“Lisa said she’d call,” said Jed, giving her a worried look.
“I’m sure she’ll call tomorrow.It’s a long drive to Pennsylvania, and they have to have time to get settled.Don’t worry.If she said she’ll call, she will.”
“’ Night,” Mike said, ruffling Jed’s hair.
Hazel leaned over and gave Jed a quick kiss on the cheek.
###
After they left the room, Mike turned to her.“Ready to relax and watch some more television?I’ll let you choose.”
“Thanks.”She sighed.“I can’t believe how tired I am.But I want everything to be comfortable for Jed.”
“Aw, Jed’s fine,” said Mike, and Hazel realized they were very different as parents.Mike seemed a little cold, so matter-of-fact.
When they went to bed, Mike ogled her playfully.“Ready for ‘us time’?
“Not tonight.I’m exhausted.But let’s cuddle,” Hazel said, getting close to him.
Mike drew her closer and sighed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Hazel sat up, blinking sleepily.She checked her bedside clock.Two A.M.
Getting out of bed, she padded to the guest room and opened the door.The sounds of soft weeping were coming from Jed.
Alarmed, she hurried over to him.
He was curled up on his side, sobbing quietly.
Hazel knelt by the bed and began rubbing Jed’s back as she faced him.“Hey, what’s the matter?”she crooned.
“At night, Lisa usually sings to me,” said Jed.“Is she really coming back?Or will I be left again?”
At the thought of Jed knowing what it was like to be left behind, Hazel’s stomach clenched so hard she thought she might be sick.“Oh, Jed, you’re not going to be alone again.Lisa and Joe are doing everything they can to make the paperwork complete so you can move with them.She told me it looked positive.She said they’re expecting to hear in a day or two.”
“Yeah?People have lied to me before,” said Jed, sniffling.
Hazel climbed on top of the covers, sat with her head against the headboard, and continued to rub Jed’s back.
As she talked softly to him, he nestled against her.
Though she wasn’t a good singer, she began humming an old camp song about the moon.Soon, his breathing slowed, and when she looked down, Jed’s eyes were closed in sleep.
Studying him, she felt a new, stronger feeling rise in her, the stirring of maternal protection.The thought of anyone hurting a helpless child made her catch her breath.Her eyes grew teary.She didn’t know all the particulars of being a parent, but she knew enough to know she’d work hard to keep anything from harming a child in her care.
In the quiet that followed, Hazel climbed off the bed and headed back to her bedroom.
Mike was asleep on his side.
She lay next to Mike, thinking of his childhood and the hurts he must have suffered, and felt her eyes fill with tears again.
Feeling a tenderness, she slid closer to him and felt a sigh escape him when he wrapped an arm across her body.
While he continued sleeping, she lay awake, grateful she’d experienced a stable, loving childhood.The idea of fostering a child remained firmly fixed inside her.She now knew that it wouldn’t be Jed, but one day, there would be another who needed her help.
###
