40

EXACTLY 3:31,
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH

I was suspended from school so I stayed home today. Now I am talking with Patrice.

“Your Forever Parents tell me you got into a fight at school. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Michelle Whipple made me angry,” I say.

“Oh?”

“She said I sound like a cat.”

“Were you sounding like a cat?” says Patrice. “I remember you used to make cat noises a few years ago when you were with Carla and Mike.”

Carla and Mike were my first two Forever Parents. I ran away from them when I was nine years old. I told them I was going outside to play and on my way out the door I took Carla’s purse because it had money in it plus a debit card. I walked around town looking for a map that would help me get back to Gloria’s apartment but I got confused by all the cars plus I didn’t know which town she lived in. The police found me and took me to the hospital and then they brought me back to Carla and Mike. Now I know that Gloria lives in Harrington Falls but I can’t go there because the police will find me. Like Crystal with a C said. So I need to ask Rick to be part of my secret plan instead.

“Ginny?”

“What?”

“Did you say you were making cat noises?”

I nod my head yes.

“It sounds like we’re falling into some of our old patterns. We’ll have to talk more about that later. For now, tell me what’s going on with Baby Wendy. Are you seeing her more often?”

I shake my head no. “I want to see it but it’s always upstairs with my Forever Mom.”

“Do you miss your Forever Mom?”

I nod my head yes.

“She’s worried, Ginny. Your mom is worried that you’re going to hurt the baby.”

I pick at my fingers. I remember the plastic electronic baby. The things I did to it. With my mouth I say, “I am not going to hurt the baby.”

“I know that. And what you did in the first place, giving out your address to Gloria, getting yourself kidnapped. The reporters gave your parents a really hard time when you were away. They’d just brought a baby home and were learning how to be new parents, but the police and the news vans—”

Patrice stops talking. I take a bite of a chocolate chip cookie. I take two more bites fast and push the rest in my mouth.

“Look,” says Patrice, “when you argue with your Forever Mom all the time and get in fights at school and then keep trying to sneak upstairs to feed Baby Wendy—And let’s not forget the upcoming court case. They have to be witnesses. But it’s all too much. A lot of it is completely understandable, considering what you’ve been through. But for her, it’s just too much. Do you see that?”

I don’t so I don’t say anything.

Patrice looks down. She looks up at me and looks down again. “We’re hoping that you really like Rick,” she says. “We’re really, really hoping. Did you bring the letter he sent to you this morning? Did your parents print it out and give it to you?”

That was two questions but still I nod my head yes.

“Can we read it together?”

I take it out. It is in my back pocket folded in eight rectangles. I open it and give it to Patrice. She reads it out loud.

Dear Ginny,

Yes, I think it would be good if we met sometime soon. Maybe if it all works out you can come visit for a few days and hang out with your old dad. See what he’s like and give everyone a break for a while. I don’t live too far away. I’m on the road right now and won’t be back until the week after next. It’s a long haul. Then I have a break for a few days before heading out again that Sunday. Maybe we can find a time before that to meet at the park, like your new dad said.

Say, do you like to watch football? I bet you don’t but if you do I wonder what your favorite team is. I know you like Michael Jackson a lot. Do you play any sports at school?

Your Old Dad,

Rick

“He doesn’t live too far away,” I say.

“That’s right,” says Patrice.

“I could go see him and give everyone a break when he gets back.”

“I know this is all pretty exciting,” says Patrice, “but you’ll have to meet Rick a few times before you go to his house.”

I look down at the ground. I am thinking.

“Ginny, do you know what the word respite means?” Patrice asks.

I shake my head no.

“It means taking a little break. I know it’s awfully soon, but like I said—Anyway, your parents are hoping that after you get to know Rick a little better, you can go have a respite with him. That way they can spend some time alone together with Wendy, and you can get to know your Birth Dad. He’s so, so happy to have finally found you. And after that—well, we’ll see. What do you think?”

I nod my head yes three times. “Yes,” I say. “I think it’s a great idea.” But Rick won’t be home for approximately two weeks. I don’t know if my Baby Doll will be safe with Gloria until then.

“Honestly, I think it’s a little soon myself, but it’s much better than the other alternative your mom and dad are thinking about. So you’ll be going to meet Rick on Saturday the 20th.”

I sit up straight. “Where will I go to meet him?”

“To the park, like he said. The arrangements were made right around lunchtime. You’ll go there with both of your Forever Parents on Saturday the 20th, and your Grammy will come out to watch Wendy.”

“I start basketball next week,” I say to Patrice.

“That’s right,” she says. “Special Olympics starts back up this month. Maybe you could mention that to Rick in your next letter. Maybe you could invite him to come watch some of your games.”

In my brain I picture Rick. My Birth Dad. He is sitting on the bleachers at school watching me make hook shots and jump shots and layups. Rick is not a big man. He will be a small man with skinny shoulders and long black hair and a small nose. He will smile all the time and wear white, white socks with black shoes. And big sunglasses.

He will be my biggest fan.

“And we should probably talk about the interview,” says Patrice.

I come up out of my brain and make sure my mouth is shut tight and look up at the ceiling like I didn’t hear. Because I don’t want to go to the interview. Thinking about the interview makes me want to climb into a suitcase and zip myself in. Because at the interview I have to talk with a detective and tell him all the things Crystal with a C did and said. Instead of going to the trial. But I don’t want to talk with a detective even if a bunch of social workers will be there. Because detective is another word for police officer.

“It’s coming up soon,” says Patrice. “But maybe we can talk about it on the phone in a day or two. Would that be all right?”

I come up fast out of my brain. “Yes, that would be all right,” I say.