poor child has a lot of stress and issues as it is, and if this problem is physical, making it impossible on her, then it's going to get more stressful for her if no one does anything about it.  I believe Social Services has an insurance plan, don't they?  So we can do that later?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Charlotte frowned. She didn’t want to talk poorly of Lani’s mother, but she also couldn’t argue with Tom since he was the only one Lani was even talking to.

“Well I mean some people don’t like to wash stuffed animals and don’t think they can be washed.” She suggested half heartedly. “And we can’t blame them for being poor. Not everyone is as fortunate as we are.”

She sighed. “I mean I guess if they don’t qualify for the bus then there might not be another option aside from her walking to school. I just hope for her safety she lived in a safe neighborhood, but if they’re poor I doubt that’s the case.”

“Going to the doctor isn’t a bad idea. But I think it’s a good idea to just wait on that. I don’t think she’d take too well to being brought to the doctor so soon after meeting us.” She said with a frown. “But I can start talking to her social worker about getting on the necessary waitlists and getting the paperwork we need.”

Once they were done talking, Charlotte turned over and went to sleep.

The next morning she woke up and started getting herself ready before she went downstairs to make breakfast for the family.

 

Lani woke up around seven in the morning from a nightmare as usual. She had tears running down her face and had bolted upright in bed. She frowned and squirmed when she realized she was wet again, as usual.

She was about to get out of bed and get dressed, but then she remembered Tom told her to not get dressed until he cleaned her up if she wet the bed. She was too scared to go to his room since that required walking down the hall in her soaked pajamas. She instead just sat silently in her bed, holding her dragon to her chest. She turned his lights on and pet him softly to try to calm down. 

[Ishigreensa]

"I'm not blaming them for being poor," Tom shook his head.  "But you know, even stuffing socks and making something....  I don't know.  It feels like the poor child just hasn't really had anything to play with at all before."

He sighed and went to sleep knowing his wife was right.  Not everyone can afford things, but then, what is the purpose of goodwill, salvation army, and other programs like that, if not to help poor families get what their kids need?

He wished he had a million dollars right now, a million dollars that would go all around the USA, and make sure every little one had a toy and food.

He dreamed that he was Santa Claus that night.  However, it wasn't all easy.  His magic seemed to fail when it came to getting into poor homes, and often, he saw some toys that he did get into less than ideal homes were left in the trash the next day.  

He woke up not in a good mood at all.

 

The next morning, he went to the shower and showered, and tried to shake the nightmare out of his mind.  He wasn't Santa, and only had to do right by two children at the moment.  Getting dressed for the day, he went into the child's room, and walked over to her bed.

"Hey, sweetheart.  How did you sleep?" he asked as he pulled her blankets back to see the soaked towels under her.

"Are you ready for a quick bath?" he asked her.

 

Rebecca woke up dry and jumped out of bed about the time Tom went into the little one's bedroom.  She went downstairs in her pajamas, and looked for her mother because she could smell the cooking.

"Mommy!  I didn't do it again," she chirped in her usual way to address not wetting the bed.  "Do I get any money to spend at the fair?" she asked.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani looked down at her lap when Tom came into her room. She was embarrassed and her face still red from crying. She didn’t know what to say. At home she didn’t have anyone to talk to about a bad dream. She used to try but her mother wasn’t very kind and usually told her to get over it.

She nodded about the bath though. Getting cleaned up would be really nice. “I’m not in trouble?” She asked a little hesitantly. He’d told her before she wouldn’t be, but she was still really scared about it.

 

Charlotte smiled. “I’m glad sweetie.” She said warmly. She didn’t fully understand Rebecca’s need to announce every morning that she didn’t wet the bed since it typically only happened once in a while, but she didn’t see the harm in it.

She sighed a bit about the money question. They’d already gotten her very expensive toys the day before at the store so she didn’t really appreciate Rebecca asking for money for things so soon. “We’ll get snacks and the ride wristbands again as usual and then we’ll see about anything else later.” She explained. They realized fairly early that getting the unlimited rides wristbands were more cost effective than individual tickets for rides. “We always end up getting rid of any of those little prizes from the games within a month.” She reminded Rebecca. At age ten she felt her daughter was old enough to understand the concept of how wasteful the carnival type games were when they usually ended up in someone being upset they didn’t win or winning a cheap toy that gets forgotten fairly quickly. “You just got the big bead set and your new robot yesterday.” She reminded gently. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom smiled at her and reached out to help her out of bed.  She seemed clearly upset to him, but he wasn't sure if she was just scared about being found wet, or if she was upset by something else.

"You'll feel a lot better after a bath," he told her.  "But baby?  If something was bothering you, I would like you to know that you can tell me.  As your temporary guardians, both Charlotte and I would be happy to know if we can help you with anything that's bothering you, sweetheart."

He pulled her pajamas off of her in her room so she wouldn't have to walk in the hallway in wet pajamas.  Of course, if Rebecca had gotten up at that time, and looked out, it would be better to be seen naked at eight years old than to be seen in wet pants, Tom wagered.

He was the only male gender in the home, and since the little one basically only trusted him, then there was no reason for her to worry about modesty at the moment.

He got her wet things off of her, and put them in the middle of the bed, and then he picked up the little one and carried her into the bathroom where he sat her down so he could start a bath for her.

"I know, sweetie," he said trying to guess at what made her cry earlier.  "...That it's hard to be big and brave with your mom being taken away at just eight years old, and you not knowing when you'll see her again.  But anything that I can do to help you brave it, even if it is just listening to you say things that help you even if I can't do anything about it, I'd gladly do for you."

He rubbed her back as they waited for the water.

 

"Okay," Rebecca understood that her parents did get her something they had not even said they would the day before, so she just smiled.

"And I really like the robot, too," she told her mom.  "You don't have to worry about me forgetting THAT in a week.  it has a few different ways it can go together, and I want to learn all about how that works."

She sat at the table, actually, upon closer inspection, she even had a couple of pieces of her robot with her, as she was testing them to see how they worked, and when the motor made a noise, she kind of giggled in surprise because it didn't have the battery connected to it yet.  It was just because one piece that would be driven by battery once it is together makes the other piece move, and pushing them together made a sound.

 

[Shy-Diapers]

Leilani looked down when Tom started talking about her being upset. She didn’t even know how to talk about her feelings. It was something almost forbidden in her home.

She stiffened and let out a small whimper when Tom started carrying her naked down the hall. She felt tears in her eyes again and her stomach hurt a bit. She didn’t like feeling so exposed and didn’t like the idea of Rebecca or Charlotte seeing her naked. She didn’t want to fight with him though since he’d been nothing but nice to her. He was even cleaning her up and being gentle about her bedwetting so she really couldn’t tell him she didn’t like it.

She didn’t respond to him now. She just stared silently at her feet as the bath filled. She left her dragon in her room when he’d stripped off her wet clothes. She wanted to tell him that she missed her mom and she didn’t like how everything was new and changing, but she couldn’t. It’s like her voice was broken. She just couldn’t get any words out.

 

Charlotte smiled. “I’m glad you like it.” She said warmly. She was glad Rebecca was understanding of her answer. They weren’t rich necessarily but they could afford to spoil their daughter every now and then and she never really wanted for anything most of the time. Still they didn’t like wasting money and tried to only buy things that would last rather than things that would get thrown out or donated within a month.

“Daddy is probably getting ready still and I don’t think Lani will come down without him.” She said as she put the food on the table. “So you can go ahead and eat if you’d like then you can go get dressed.”

[Ishigreensa]

Tom didn't know how to get her to talk right away, so he just started to bathe the little girl, hoping that when she felt a little cleaner and more relaxed maybe she would be able to talk to him then.  He was a little concerned though that she was suddenly a bit quiet when she was a little bit more open the evening before.  Maybe he did something wrong?  He hoped she would tell him.

"Alright, sweetie, it's okay," he told her putting her in the bath.   "When you're ready, you can talk to me, baby."

He started to clean the little one up.

"The fair is a really exciting place," he started to try to let her know what to expect and to maybe get her excited for the place as well.  "They have a lot of rides you can go on, and maybe you can try a couple of games, though those games are usually unwinnable, and they have a lot of special treats that they sell that you can eat."

He washed her body carefully taking his time making sure that she was clean and that he was careful of any issues she might have with sensitivity or whatever.

 

Rebecca smiled.

"Okay, I'll eat and then go get dressed, mommy.  Do you think you'll be fixing my hair up, or should I just put it in pigtails?" she asked her mom, half hoping mommy would make it special but not really torn up if mommy was too busy.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani stayed quiet in the bath, mostly looking down at her lap. She didn’t know what to say or do but just knew she didn’t like what just happened.

She nodded along about the fair. She’d seen the rides and the games on TV but not much else. It seemed fun and interesting from what she’d seen. She was definitely excited to do something so big and fun out of the house. She wasn’t used to getting out much at all.

 

Charlotte smiled and thought for a moment. “Eat your breakfast then I can do something with your hair. How about two French braids?” She suggested warmly. With Leilani being so attached to her husband, she was happy to spend more time with her biological daughter. 

[Ishigreensa]

Tom got Lani cleaned up, and then he carefully helped her out of the tub.  As he carefully helped her on her feet and put a towel around her, he hugged her.

"I don't know what you were dreaming about, sweetheart, or why you suddenly seem so scared, but you are safe here, baby."

He wrapped his arms around her and walked her back to her room in a towel to cover her pelvis.

"No one can hurt you here, sweetie."

They only saw a glimpse of Rebecca as she slipped into her room ahead of them coming out of the bathroom, where she was happily getting dressed.  She loved it when her mommy did anything with her hair, and two French Braids seemed like a very fun idea to her.

She had nodded when her mommy suggested it, and ran off from the spot at that moment.

Quickly grabbing the purple shorts and pink top she had laid out the night before, and then her panties and undershirt, she ran across the hall, knocked on the door, and finding it empty, she ran in to take a quick shower.   

Tom got the baby little one into her room, sat at the foot and edge of her bed, and pulled her over to him to look into her innocent little eyes.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked her as gently as he could.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani nodded without much thought as Tom continued to talk to her. She didn’t know how to voice that she didn’t like being taken to the bathroom naked. She just knew she didn’t like it. But without a reason or explanation, she didn’t feel she could say something even if her voice would cooperate.

She immediately averted her eyes when he tried to initiate eye contact. She never liked having to look people in the eyes. She nodded quickly though. She didn’t know how else she was supposed to respond when asked if she was okay or not. Her feelings weren’t ever a topic of discussion in her home.

[Ishigreensa]

Tom put her down and took her over to her dresser to start getting some clothes on her, and while he did so, he kept trying to talk to her about how she was feeling:
"Baby?  You know you can tell me what you were dreaming about and what you are feeling, don't you?  You are important, here, sweetheart.  I promise, no one is going to kick you out of this house for having feelings, baby."

Tom sighed as he got a shirt on her and started to pull some panties on her.

"I know things are hard for you, sweetheart, but we are here to help you.  You can trust us, baby.  We are not doing this for any other reason than we just want to help a little sweetie like yourself.  We are happy to open our home to you and we want you to call this home until you can go back to your mommy who I know is waiting for you and loves you.  Sometimes, bad things just happen, and hopefully, she will get better soon, sweetie."

 

Rebecca came out of the bath and went to her room to start getting dressed.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani nodded quietly. She still didn’t know what to say to anything Tom was talking to her about, but she was starting to relax again. She may have been silent but she was thinking intently and deeply about what he was saying to her. He was being so kind and soft to her, things she wasn’t used to at home.

When she was dressed in a yellow top and some pink shorts, she was mostly better. She grabbed her dragon off the bed and hesitantly looked up at Tom. “Can I take him?” She asked quietly, wanting the new found comfort of her plush friend.

She may not have responded to anything he was talking about, but it was clear that Lani was doing better than she was earlier. 

[Ishigreensa]

"Sure," Tom told the little lady.  "You take the plushie, but if you want to do something that might take two hands or something, then hand it to me or to Charlotte to keep for you so it doesn't get lost, okay?  We don't want you to lose it, but you should definitely have it with you when you need to feel safe."

Tom smiled at her.

It seemed for now, whatever had caused her to be upset earlier had passed, so he gave up trying to get her to talk for now.  It was likely going to take a long time before she was comfortable sharing her fears and nightmares, but as long as she knew he was there to listen to her, and to help drive away the fear, then that would be enough, for the moment.

"How about we fix your hair up a bit when we go down to breakfast?" he asked her.  "Would you like that?"

 

Rebecca came out of her room wearing her jean shorts and a purple top with some old cartoon cat on the back of it, called Ren.  It was a sickly looking cat, but somehow, Rebecca thought it looked funny, so she wore it for fun.

Coming into the kitchen, she walked around where Charlotte was, bringing some purple bow clips with her to fix her hair with.

"Can you use these?" she asked her mommy.

[Shy-Diapers]

Lani’s face relaxed a bit as a small smile formed. She was happy to be able to take her new friend with her. She squeezed him closer to her chest and rubbed his fur against her face. “Thank you.” She said politely.

She shrugged and nodded when asked about her hair. She was antsy to get eating. Despite having been there for a little while now, she was still worried about not having enough to eat.

 

“Sure thing sweetie.” Charlotte chirped. She sat down on a chair behind Rebecca and started brushing her hair. She sectioned her hair into two parts and gently brushed it out as she did two beautiful French braids. When they were done she attached two hairties to the bottoms and then the bow clips.

“All done!” She said with a smile. “Do you want to get something to do in the car ride? I’m not sure if Lani will still be quiet and not too sociable.” She suggested when she handed the brush back to her daughter. “I’m gonna get my purse ready and make sure we have some waters and everything.”

[Ishigreensa]

"Okay.  Can I get Lani a coloring book, too, just to see if she will color with me?" Rebecca asked.  "How far is it to the fair?  I forget.

Tom walked down the kitchen with Lani's hand in his, and he walked her to the table, where she could eat, and while she was eating, he started to try to braid her hair.  He wasn't that good at it though.  Charlotte was the one that always did Rebecca's hair, but he was sort of worried that Lani didn't want Charlotte touching her yet.

After Rebecca's hair was done, she raced off to the bathroom to try to go, so she wouldn't have an accident while they were driving, and then she went to find her favorite coloring book that had pictures of all sorts of stuffed animals in it, and she found another cute coloring book with princesses, and then got her crayons.

Tom gave up trying to braid the little girl's hair until she was done eating because it was a lot to ask Rebecca to sit still while she was eating, and so of course, with Lani, her being younger, and being in a different place than she was used to, of course it made sense she was more restless.

[Shy-Diapers]

“That sounds like a very nice idea.” Charlotte said warmly. “It’s over an hour away if I’m remembering right.” She said after a moment of thinking.

While she gathered everything up she watched as Tom tried doing Lani’s hair. Her heart still twinged with sadness. She had hoped to be doting on the little girl and doing things like braiding her hair, but Lani wanted nothing to do with her.

She shook her head and got her shoes on after her bag was packed. “Do you have a spare set of clothes or other things for Lani packed yet?” She asked Tom.

 

Lani scarfed down her food in her usual fashion. She had two helpings before there wasn’t anything left. She was doing her best to sit still when Tom did her hair, but like she always did, she couldn’t help but squirm and fidget, even after she finished eating.

She made sure she held on tight to her dragon when it was time to head to the car. She didn’t want to risk losing him. She didn’t say anything to Rebecca even as they got into the car. She still wasn’t too comfortable around anyone but Tom. 

[Ishigreensa]

"No, I haven't gotten that far ahead yet," Tom answered a little ashamed thinking he should have been the first to think of that.  I just got her a bath, got her dressed, and well, I'm trying to do her hair, but it will never be as good as you do it."

"Actually, you're not bringing any extra things for Rebecca this time are you?  I haven't seen any indication that the little one wets in the daytime, so I'm thinking maybe not.  It would probably boost her morale a lot if we show her that we trust her."

Rebecca was already upstairs, or the reference that she might need a change of clothes would have embarrassed her to no end, especially with Lani hearing it.

Rebecca came down a bit later, and she smiled as she put the princess coloring book in front of Lani.

"It's for you to color on the road," Rebecca told her.  "We have crayons to share.  You don't have to talk or say anything.  I just thought you might like to color."

Then she bounded away to hold her mommy's hand so that she wouldn't seem to pressure Lani too much.

 

[Shy-Diapers]

“Well we have the extra clothes for Rebecca in the car.” Charlotte said with a shrug. “I just thought you’d want to have a spare set in case she gets dirty or anything. We haven’t really seen her playing or doing much so we don’t know how dirty she tends to get. You’re the one who mentioned it last night.”

After a bit more talking, they came to an agreement and she grabbed an extra set of clothes  for Lani from her room. She figured they’d just leave them in the car just in case, since they did that with Rebecca as well. She also grabbed some of Lani’s more portable toys and put them into one of Rebecca’s old backpacks.

She headed to the car with Rebecca and handed Tom Lani’s bag so he could do what he pleased with it.

 

Lani didn’t say anything at first. She didn’t know any of the characters in the coloring book and had never watched much media of princesses. “Thank you.” She said out of obligation.

In the car, Lani gently set down the princess coloring book Rebecca had given her. She didn’t have much interest in it and she didn’t want to do something wrong. When she had her own bag, she took out one of her coloring books and her colored pencils. She liked having her own things for once. She usually had to share everything since she only got to do things like color or play at school.

[Ishigreensa]

As they drove along, Rebecca smiled and colored in her stuffed animals book.  She didn't really know what to say to Lani, and Lani seemed content to just do with her own stuff.  She was sort of disappointed that she didn't even get to offer her a peace offering of coloring in a princess book, something that most girls would die to do, if they were underguardianshipped.  That's what Rebecca came up with as the term, where she meant underprivileged children without a good mom or dad.  

Not knowing what else to do, she just glanced every now and then at Lani, nervous, wanting to talk, but afraid of saying the wrong thing that would make her upset again.  She felt like Lani was like an egg with a very fragile shell, so fragile, that even holding it would make it crack.  She didn't know what would set her off, and she wanted so desperately to be her friend, at the very least.

She looked at the coloring pencils she had.

"You can say no, if you want.  Those are your pencils," Rebecca tried to carefully make some kind of conversation.  "But if you not using it right now, can I borrow your black one?  I promise to give it right back after I trace this line that got colored over a bit."

Normally, she would just do it with a black crayon, but she was trying to see if making herself in need, maybe that would help her talk to her?