Phoenix Child
Page 30
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My eyebrows rose in surprise when I saw Five waiting for me when I got out of school Tuesday afternoon. He leaned against his beat-up hatchback, sunglasses on, brown hair blowing in the wind, faded blue jeans slightly baggy, but nice. His ultra-cool look finished off with a brown sweater vest over a blue shirt and brown loafers. I shook my head at Five, I couldn't decide if he didn't know or didn't care. He was nice looking, for an adult, but dressed nerdy.
"Hey, Five, what's up?" I asked.
"Sara," he said, stressing my name. He couldn't pull off a stern look with his baby face. "I thought I would drive you to class so we could chat for a bit."
"Okay, well thanks, it will make things easier." I got into his tiny hatchback.
"What time does your class start?" he asked as he pulled away from my school.
"Four." I gave Anali the class registration form on Saturday. When Gavin called on Sunday, he told me I got all of the classes I wanted.
"Great. Let's get something to drink at the café across the street and talk before your class starts. Which one is it today?"
"Today is beginning acrobatics; it's a requirement for a lot of the other classes." I bet Five was waiting for the "right time" to ask lots of irritating questions I didn't have the answers to yet.
"That sounds like fun. What other classes are you taking?"
"Well, Wednesdays I'm taking juggling, and on Fridays beginning aerial arts, another required class."
"They all sound like a lot of fun. Here we are," Five carefully navigated the small parking lot and managed to find a parking spot.
Sitting down on the cool metal chair, I sipped my chai latte, enjoying the hot drink and the cool breeze off the bay. The sun was warm on my skin, and the birds chirped as they flitted about.
"I thought the hot chocolate was your favorite here."
He actually remembered that? "It is, but it's too rich for me to drink right before working out."
Five nodded his head and took a sip of his cappuccino. "I wanted to find out how your visit went."
"It was good. We had fun. Gavin and Anali are nice."
"I'm sure they are. Gavin is very excited about finding you. He's ready for you to move in. Today." Five smiled at me. "Everything has checked out. What we are waiting for is for you to feel comfortable being with Gavin and Anali."
"Oh." I took a sip of my drink so I wouldn't have to answer right away. That’s quite a bit of pressure on me.
"I haven't told Gavin that," Five reassured me. "You need time to get used to the idea of having a family. He's been hunting for his sister's child for years. For him this is a dream come true. I suspect you gave up the dream of being rescued a long time ago. This must be a lot for you to take in. So I wanted you to know that I'll give you as long as I can. I want this to be your decision." Five sat back in his chair sipping his drink.
"Thank you." Five’s a good guy. I’m grateful he’s my caseworker. Four would have packed and moved me already.