“It’s your dad.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that.” I put the phone to my ear. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, love. How are you feeling?”
“Better every day,” I said. “How are you?”
“I’ll be better when you’re all healed up.”
“I know.” I smiled. “But my babysitters are all doing an exemplary job.”
He chuckled. “I see that.”
“I’m okay, Dad. Promise.”
“I’ll swing by tomorrow, mo stoirín.”
“I have PT.”
“AfterPT,” he stressed.
I sighed. “Okay. I’ll text you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Sweet dreams, my darling girl,” he said, and I smiled.
“You too, Daddy.”
He hung up and I set my phone on the side table.
“Bedtime,” Jekyll announced.
Before I could grumble, my phone buzzed again. Seeing it was Bellamy, I picked it up. “Hey, bestie.”
“Hey, bitch. You feeling better?”
“Meh. Why? Do you need me?” I asked hopefully. I was desperate for a distraction.
“We’re officially full,” she said. “Like, over, full. If they don’t expand the girls’ dorms soon, we’ll be in violation.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I knew we were close for sure.”
“Kendall and JoJo are officially over eighteen,” I said. “But I hate to make them move right now.”
The beauty of Walker House was we strived to help the older kids transition into adulthood when the foster system pretty much kicked them to the curb the second they turned eighteen. We gave everyone at least a year to find a full-time job, finish school, or whatever. Then we helped them find a place to live, usually with other kids who’d graduated from Walker House, and we kept an eye on them for as long as they wanted us too. We were always a resource.
“We’re going to figure it out, Bell. We have a few weeks.”
“Yeah, that’s true. And we’ve been in more precarious situations in the past.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s weird to have the money to do everything we need to do, but still unable to do it in time.”
“I know. I’ll do some internet sleuthing and see if we can’t find a contractor.”
