Chapter 32

Hours later - after only being offered vending machine snacks - we were finally assigned a social worker, Mary, who was older and chubby, with bright, cheerful eyes. She seemed to be surprised that we were being so quiet.

   "You two don't have much to say, do you?" she asked, as she tried to get us to answer a million questions. "You've never been in foster care before?"

   I shook my head. "No."

   "It's a shock that this would happen for the first time, since you're teenagers," she went on, marking something down in her notebook.

   "Our mother just did a good job of making sure no one knew she abandoned us, when we were younger," Asa spoke up, though I wished he'd stayed quiet.

   I elbowed him, annoyed, and Mary looked concerned.

   "I made a few calls. This home we placed you at, Waldos, is wonderful. They had two spots open."

   "What happens when I turn eighteen? In two weeks?" I asked, then added, "I get to leave, but..."

   Mary looked down at her hands. "There will be some things to figure out. If we don't hear from your mother, you can become Asa's guardian, but it can take time."

   I swallowed hard, and the look on Asa's face told me he knew what that meant.

   "So I'll be stuck in that foster home?" he asked.

   "We will do everything we can to keep you together," Mary finished.

   It was early evening when Mary pulled up to an old house and turned off the car. There was big sign on the front that said Waldo's - Group Home for Teens in Need, and I wanted to believe Mary that it was wonderful there.

   My phone buzzed, so I pulled it out, because Mary had a chance to say anything to us.

   PENELOPE, IT'S BEEN ALL DAY. PLEASE CALL ME OR TEXT ME BACK. IM SORRY ABOUT LAST NIGHT. I MISS YOU. A text from Winston.

   IM SORRY. I WONT BE AROUND FOR AWHILE. LONG STORY. ITS NOT GOOD.

   PENELOPE, WHAT? CALL ME.

   I can't, I finished.

   We were soon ushered into the house, and greeted by a man and a woman, Mark and Shelly Waldo. They were middle aged and were happy to see us, it seemed. The house was big and old but felt warm and cozy, right away. The front hall was long and I couldn't seen anyone else around.

   "It's so great to meet you guys," Mark started, shaking our hands. "We've been hearing about you all day."

   "You guys will share a room on the main floor. It's been empty a few months, since Tiffany left," Shelly went on, after shaking our hands, too.

   Mary nodded, and I assumed she knew who Tiffany was. Shelly showed us to our room and talked to us for a few minutes, then left, before coming back with a small basket. I didn't even have time to look around.

   She was smiling when she said, "Phones go in the basket until you get privileges. All you have to do is participate in group meetings and do your chores, and you'll get your phones on phone days."

   Like a robot, I walked over and dropped my phone into the basket. It was probably better this way, anyway. Asa growled.

   "Seriously? That's crazy," he yelled.

   Shelly continued to smile, like she was used to teenage boys acting like jerks. "Do you part and you'll be holding it again in no time."

   An hour later, Asa was laying on one of the beds, still fuming. I was still in shock, I was sure. We hadn't spoken to each other since we'd left the house. There wasn't anything else to say. I was regretting so many things - believing that our mom would change, leaving the party the night before, not telling Winston that I loved him, too.

   "Asa," I began, quietly.

   But at the same time, there was a knock on the door. It opened and there was Mark, tall and broad, in the doorway.

   "Hey, you two. Hope you got unpacked a bit, we are starting on dinner," he said, glancing between the two of us.

   I looked right at our bags, still closed, on the floor between the beds.

   "Well, c'mon out... we will get you your chore list for the week, too," Mark went on, even though neither of us said anything.

   I glanced at Asa, who looked away.

   "We will be right out," I replied to Mark. When he smiled and walked away, I said to Asa, "Get up."

   "What's the point?" he growled.

   "I know you're angry, but this is what happened to us. Mom said she was going to change, be better, and I believed her. It was a mistake," I told him.

   "It's my  fault we are here," Asa snapped, sitting up.

   "What?"

   "My P.O. came and saw that mom wasn't around. So, my fault," he repeated.

   "Asa, she shouldn't have taken off on us. She should have been there for us."

   He rubbed his head, finally standing up. I was waiting in the doorway for him.

   "I hate her so much. It's pretty sad that I've hated her since I was like ten years old," he whispered, walking towards me.

   "Asa, I know. But she seemed like she was... when she said she was bringing you home, I thought..."

   He stopped, looking too serious suddenly. "Pen, none of this is your fault. You've only ever done the best you could, for me. You've always tried to make everything okay, for us. I fucked up when I was younger, and mom fucked up now."

   I nodded, trying to believe him. "Well, at least we are here together."

 The other teenagers were in the kitchen when we made our way out. Shelly was with them, cutting up vegetables. The boy looked around my age, with black short hair and glasses, the two other girls were younger.

   "Introductions are necessary," Mark began, walking towards Asa and I. "Guys, these are our new house mates, Penelope and her brother, Asa."

   They all waved. The boy was mixing something in a bowl. The blonde girl was setting the table and the dark haired girl came closer to us right away.

   "I'm Maxine," she said, holding out her hand. I shook it, quiet. "That's my brother, Peter. And that's Kylie."

   Peter waved again, but Kylie ignored us.

   "So, let's get Asa on cleaning up from meals, and Penelope... how's laundry?" Shelly asked from across the room.

   I nodded. "Fine."

   We ate dinner all together around a huge table, which was actually nice. Everyone was talking, which made it feel okay that Asa and I were being quiet. They didn't ask too many questions, yet. Asa ate the entire plate of food and got right to clearing the table and washing dishes, barely saying a word to anyone.

   Still at the table, Peter spoke to me for the first time. "So, how old are you?"

   "Uh, I'll be eighteen in January. Asa's fifteen."

   "Ohh, so this is very temporary," he went on. "You must be excited to get out of the system."

   I was sort of confused until I realized he meant the Foster System.

   "This is... our first time in a foster home," I admitted, not looking at him.

   "Wait, what?"

   "Long story. Our mom took off and we got taken to CPS."

   "Oh. Well, you're lucky to be here. Max and I have been here a year, but before that... we've had a few horrible foster homes," Peter said, without hesitating.

   "Oh. I'm sorry."

   "Well, we're here now. It's really great, and I turn eighteen in June." He shrugged, then looked over at my brother, who was still loading the dishwasher. "Christmas here is good, too."

   In all of the craziness, I'd all but forgotten that Christmas was a week away. We never had big Christmas dinners or a lot of gifts, and sometimes mom had to work so we didn't see her at all. Usually, a visit with Lex was the best part of Christmas.

   "Oh, great," I replied to Peter.

   "You don't seem to be really upset about being here," he said, curious.

   I shrugged now, sighing. "Not much I can do. Not worth being mad about it. And that was the best home cooked meal I've had in... a long time."

   "Okay, guys, there's ice cream sandwiches in the freezer for dessert," Shelly spoke, entering the dining room again. "One each. And lights out at 10 P.M."

   "Night," Peter called to her, then raised his eyebrows at me. "Ice cream sandwich?"

   "Goodnight, Shelly," Maxine said cheerfully.

   Still, Kylie was quiet. Asa was quiet, too. I waved at Shelly on her way out of the room again.

   "That's it?" I asked Peter, surprised. Now I was just thinking about eating that ice cream sandwich.

   "Pretty much. Group meetings are Sunday, Tuesday, Friday. We all sit together in the main room to talk. As long as we do our jobs and chores, we get our phones Wednesday and Friday, sometimes Saturdays," Peter explained.

   I nodded. "What about school?"

   "We go to Midwood High here in Brooklyn. But we're on break now, for Christmas," Peter told me.

   I swallowed, hard. "Asa and I got to school in the city."

   "Where the heck are you from and how did you end up here?" Peter asked, then laughed. I watched as he crossed the room to grab two ice cream sandwiches from the freezer. When he was back near me again, holding one out, I took it.

   "We live... lived in Williamsburg. But we go to school in the East Village," I answered, nervous for what he would think of that.

   "Fancy," he grinned. "Did you get to talk to your friends before you got here?"

   "Uh, not really. It's only a few weeks til my birthday..."

   He nodded, and left it at that. He opened his dessert and ate it, fast. I followed suit, but ate it slowly, enjoying it. But all I could think about was that Lex and Winston were both probably freaking out right now. And I wouldn't be able to talk to them for a few more days.