Chapter Text
"So, how'd it go?" I glanced at Elise as she sat down on her creaky old bed with a sigh. The other girls in the room instantly stopped what they were doing at her entrance. Kate whirled around on her second-level bunk, which made Jenny look up from her headphones. All eyes were on her. Elise, unfortunately, looked thoroughly put out.
"Okay, I think, but it's a really old couple and the lady looks like she's got maybe a week left of life... I was hoping when Miss Richards told me I had an interview, I'd have a shot at... you know..."
I nodded sympathetically. Kate just rolled her eyes, while Jenny got up and put a comforting hand on Elise's shoulder, but she just flopped onto her back with another loud exhale.
We all knew what she'd had been hoping for, because we all hoped for it ourselves: a forever home. The family or person who would take us home permanently, away from a life of foster homes and halfway houses and never really having a last name. At least, with Kate's exception. She liked it just fine here.
All the other girls at Greenwood House for Young Girls liked to say that they wanted it the most, but it was the honest truth that everyone knew just how desperate I was to find my family. When I was little I used to dream up what they'd look like, what they're house smelled like, how big my room was and if they had a pet cat or not. Unlike some, who were happier they didn't know and more importantly didn't have, I was chomping at the bit to find my family.
But until then, I lived here, in a dinky little bedroom meant for two but housed four. There was Katherine, an African-American girl who had been removed from her mom's custody when she was two after she left her alone for a week, Jennifer, a fiery redhead who'd been living on the streets until a police officer picked her up, and Elise, who was, like me, a foundling. Her mom had left her at the hospital and never come back. We were quite the odd bunch, but had struck up a friendship of circumstance that worked for all of us.
We were all creative in our own ways, and we'd found outlets to keep ourselves occupied and from going insane. Katherine had the most beautiful singing voice I'd ever seen: soulful and jazzy, one that you couldn't get tired of listening to even if you tried. Jenny would burn a few karaoke CD's for her during the week, she'd take her old busted stereo to the nearest subway station and sing her little lungs out. She'd take requests and if she was feeling brave do a little a capella. Jenny did street art. She'd gotten into it when she saw a guy in Harlem doing galaxy paintings for ten bucks, and taught herself. Soon after that we'd pooled together our meager allowances and bought her a real airbrushing kit. Everything she owned had some kind of design on it. She was a huge hit, and most of the time did it for free. Elise took dance classes whenever she could pawn the money off of us. She was unbelievably flexible and graceful, and her most recent exploit was ballet. Last winter we'd gone and seen The Nutcracker, and she wouldn't shut up about it for almost a moth afterwards. Besides the classical stuff, she could break it down with the big boys like nobody's business.
My niche ended up being photography. I'd tried sketching, but found myself taking photos of things to draw later. I quickly abandoned the sketchpad and fell in love with the lens. I'd found an old digital with a slightly cracked screen in the dumpster behind a pawn shop, and it had been my best friend. I'd print the photos at the library and kept them taped inside an old notebook. I wasn't very good, unlike the girls, but I loved it.
"Lucie!" I heard someone yelling and running up the stairs towards our room.
"Yeah?" I sat up at Blue, a ten-year-old with hair that matched her name, skidded across the hardwood floor of the hall, grabbing the doorframe as she went.
"Luce, Miss Richards wants to see you." Her eyes were wide with excitement, and her mouth was turned up and an even bigger than usual smile.
"And...?" Katherine raised her eyebrows as she climbed down from her bunk over Elise's bed.
"And she had a folder with her when she told me. I think-" I bolted upright and dashed past her, down the hall and slid down the banister. I hit the ground running, and almost ran smack into the old cleaning lady, who said a number of probably very nasty things in Spanish at me as I tried to apologize, and kept moving.
"Lucie Clarissa!" I froze mid-stride and turned around sheepishly. Standing there, in her paint-splattered jeans and AC/DC t-shirt, was Miss Abigail Richards, the head of Greenwood House. She was in her early to mid-thirties, with mousy brown hair and eyes. Her face was kind, but it wasn't a great idea to get on her bad side.
"What did I tell you about running?" She arched her eyebrows at me. Somehow, whenever I did something bad she made me feel like I was three instead of thirteen.
"To not do it because one of these days I'm going to slip and crack my head open?" I smiled, hoping she wasn't going to suspend my computer privileges like she'd done last month.
"At least you had your ears open that time." She let out a sigh. "I was going to call you anyway; I've got some news."
My heart was hammering the inside of my ribs as I followed Miss Richards into her office. We called it an office, but it wasn't really. Apparently when they had been first renovating the building to be inhabitable this had been a really big pantry. It was still pretty cramped, but they'd managed to squeeze in a small desk, a set of cheap metal filing cabinets and three cushy chairs. I sat down in one of these, and she sat down in the one on the opposite side. She set the folder to her left and it took all of my self-control not to grab it and leaf through each and every paper.
"Now, Lucie, we both know how long you've been here. I've watched you grow up and become a beautiful little lady, and I almost consider you my daughter." She clasped her hands on the desk. "But we both know how difficult it's been placing you with a family."
I glanced down, my excitement waning into fear. What if they were sending me away to someone else? Oh god...
"So, I've contacted Social Services and we've decided to try something a little different." My heart was still jackhammering as I nodded. Please oh please don't make me leave.
"I know you're used to being placed with couples, but this gentleman has been trying quite hard to adopt, and I think that he'd be a perfect match for you."
My heartbeat stopped. The likelihood of getting adopted - and I mean really adopted - by a single parent was usually a lot higher than a couple, especially once you got past five.
"But... he's not married?"
She shook her head. "No girlfriend either. He lives in an apartment in Queens. He submitted some photos as a part of his file and it's nice; you'll like it."
My heart instantly went from stopped to bunny rabbit, ricocheting off the inside of my ribcage in excitement. I started bouncing up and down along with it, barely able to contain my glee.
"He'll be coming by tomorrow, and I want you on your best behavior. I know that for most of the homes it simply wasn't a good fit, but we want to make it as easy as we can for him to like you. Alright?"
I nodded, afraid that if I spoke I'd wake up from this all-too-amazing dream. I set the file back down on the desk, smoothing the papers with my trembling fingers.
"Good. Now go upstairs, and get the message around that dinner's in twen-" I almost knocked the chair over in excitement as I ran out of the office.
I was finally on my way to belonging.