Chapter 3 – Foster family - Three of Coins

Queen of swords, Six of Coins, Three of Coins

Cassandra waited miserably in the hall as her grandmother spoke to the judge. Her mother had left again for the weekend but this time she hadn't come back. Not after that Monday, or the next Friday, or the next weekend. Cassandra had gotten up, went to school, eaten her free breakfast and lunch, then come home and gone to sleep hungry. She did it for almost three weeks before the landlord called social services. Her mother hadn't paid the rent before she left either. Cassandra spent the next week in a group home for wards of the state until her grandmother could come home from some other part of the world. The door opened and Cassandra looked up with hope. Adeline gave her a calm but certain smile then turned back to the judge and social worker.

"I will do whatever is required to save my granddaughter from that wretched place."

"Mrs. King..."

"Doctor King," Adeline corrected, "I have multiple degrees; nursing, sociology, and anthropology."

The social worker made a face but the judge behind them turned her head to cough.

"Very well, Dr. King, we cannot just hand over a child to someone with no permanent residence or stable employment," the social worker insisted.

"I own a home in Golden, and I work for three universities in the area, and the World Health Organization as a consultant and nurse practitioner. Just because my job takes me all over the world does not mean that I am not working every moment of every day I am not in Colorado." Adeline held up her head, her tone cold and imperious. "Examine my home, interview my peers, hell woman, sign me up to be a foster parent for other children like my poor Cassandra but do not ever assume that I do not work just as hard if not harder than you do, and usually from a tent in a place without a Starbucks on the way to the office, which is usually also a tent." She turned to the judge, "Judy, may I take my granddaughter for the weekend until I can get whatever paperwork this woman requires sorted."

The judge nodded, "I am certain Ms. Kolchak wouldn't mind as long as you have Cassandra back to the foster home by, say, six pm on Sunday?"

"This is highly irregular," the social worker huffed but she handed over a card. "Five pm on Sunday so she can eat dinner with her housemates."

Adeline's eyes narrowed dangerously, then she smiled too sweetly. It was an expression Cassandra had seen her mother make the moment before she exploded, but her grandmother didn't lose her temper, instead she offered, "Very well, would it be alright if we brought in take-out for the girls?"

"Uhm, I don't..."

"How many?" Adeline asked primly.

"Twenty-three."

"And how many supervisors?"

"Two and two guards," Ms. Kolchak answered, then stammered, "You can't possibly bring in food for almost thirty people."

"I can and I will." Adeline turned and took Cassandra's hand, "Come, dear. Always remember when it is in your ability, help those who have less than you." Then they walked away, as Adeline called over her shoulder, "See you next week, Judy."

"Bye Adie, Cassandra." She smirked as she shook her head. "Congratulations, Ms. Kolchak."

"For what," the social worker looked even more confused.

"You just found a new foster parent who has the skills and training to take on your most difficult to place cases." Judy looked at her mother's wristwatch, remembering how Adeline took it then brought it back from London after it was repaired by the watchmaking company which made it. "There is nothing Adie can't or won't do to help those around her. In a few years, you are going to wish you had just let her take her granddaughter globe-hopping."

~~~~

Seven years later...

Adeline clapped as first Cassie then Erin walked across the stage. Her granddaughter and foster son both graduated with honors. One in Music and Fine Arts and the other in sciences, specifically biology and veterinary studies from the local community college study program. Cassie waited at the end of the stage for her foster brother, and they hugged, mugging for the school photographer before heading to their seats. Adeline sighed happily as she sat down to wait for Shivonne's turn, then she scowled as she saw Erin's father slipping out of a side door.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said to her seatmate then she rose and followed. In the parking lot, she called out to him.

"Mr. Baptiste." Adeline inhaled and exhaled slowly to keep from going on a tirade. "What do you think you are doing here? You are in violation of a restraining order."

The man had the good sense to look ashamed as he muttered, "I told you and the judge, it wasn't me, it was my wife."

"And your father, and your brother-in-law, and that hate-filled church her family runs and that you refused to stand up against. You let them torture your son until he tried to kill himself." Adeline appraised him, then added roughly, "He graduated with honors and has a full scholarship to Veterinary school. Does he still seem defective to you?" When he didn't answer, she shook her head in disgust. "You know those de-gaying programs don't work, right? In fact, they increase the number of suicides and suicide attempts among LGBTQA teens exponentially."

"I know that now." He looked back toward the building. "Can you tell him I'm proud of him and I'm sorry?"

"Have you left that hateful woman and her family's fascist church?" Adelina demanded coldly.

"Uhm," he hesitated to answer.

"That would be a no. When you choose love over hate, choose compassion over indoctrination, then you can tell him yourself, until then, Mr. Baptiste, stay away from Erin, or I will have you arrested and use my considerable influence to humiliate you and that church in the media. Am I understood?" Adeline snarled.

Erin's father seemed to shrink on himself as his shoulders hunched, then he announced quietly, "I am glad he has someone like you to watch over him."

Shaking her head judgmentally, Adeline responded, "It could have been you." Then she turned and walked back inside.

Sitting in her seat, she smiled at Shivonne's great aunt. "Look Lucy, it's almost Shivonne's turn." Quickly, Adeline held up her iPhone to film as Shivonne approached the stage. "She's almost to the steps."

The elderly, almost blind woman squinted through her glasses at an iPad. "Yes, I can see her."

Her granddaughter's best friend, the girl who had been in and out of Adeline's home since junior high school, accepted her diploma, waited for the announcement of her scholarship to the school of the arts as a dance major then did a leaping pirouette followed by an acrobatic flip.

The crowd cheered as Adelina laughed, "Shivonne always likes to put on a show."

Lucy peered at the iPad the iPhone was streaming to, holding it only a few inches from her face. "That girl, she's so graceful."

"She is." Adelina sat back down then Lucy reached over to squeeze her arm. "I can't thank you enough for getting her those dancing lessons when she was with you."

"Don't thank me, I did it to save my sanity. That girl has enough energy for four people." Adeline laughed with Lucy then they sat quietly waiting.

After the ceremony, they drove Shivonne's great aunt back to the nursing home where she stayed but after dropping off Lucy, Shivonne was uncharacteristically quiet. Cassie hugged her then Erin moved up a seat row and they sandwiched their sad friend between them.

Adeline looked in the mirror at them then focused on the drive home as they whispered between them.

"I'm sorry," Cassie whispered first. "They said she wouldn't come."

Shivonne shrugged and wiped a tear. "They're just cards, they don't mean anything." She shrank on herself a little more. "I did everything I could to make her come. I cast the spell exactly like the book said. Adeline was right, it's just superstitious nonsense. I don't believe in anything anymore."

Putting his head on top of hers, Erin murmured, "It isn't nonsense if it brings you comfort. Tarot and chants work for Cassie. Buddhism and yoga work for me. Maybe Wicca isn't the thing for you. There are lots of other things..."

"Like what?" Shivonne asked petulantly, "I don't believe in a god and if there are any goddesses out there, I've prayed to them all and they ignored me. I can't focus my chakras or energy or anything through all those rocks and candles I bought. I can't even make Tarot cards work like Cassie or meditate properly like you."

"Your energy is just restless," Cassie responded, "Remember what you said your astrology chart said, you are a Gemini with all fire signs. That's a lot of energy to decide what to do with."

"And my horoscopes were wrong every other day. I just want my wish to come true once." Shivonne closed her eyes as another tear leaked out, admitting, "I just wanted my mom to be there for me for once in my life."

Adeline glanced back in the mirror. "Hey kiddos, why don't we go to my friend Elizabeth's to celebrate for the weekend? We can be there by eleven or leave early in the morning and be there after lunch. I think the hot springs would be a nice break."

"Where are we going?" Shivonne asked as Erin revealed, "Pagosa Cliffs. You're gonna love it. It is so pretty there."

"Grandmother's friend is a century old and owns the bed and breakfast in a Victorian older than our house," Cassie added excitedly. "I love Miss Elizabeth's stories."

Smiling at them, Adeline agreed, "So do I. She's the one who encouraged me to go to college for more than my M-R-S. I'll call her while you all set the table and lay out dinner."

The garage door opened in front of the SUV. Getting out, they went into the Victorian house as Adeline parked. Looking up and down the street of the old neighborhood, Cassie tried not to think about moving away from here. When she went inside, Shivonne and Erin were already in the kitchen.

"I wonder if we'll see any cowboys this time." Erin squirmed excitedly as he chopped vegetables for salad.

"Cowboys?" Shivonne looked at him as she took the lasagna out of the oven while Cassandra set the table.

"Last time we went, we drove down this dirt road to go see a waterfall and these cowboys were moving a herd of cattle," revealing the story, Cassie started giggling, "I thought I was going to have to wipe the drool off Erin's chin or give him a napkin for a nosebleed like those anime guys."

"Shut up." Erin snapped, "You were staring at them as much as I was."

Shivonne shook her head, criticizing, "You both have a problem. Cowboys are so last decade. Why would you date someone who smells like his horse and cow crap?"

"Wait until you see them," Cassie insisted, putting ice-filled glasses on the table, "Then you completely get over those too-muscled drama guys who want to be the next Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson."

"No thanks, I'll go for the hot springs, you two can have the cowboys," Shivonne refused.

"Girls, did you put your laundry in the dumb waiter and send it down?" Adeline asked as she walked through. She stopped at the table and straightened one of the napkins while her phone was pressed to her ear. "Hello, Elizabeth? It's Adeline King. The kiddos and I were wondering if you had any vacancies this weekend? They just graduated from high school with honors and need a get-away." She stopped to listen.

"Yes, I am proud of them too." She scowled for a moment as she listened, then whispered, "She says she's proud of you and asks if Tuesday through Friday morning is okay?"

Cassie and Erin nodded rapidly.

"We'll take it and I'll have one more with me, she can share a room with Cassie... Thanks, see you then. Bye." Adeline winked at them as Erin put the garlic bread on the table. She smiled at her granddaughter, adopted son, and the girl she had fostered on and off for a half-dozen years. "It's all arranged. The Wild Anemone was booked for the weekends through the summer, but Elizabeth will take us midweek. We'll have the whole thing to ourselves."

"Yay!" Cassie squeaked as Erin hugged her, shouting, "Pagosa Cliffs!"

Shivonne sat down first without comment.

"Shi, would you rather go somewhere else?" Adeline asked.

"No, Pagosa Clips is fine."

"Pagosa Cliffs... you'll see why. The scenery is beautiful." Adeline ignored Cassie and Erin's rapid excited conversation because she felt Shivonne needed her attention. "How about we do something you want to do when we get back? Just you and I? Maybe go see that interpretive circus troupe coming to Denver?"

"Cirque de Soleil?" Shivonne asked hopefully then she frowned and shook her head, "It's too expensive."

Adeline squeezed her hand. "Sweetie, you only graduate from high school once." She waved her finger at Erin and Cassie who were both still talking a mile a minute about everything they wanted to do in Pagosa Cliffs on their senior trip. "They are going to cost me a lot more than your circus this week."