Sutton
“Uncle Jagger!”
Two little blonde girls with unruly curly hair threw open the screen door and ran toward us on the porch of the foster home where they’d stayed last night. Jagger dropped down to a knee to catch them in his arms, and they practically knocked him over. I smiled and gave them space.
The smaller of the two squeezed her eyes shut. “Uncle Jagger! I dreamed that you came! And you did.”
Jagger kissed her cheek and tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. “You did, did you? Does that mean I made your dreams come true?”
She dove back into his arms, nodding her head. Jagger’s smile widened and he stood, taking both the little girls with him. Their feet dangled as they giggled. My heart swelled seeing how much they adored him. Jagger Langston was already a ten on any rating scale, but today he shot up to a thousand.
A woman stepped out of the house and smiled. “How’re you doing, Mr. Langston?”
He nodded. “It’s Jagger, please. And much better now.”
“Girls?” the woman said. “Why don’t you go collect your backpacks and say goodbye to Jenny? Jenny is the Breslins’ daughter,” she explained to Jagger and me.
“Okay!”
Jagger bent to set the girls down, and they took off into the house. He turned to me. “Sorry I didn’t introduce you.”
I waved him off. “They didn’t even notice I was standing here because they were so excited to see you.”
He gestured to me while speaking to the woman. “Octavia, this is Sutton Holland. Sutton, this is Octavia Moore, the social worker I coordinate with when the girls need my assistance.”
I extended my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
She nodded, and Jagger put his hands on his hips. “How’d the girls do last night?”
“Mrs. Breslin said they slept well. But Olivia wet the bed.”
Jagger took a deep breath in and exhaled. “She did that the first night she was with me last time, too. When my sister isn’t doing well, she sometimes stays up all night and rants. Amelia told me it scares them, and her sister is afraid to get out of bed to go to the bathroom.”
Octavia nodded. “It’s not unusual for children who are removed to have an accident. They’re often afraid to get up in the middle of the night in their new surroundings. Also, you should know that Amelia has already been asking if she can visit her mother. She understands she’s in the hospital.”
Jagger shook his head. “They don’t allow visits during a fifty-one-fifty hold.”
“I know. I told Amelia the hospital was taking good care of her mother, but she wouldn’t be able to see her for a while. Will you be staying in Ohio for a few days?”
“I can’t stay this time,” he told her. “I have some stuff going on at work. But I was able to get the same sitter who helped out when they stayed with me for a few months last year. The girls really liked her, and she’s already familiar to them. I’ll try to keep my workdays shorter than usual, but I’m going to need to be at the office, unfortunately.”
Octavia nodded. “That’s understandable. Caregivers, especially those who jump in right away when needed, like you do, have responsibilities. Will you be taking the girls to the same address as last time? I’ll need to get some information from you, and we’ll need to speak on a regular basis, like we always do.”
Jagger nodded. “Same address, same contact info. And I already have a call in to Catherine’s doctor. I’ll let you know what he’s thinking after I speak to him. Then we can start to make a longer-term plan.”
“Unfortunately, you already know the drill,” Octavia said. “CPS in New York will contact you, and they’ll drop in on a regular basis and report back to me. Meanwhile, I’ll be making an independent assessment about the safety of the girls being reunited with their mother. Catherine did call me directly and tell me she needed me to take the children, so that’s a plus. But we’ll need to see how things go.”
Jagger frowned. “She used to call me, but ever since I took her to court to try to get custody, she thinks I’m the enemy.”
Octavia smiled halfheartedly. “That’s also not unusual, especially from a parent who struggles with Catherine’s mental-health issues.”
The social worker had Jagger sign a bunch of papers, and when the girls came back, he introduced them to me.
“Do you know how to braid hair?” Amelia asked.
“I do. I can even do a fishtail.”
Her little nose scrunched up. “What’s that?”
