S2W32: “At A Loss”

© 2022 Phylicia Joannis

Chase walked down the street, checking the house numbers posted on each door, then finally knocked on number 1705. A small-framed woman answered the door, and for a moment he stood, at a loss for words.

“Hello?” Chase cleared his throat. “My name is–”

“Chase Avery, yes, I know who you are,” the woman replied. “I’m Betty Ferguson. Miracle told me all about you, and I saw you on the news. You’re recovering well, then?”

“Yes,” Chase answered softly. “I was released a few days ago. I’m actually looking for Miracle. Is she around?”

“Won’t you come in?” Betty moved to the side to allow Chase to enter. He walked through the foyer and into the sitting room, allowing Betty to direct him to a chair.

“Miracle isn’t here right now. She had an appointment with her social worker, but she should be back soon.”

“How is she?” Chase examined Betty as he spoke. No signs of guile showed on her face. Just weariness and worry.

“She’s as well as can be expected for anyone who’s been through what she has. What with her own recovery, and all the legal stuff, and now transitioning out of foster care.”

“She won’t be staying with you any longer? When does this happen? Where will she go?”

Betty lifted her hands in ignorance. “Hard to say. I would have loved for her to stay, but she and my husband don’t get along very well. She’ll be eighteen soon. Odds are she’ll end up in a group home or halfway house until then.” Betty stood and quickly wiped a tear from her eye. “How about I bring you something to drink? Would you like some tea or coffee? I’ve got fresh baked cookies, too.”

“Coffee would be lovely, thank you,” Chase agreed. It had been weeks, and he still hadn’t seen Miracle since the tunnels. She never visited him in the hospital, though Zinnia assured him it wasn’t intentional. She was working with Simon on something personal, according to Zinnia, and it kept her away.

Zinnia also told him she spent most days holed up in her foster family’s home, which was why Chase was here. He wanted to see for himself that she was ok.

“Here we are.” Betty returned with a tray full of cookies, a steaming kettle, and two mugs.

“Thank you.” Chase helped himself to the spread. “How long has Miracle been with you and your husband?”

“Going on a year now,” Betty replied. “When she first came, she was a handful, to be honest. She was hard to figure out. Timid and shy, but at the same time, rebellious. She made a point of breaking every rule, but in an underhanded sort of way.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, like curfew, for example. She’d stay out until 10:05 or 10:15, even though we told her to be home by 10. But some nights I’d see her outside on the porch, maybe around 9:45 or 9:50, staring at her watch. She wasn’t running behind. She was intentionally breaking curfew. Same thing with doing chores, or lying about little things. It’s like she was trying to get us to mistrust her.”

Betty looked at Chase. “I know what some of these foster kids go through, being bounced from place to place. They don’t want to get too close, just in case things don’t work out. I guess for Miracle breaking the rules was like putting up walls so she wouldn’t get hurt. One night I saw her sitting on the porch, waiting out curfew, and I joined her. We talked. About nothing, really. Just talked. It kind of became our ritual, and after a while, she started to open up. She and I bonded. We understood each other, in a way. And it was nice.”

“But Miracle and your husband?” Chase asked.

Betty shook her head. “I was a foster kid myself, but my husband doesn’t have much experience with children. He volunteered some with foster kids, but not much else. Miracle was our first foster. She’ll probably be our last.” Betty’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“I’m guessing you don’t want her to go?”

Betty nodded. “It’s for the best. Wally gets so frustrated with Miracle.” Betty looked out at the foyer. Chase followed her eyes to the stairs.

Chase softened his voice. “What happened that day? When the train derailed? Why was Miracle running away?”

Betty grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. She glanced at the clock on the wall and stood. “I’m sorry, Chase, but I have an appointment to run to. You’ll have to excuse me. I’ll be sure to tell Miracle you stopped by.”

“Betty.” Chase stood, locking eyes with her. “Are you afraid to tell me what happened? Is Miracle safe here?”

Betty was silent for a moment. “She’s safe here. You have my word. But she needs people to look after her. People like you. I don’t want her getting tossed around, but I have no control over that. If there’s something you can do?”

Chase nodded in understanding. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

Chase left the Fergusons’ home, but the visit hadn’t relieved any of his worry. If anything, he was as anxious as ever.