The Christmas Hope(26)

We had nothing in the house to eat so Mark offered to go to the grocery store. “Get some chicken,” I said. “And maybe some ground chuck and hamburger buns. I’ll need potatoes and bread, and oh, don’t forget eggs. Get some more juice and milk, too.”

When he returned Mark’s arms were loaded with bags. He’d gotten much more than just the few items I’d mentioned. I pulled out boxes of cereal, bags of chips, blocks of cheese, a couple of boxes of crackers, soup, applesauce, several types of juices, packages of candy, and fruit galore. I put the groceries away and found a small bag filled with videos: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. It looked as though Mark had our evening planned for us.

Emily helped me peel potatoes and put them into a pot. “Greta lets me cook, too,” she said. I could have kicked myself. I meant to follow up with Greta better than I had done in the last few months. “I go to her house a lot and cook.”

“You like Greta?”

“She’s my favorite friend.”

Now I really felt bad. I had to call Greta right away.

“Was Greta with you that last night in your house?”

“For a while, but it was her eightieth anniversary.”

I smiled. That would make Greta a hundred and something. “So she was holding your hand?” For some reason, the statement Emily made to the police about someone holding her hand had always bothered me.

Girl ran into the kitchen and stole a potato out of Emily’s hand, which brought an end to our conversation. I dried my hands and dialed Greta’s number. Hal answered the phone and I asked for Greta three times before he understood what I was saying. “Go put your hearing aids in right now,” I heard Greta say before she picked up the phone. She said they would love to come over for dinner, and within the hour they pulled into our driveway.

Emily ran outside and threw herself into Greta’s arms. The old woman’s voice cracked when she saw her. “You’re okay,” she said, holding Emily. “You’re safe and sound and you’re okay.”

Emily nodded.

After we ate, Emily took Hal’s hand and walked into the living room so she could look at the tree again. Mark followed holding the videotapes he had purchased. I caught a glimpse of Emily sitting on the sofa staring at the videos in her hands.

Greta helped clear the plates. “What’s going to happen to her now?” she asked.

“She’ll go into another foster home for a while and then when the Delphys get back she’ll go back into their home.”

“All that moving around,” Greta said under her breath. “It’s not good for a child.” I didn’t say anything. “Will someone adopt her?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ve heard that older children have a hard time getting adopted. Is that true?”

I hated to say it. “Sometimes.”

Greta dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse. I handed her a tissue. “When you said she’d go into another foster home, when did you mean that she’d go?”

“Soon. Probably tomorrow.”

“But she’ll be uprooted again and it’s almost Christmas.”

“I know, but the state requires her to be in a foster—”

“She should stay here till after Christmas,” Greta said, cutting me off. “She likes you and your husband. I can tell. She needs to stay here.” Greta said it as if her word was final.

“We’re not set up by the state to be foster parents,” I said, trying to explain. “I’m not even allowed to have her in my house.”

“But it’s Christmas! Doesn’t the state understand that? If her mother was here and she was unable to care for Emily she’d be grateful that her daughter could stay in a home like this with people like you. How could the state move her right now after everything that’s happened? How could you do that to her?”

I couldn’t look at Greta. The state had rules that I had to follow but I knew she wouldn’t understand that. But I knew, too, that she’d never understand that I just couldn’t have another child in my house. It was too painful. A child hadn’t stayed in our home since Sean died and I preferred to keep it that way.

“Come on, ladies,” Mark said, calling from the living room and saving me from further conversation with Greta. He put Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer into the VCR and sat on the sofa. Emily sat next to him. He put his arm around her and patted her shoulder. Greta sat next to Emily and Emily reached over and held her hand. I knew she was making herself feel safe. “Reindeers talk, don’t they, Greta?” Emily asked.