From what I could see of her, she was shorter than both Dawn and me. Her red hair was in a high pony, touching the top of her shoulders.
“Koda,” Dawn said when she spotted me. “This is Katie.”
The lady turned, her round face similar to Dawn’s, expression wise. Open, caring, and possibly adventurous.
“Hello.” Her voice was deeper than I expected. “I’ll be the social worker for your case from here on out. Next time, there will be at least a twelve-hour warning before I show up, but with your case, it’s a bit different and I wanted to make sure that you’re being treated right. You’ve been through the ringer.”
I only managed to blink at her.
“So,” she paused, pulling a notebook and pen from a bag I hadn’t noticed beforehand hanging off her slim shoulder. “For the moment, I’ll give you the option of Dawn staying in the room with us, or we can step outside while I ask a few questions. They’ll be yes or no, so don’t worry about not being able to verbally answer.”
“I find the band aid method works best,” Dawn took the option away, but I think she just knew me too well. “You go ahead and start and I’ll slip away in a few minutes.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Katie smiled, then turned to me. “Are you liking it here?”
A nod.
“You’ve gotten glasses. And Dawn said you visited Dr. Shaw today.”
Another nod. That second part hadn’t quite processed in my mind yet.
“What about a dentist?”
This time, I shook my head. Dawn hadn’t made that yet for me.
“That’ll be something I do after we get a couple more visits with a psychiatrist. Just in case there are any issues with someone messing around with his teeth and mouth. I don’t want to overstep any triggers.”
Oh. I hadn’t even thought about that. I tilted my head, and shot some sort of look at Dawn, which I hoped came out as thankful. I wasn’t sure if I did have triggers, whatever those were.
“I’ll make a note. But if you have any teeth pain, you should see one sooner rather than later.”
I lifted a shoulder.
“Do you feel safe?” A nod. “Do you get food?” A nod. And so on. Questions that so many doctors have already asked me, and my answers haven't changed since then.
As Katie questioned me, I took a seat at the island, snagging a cookie from the tray. At some point, Dawn slipped away, even though I was pretty sure she didn’t go too far.
“It seems like your aunt has done her research on a lot of things,” Katie finally finished, putting away her notebook and pen. “She’s done everything and more than whatmost people would do when they take in an abused child. And a case like yours is hard to research to find help or answers. She’s a keeper. Now, this would normally be the time I ask to see your room, but I don’t think I need to. Maybe next time, but I feel like it’s important that you find a space that’s just for you to feel like a spot you can go to when life gets a bit too much.”
Katie spoke of a few other things that didn’t stick in my mind. Something about keeping in touch, with me letting her know if I ever don’t feel safe here.
I don’t think I’d ever feel this safe as I do here.
Sitting at the island, it gave me a great view of the back yard. Two trees in the center, where one now had a swing hanging from one of the bigger branches. I squinted, trying to figure out when Dawn had gotten that set up, and how. Because she wasn’t any taller than I was.
Or maybe it’s been there longer than I thought and just couldn’t see it. My eyes really were pretty crappy.
I didn’t hear Katie leave, nor when Dawn came back. I jerked, almost falling off the stool when she placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Although, her eyes sparkled in humor before she backed off a tiny bit. “You, okay?”
I nodded once. Then pointed towards the swing. It took her a moment before she figured it out.
“The swing? I had one of the neighbors helps get it up a couple of days ago. You were taking a nap.”
Oh, well, that made sense and helped fix my confused mind.
“You can go out and try it.”
