“That sounds like a good idea.” Sam finished tying his shoes and turned to me. “Will that be okay Gabby?”
Leaning against the arch dividing the living room and the kitchen, I watched the adults interact. In a way, it reminded me of the animal channel. I struggled not to crack a smile at that thought since Sam really did have one foot in the animal world. Instead, I answered, “After I finish volunteering, it should work for me.”
Satisfied they would see each other soon, the adults said their goodbyes, and Sam left. Not bad for a first meeting.
Each time I met with Sam, I learned more about his world. Nothing that I could apply to myself, yet. I still had hope though.
Life continued as normal for a while with Sam visiting periodically over the next two months. Barb started to show and the normally reserved Tim couldn’t stop talking about it. My time with the Newton’s ticked away like the seconds of a clock.
On one of our scheduled Wednesday nights, I opened the door for Sam as soon as he knocked. With a week left of school, I’d let the hospital know that I wouldn’t be coming in during exam week because of schoolwork. He didn’t show any surprise when I swung the door open after just one knock, but then I didn’t expect him to.
Despite meeting at my home where we couldn’t speak freely, I’d managed to learn a little more about him and his kind. For example, he had exceptional hearing. He knew when I got nervous or upset, by the change in my pulse. He could hear whispered conversations taking place in other rooms as long as the door remained partially open. He could even hear whispers through thin walls. In addition to keen hearing, he also had better eyesight. In the dark, his pupils expanded to a freakish dimension allowing in as much light as possible and enabling him to see when a normal person couldn’t. This explained the way his eyes reflected in the dark.
“Hi, Sam,” I said holding the door open while he stepped in. I stopped him from taking off his shoes, saying, “We’re eating out on the patio since it’s nice out.” He wiped his feet extra well on the rug before following me through the house to the back patio.
The solid concrete slab patio took up a fourth of their backyard space. The patio wasn’t that big, the yard was just that small. But fenced in with a classic wooden privacy fence, it made a perfect play area.
We walked out onto the patio and Tim looked up from the grill to our left and nodded a greeting. Smoke drifted lazily upward as Tim flipped a burger. “Sam, thanks for coming.” Barb stopped setting the table and moved to greet Sam with a hug. Sam gave one back with a smile. She long ago stopped trying to hug me.
Tim brought the burgers from the grill and we all sat to eat while Tim and Sam dominated conversation with fishing stories.
When Sam asked if I’d ever been fishing, I nearly choked on my bite of burger. “No,” I said definitively.
He put on a mock shocked face and asked, “How can a girl your age never have been fishing?”
“Many have tried and all have failed, Sam,” I said slightly amused. “I’m not an outdoorsy type.”
His next comment wiped the smile from Barb’s face, “You should come with me for the weekend. I’ll take you to the cabin your grandpa and I went to before you were even born. It’s got indoor plumbing now, so I bet you could even talk a friend into coming with.”
I glanced at all the faces at the table. Sam still smiled, Barb focused on me with an alarmed expression and Tim glanced between me, Barb and Sam. I took another bite of burger to stall.
In private, Sam had mentioned that he’d like to take me on a trip to meet others of his kind. I felt fairly certain that’s what he meant now. Having him ask tonight without any warning took me off guard. I could have done some prep work, like dropping hints that I had interest in spending more time with him or something. But it made sense that he asked now. Why wait? The doctors saw no reason this pregnancy wouldn’t go full term. School would let out soon and I had no summer job.
Setting down my fork, I picked up my glass and took a long drink of water.
They all waited. I decided to save the adults the long dance around a subject none of them wanted to face full on.
I turned toward Barb and Tim, “I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know Sam over the last two months and told him about the baby on the way.” Here I looked at Barb, meeting her beautiful dark brown eyes kindly, “We all know that I won’t be able to stay once the baby’s here.” Barb started to tear up and speak, but I stopped her with a raised hand. “I also know that you want me to stay. I don’t doubt that for a minute. You’ve both been so great to me and I thank you.”
I turned to Sam, “You said that you live in a three bedroom house and that I was welcome to visit anytime. What about visiting until I graduate?”
Sam continued to smile at me, “I have a room if you need it, whenever you need it.”
I didn’t want to go back into foster care.
Barb started to sniffle and Tim reached over the table to pat her hand.