Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kingscliff
It’d been a little over two weeks since the children first came to stay with Reeda, but it felt longer.
She’d hardly had a moment to herself since they arrived.
Between taking them to school, working on her interior design business, and meeting them after school, helping with homework, cooking, cleaning and doing laundry, she’d barely had a chance to think about anything else.
Usually a stickler for her fitness routine, she hadn’t done a single minute of exercise in two weeks.
It was Saturday, and the children were all playing quietly—Carly was colouring, Marc played with a box of Legos Reeda had brought home the previous day, and Simone was painting her fingernails at the dining table.
Reeda made herself a protein smoothie and sat at the table beside Simone.
She glanced at Carly, whose face was still pale after a week of flu symptoms. She’d recovered well, but Reeda was still a little anxious.
These children were her responsibility and it weighed heavy on her heart, especially when something went wrong.
“That’s a pretty shade of pink,” Reeda said.
Simone glanced at her but didn’t respond in any other way. She continued painting her nails.
“So, I’m going to go for a run. Can you watch your brother and sister for me while I’m gone? I won’t be long. Maybe forty minutes or so.” Reeda waited, tapping her fingers on the table impatiently. “Simone?”
Simone rolled her eyes and pushed the brush back into the nail polish. “Fine, whatever. Do what you want.”
“You’ll be okay?”
“Of course. I’ve looked after them our whole lives.”
Reeda nodded. “Okay, thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
She’d considered asking someone to come over and watch the kids while she went running, but Simone was twelve years old.
Surely she was capable of watching her siblings for forty minutes.
Especially since, as she said, she’d done it their whole lives.
Besides, Bindi was at university today, and Kate had her hands full with the baby.
The only person she could ask was Mima, and lately Mima hadn’t been herself, so Reeda hated to ask for a favour.
She slipped into a pair of leggings and a crop top, then added a peaked cap and headed out the door.
It felt good to run along the path by the shoreline.
The morning breeze helped stave off the worst of the heat.
Reeda and Duncan had moved close to Cudgeon Creek in Kingscliff, and so far, they loved it.
They were in New South Wales, but not far from the Queensland border, only five minutes from the nearest beach and close enough to the marina in Tweed Heads to take out Duncan’s fishing boat whenever they liked.
Overhead, seagulls set up a chorus as they soared in place, letting the wind lift their wings. Small puffs of clouds sailed by. A brown feathered kite whistled as it circled above the bay, its sharp eyes taking in the people, picnics and potential prey.
She’d spoken to Kate earlier that morning who said Alex was doing better with Noah.
He’d opened up a little and admitted he was struggling.
Kate was hopeful things would turn around.
Reeda figured it might take some time — but Alex loved children, he was a teacher for that reason.
She knew he’d be a good father, but so far he hadn’t seemed to adjust with the changes a baby had brought to their lives.
Even though Duncan had a busy schedule between surgery and his volunteer work, he spent every moment he could with her and their foster children.
She couldn’t imagine trying to do it without him.
He’d been an invaluable extra set of hands, especially at bed time when the kids often didn’t want to go to sleep.
She’d quickly learned that they’d never really had a scheduled bed time before and they bucked against it most nights.
Having Duncan there to enforce the rules had been a huge weight off her shoulders.
By the time she made it back to the house, Reeda felt much better.
She’d worked the tension out of her muscles, and the familiar satisfaction after a good run had flooded her body with endorphins.
She’d needed that. Now that the children were settled, she should get back into the habit of rising early to run and work out in their home gym.
She’d missed the exercise but hadn’t realised how much until now.
She pushed through the front door and locked it behind her, then stopped in the kitchen for a drink.
As she chugged a glass full of water, she paused to listen.
The sound of children fighting caught her attention.
The noise seemed to be emitting from their shared bedroom.
She set down the glass and walked along the hallway to check on them.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Reeda asked as she stopped in the doorway.
Carly straddled Marc’s back and had a fistful of his hair. Marc was glowering and trying to shake her off him. “She’s pulling my hair!”
Reeda moved to lift Carly away from Marc. She set the little girl down on the floor. “No hair pulling, please. What the problem?”
“He won’t share the Legos with me. I wanna play too.”
“Maybe we can all play together. I’m going to grab a shower, and then I’ll join you. Okay?”
“I don’t wanna play with her. She cheats.”
“Cheats? What do you mean? Aren’t you just building things?”
“He wants to see who can build a car the fastest,” Carly explained. “And I won, but he’s mad about it.”
“You didn’t win. You cheated.” Marc’s eyes narrowed.
Reeda glanced around the room. “Where’s your sister?”
Carly sat on the edge of her bed. Marc pushed his Lego car around on the hardwood floor, making a zooming sound.
Reeda tried again. “Where’s Simone?”
Marc glanced at her. “She’s gone.”
Carly swung her legs back and forth and began to hum a tune.
“Gone? What do you mean? Where did she go?”
Marc scratched his chin. “I don’t know. She went out the door and said we should stay here.”
Reeda’s heart fell. “When did she leave?”
All she got from Marc was a shrug. Carly continued to hum.
This couldn’t be happening. Simone had lied to her and left the younger kids to fend for themselves again. Reeda strode for the door. “Come on—get in the car, please. We’re going to find her.”
They drove around Kingscliff, then Tweed Heads and Jack Evans Boat Harbour for an hour with Reeda scanning every group of kids and teens she saw.
Where would Simone go? She didn’t know the area yet.
They hadn’t been here long enough to make friendships besides at school.
Where would a lone twelve-year-old girl go?
She knew the bus system well enough to make it to Tweed Heads, and since her friends lived there, it was the most likely place to check.
Surely she wouldn’t walk far in this heat though?
In the back seat, Carly complained about needing to pee, and Marc said he was hungry.
Reeda told them to hold on a little longer, but it wasn’t long before Carly said she couldn’t hold it another minute, and Reeda feared for her leather seats.
So, she pulled over into the parking lot beside Jack Evans Boat Harbour and climbed out.
There were public toilets nearby, and a fish-and-chip shop as well.
She took the children to the toilet, then after they washed their hands, they stood in line to order some hot chips with tomato sauce and sat at a nearby picnic table to eat.
Reeda was grateful the table was in the shade.
A few ducks waddled closer, looking for stray chips to eat.
Carly threw them one, and soon there was a flock of seagulls cawing overhead.
Reeda frowned. “Let’s not feed them any more chips. We’ll be inundated with birds before you know it.”
Marc giggled at that and threw another chip, which a seagull swooped from the air. Reeda glowered at him. “Marc, no more chips.”
He nodded and continued eating. Reeda ate a chip absently as she scanned the faces of people walking by.
Her heart was in her throat, and panic surged deep down.
Where was Simone? Would she find her way back to the house?
What would Duncan say? Not to mention the foster care agent.
She shouldn’t have left them alone. But how could she know Simone would do this?
Just then, Carly called out, “Simone!” She leapt down from the table to run at full speed towards the water.
Reeda grabbed Marc’s hand and barrelled after her, shouting for Carly to stop.
The little girl ran into a group of teens by the water’s edge and threw her arms around Simone’s waist. Reeda slowed her pace to a walk to catch her breath and think about what she’d say.
Relief washed over her, quickly followed by anger.
She stopped short of the group and stood with Marc’s hand in her own. Her entire body trembled as she ran through the list of possible things to say in her head. Finally, she decided on a quiet approach.
“Simone, come here, please,” she said firmly.
Simone rolled her eyes and said something to the group of teens surrounding her.
There were empty beer bottles scattered about them.
Several of the teens were smoking, including Simone, a half-done cigarette dangled from her lips.
She pulled it free, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it with a Converse sneaker.
Then she said something more to the group, pulled Carly off her waist, and sauntered towards Reeda.
“What?” Simone’s eyes sparked with rebellion, almost like she dared Reeda to speak.
Reeda’s nostrils flared. “Get in the car, and we’ll talk about it on the way home.”
The three children followed Reeda. Simone threw herself into the passenger seat and immediately put her Converse up on the dashboard, dripping wet sand all over Reeda’s car.
“Feet down!” Reeda said.
Simone grunted and set her feet on the carpet.
As Reeda pulled the car out of the parking lot, she spoke. “You promised me you’d watch the kids while I went for a run.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You know you’re not allowed to leave the house without permission. I had no idea where you were or what you were doing. And you’re also not allowed to smoke.”
“Since when?”
“Since now!” Reeda spat at her. “And take that smirk off your face, young lady. You’re grounded. Don’t bother asking if you can go anywhere for a week after this stunt.”
“You can’t ground me!”
“Yes, I can. Watch me.” Reeda felt anger taking over, and she inhaled a calming breath. But then Simone’s volume rose in response.
“You’re not my mother! You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do.
You’re just one of the many people who will let me down, give me back, not care one bit about me.
You say you care, but you don’t. You’ll give up on us like everyone else has.
All we have is each other!” As the words poured out of her thin frame, she shook with sobs.
Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and then fell down her narrow cheeks.
She’d heard the words before and knew where they came from—a heart full of pain and grief.
“I do care about you, Simone. You’ve got to give me a chance to prove it. Stop pushing me away.”
Simone sobbed silently for the rest of the drive, and Reeda gave her space to think. When she pulled into the garage, Simone leapt out of the car and thrust the door shut. Reeda followed her into the house. Simone spun on her heel to face Reeda, her red-rimmed eyes flashing.
“No one cares about us. No one! Stop pretending and just give up.” She flew down the hallway, and the bedroom door thudded shut, echoed back to Reeda.
Marc and Carly stood quietly behind her. She turned to face them. Marc’s usual bravado was gone.
Carly’s lower lip trembled. “You’re gonna give us back?”
Reeda fell to her knees and pulled the two of them to her, giving them the first real embrace since they’d arrived.
They were stiff at first, but then fell into her arms, letting their own little arms wind around her neck.
She held them close, unable to speak for several long seconds as tears clogged her throat.
“No, sweetheart, I’m not going to give you back. I don’t know what the future holds, but you’ll always be welcome here. Always. I hope you know that.”
Carly burst into tears and howled against Reeda’s chest. Marc sobbed quietly into her shoulder, and Reeda cried along with them.
The pain of their fears and all the years of rejection came tumbling out in their cries.
She felt it. It squeezed at her heart and stole away her breath.
It filled her throat with an aching pain that wouldn’t give up.
“This is your home,” she whispered against Carly’s hair. “You don’t have to worry—I’m not going to give up on you. Not now, not ever.”
After several long minutes, Reeda stood to her feet. Carly and Marc looked at her with wide, wet eyes. She drew in a deep wobbling breath.
“Now, who wants to help me make pizza for lunch?”
Carly grinned widely. “Me! I do.”
“Can I add the cheese?” Marc asked.
“You absolutely can,” Reeda said, ruffling his hair. “Come on. I think Duncan will be home from his night shift any minute now, and he’ll be starving. He likes mushrooms on his. What do you like?”
“Ham and pineapple,” Carly replied.
“Cheese,” Marc said.
“We’ve got all of those things. Plenty for everyone. I’ll show you how to make the dough. It’s a lot of fun. And after lunch, we can have a swim.”
“Not right away, though,” Marc said. “You told us that.”
“You listened so well,” Reeda replied, her heart swelling with love. “We’ll have a little rest first so we can digest our food before we swim.”
“And put on suncream,” Carly added proudly.
Reeda grinned. “You’re both good listeners. You’ll be expert pizza makers soon, too. I’ll tell you all the secrets my Aunt Mima taught me, but you have to promise not to share them with anyone outside the family. It’s a family recipe.”
The two children padded into the kitchen behind her, chattering excitedly about what toppings they’d add and how thin they liked their crust. Reeda glanced down the hallway at the closed bedroom door where Simone lay in hiding.
She’d felt so much despair when she’d found that Simone was missing, but now a sliver of hope had entered into her heart.
The other children seemed to be opening up to her finally.
Maybe Simone would too someday. But whatever happened, she would be there for them, and she wouldn’t give up.
They deserved that from her at the very least after all they’d been through.