Did You Call Me Last Night Just Cus' You Couldn't Get Laid?
Chapter Twenty
“Right Alaska, I’ll need you to fill out these forms after we’ve finished talking, I’ll send them off and hopefully let you know if you’ll be able to legally adopt Destiny in about a month.
From these forms we can check your history with children, your financial situation and a few other things to make sure that you’ll be able to provide a good home for her.” June the social worker told me, earning a mere nod from me. Destiny was my cousin; I didn’t see why I couldn’t just take her. It was pretty clear I wasn’t a child abuser.
“So, I’ll explain some more of Destiny’s history to you, if that’s okay?” June continued, handing over the forms.
“That’d be great, thank you,”
“Well, as you probably noticed Destiny’s quite... far behind other children of her age. She can’t speak very well and is fairly quiet, she can’t yet read or write either. We already know from her that she has never attended school, so that explains a fair bit, but it doesn’t explain the speech thing. We’re fairly certain she was left on her own a lot and that not many people spoke to her when she was a baby.”
I took a big gulp of air, my eyes threatening tears.
“Did they abuse her?” I asked.
“Physically no, but leaving a child alone for the length of time we reckon Destiny was is a form of abuse in itself. I didn’t tell you this over the phone but the car accident her parents were involved with was an alcohol related one, many people we’ve spoken to have suggested they were alcoholics. Destiny has been through a lot, so she will be a lot more work than the average child.”
“I’m still willing to take her on, she’s my flesh and blood, and I don’t know how anyone could just forget a child like that.” Louis squeezed my hand, clearly seeing that I was starting to become distressed.
“If Destiny does come to live with you you’ll have to spend a great deal of time working on her speech with her, going to speech therapy and working with her at home. You’ll also have to help her to learn to read and write, and get her a place with extra help at school. It’s not always beneficial for children to be held back grades so it’d be much better if she could go in with children of her age group and just have extra help along the side.”
“All of that’s fine, I’m willing to spend as much time as I have.”
“Well then, I guess that’s pretty much all there is to say. Here’s a copy of Destiny’s file if you want to read through it.”
“Thank you, is it okay if I spend some time with Destiny?”
“She’ll have to go back to her foster careers for now, as me and Jenny both have to go back to work. You’re welcome to come and say goodbye to her though”
What did she expect me to do? Everything this lady was saying sounded so blunt and rehearsed, like she’d said it a thousand times before, there was no compassion. It was like the social system could change you. I didn’t want Destiny turn out like that, without any feeling.
We all got up and ventured out of the back longue, down past the bunks and along to where
Destiny was sitting with Jenny. She was watching adventure time on the TV, totally absorbed in the multi coloured characters.
“Hey Destiny, you’re leaving now, is it okay if I have a goodbye hug?” I said, kneeling down
in front of her and blocking her view of the telly.
She nodded at me, giving me a quick little hug; her tiny body barely filled my arms.
“Do you need walking back to the car?” I asked June.
“I think we’ll be alright, I pretty much remember the way, nice meeting you Alaska, I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay, thank you, bye.”
And with that they were gone, I’d barely even got to speak to the little girl I could possibly be spending the next 11 years old my life looking after. I plonked myself down on the sofa, feeling completely empty inside, this was going to be one hell of a long month.
From these forms we can check your history with children, your financial situation and a few other things to make sure that you’ll be able to provide a good home for her.” June the social worker told me, earning a mere nod from me. Destiny was my cousin; I didn’t see why I couldn’t just take her. It was pretty clear I wasn’t a child abuser.
“So, I’ll explain some more of Destiny’s history to you, if that’s okay?” June continued, handing over the forms.
“That’d be great, thank you,”
“Well, as you probably noticed Destiny’s quite... far behind other children of her age. She can’t speak very well and is fairly quiet, she can’t yet read or write either. We already know from her that she has never attended school, so that explains a fair bit, but it doesn’t explain the speech thing. We’re fairly certain she was left on her own a lot and that not many people spoke to her when she was a baby.”
I took a big gulp of air, my eyes threatening tears.
“Did they abuse her?” I asked.
“Physically no, but leaving a child alone for the length of time we reckon Destiny was is a form of abuse in itself. I didn’t tell you this over the phone but the car accident her parents were involved with was an alcohol related one, many people we’ve spoken to have suggested they were alcoholics. Destiny has been through a lot, so she will be a lot more work than the average child.”
“I’m still willing to take her on, she’s my flesh and blood, and I don’t know how anyone could just forget a child like that.” Louis squeezed my hand, clearly seeing that I was starting to become distressed.
“If Destiny does come to live with you you’ll have to spend a great deal of time working on her speech with her, going to speech therapy and working with her at home. You’ll also have to help her to learn to read and write, and get her a place with extra help at school. It’s not always beneficial for children to be held back grades so it’d be much better if she could go in with children of her age group and just have extra help along the side.”
“All of that’s fine, I’m willing to spend as much time as I have.”
“Well then, I guess that’s pretty much all there is to say. Here’s a copy of Destiny’s file if you want to read through it.”
“Thank you, is it okay if I spend some time with Destiny?”
“She’ll have to go back to her foster careers for now, as me and Jenny both have to go back to work. You’re welcome to come and say goodbye to her though”
What did she expect me to do? Everything this lady was saying sounded so blunt and rehearsed, like she’d said it a thousand times before, there was no compassion. It was like the social system could change you. I didn’t want Destiny turn out like that, without any feeling.
We all got up and ventured out of the back longue, down past the bunks and along to where
Destiny was sitting with Jenny. She was watching adventure time on the TV, totally absorbed in the multi coloured characters.
“Hey Destiny, you’re leaving now, is it okay if I have a goodbye hug?” I said, kneeling down
in front of her and blocking her view of the telly.
She nodded at me, giving me a quick little hug; her tiny body barely filled my arms.
“Do you need walking back to the car?” I asked June.
“I think we’ll be alright, I pretty much remember the way, nice meeting you Alaska, I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay, thank you, bye.”
And with that they were gone, I’d barely even got to speak to the little girl I could possibly be spending the next 11 years old my life looking after. I plonked myself down on the sofa, feeling completely empty inside, this was going to be one hell of a long month.
Notes
i'd just like to say a big thank you all for your support, I never thought I'd have this many subscribers or views when I started posting this! I'm so happy! :') you guys are so sweet and every single comment/subscribtion/view means the world to me.<3
Love the story. Update soon
5/26/14