Cerise’s greeting lodged in her throat, and she swallowed hard to clear the imaginary blockage. “Hi, Daphne, it’s Cerise Robinson. How are you?”
“Good. Is everything okay with Finn?” There was a slight hint of panic in her tone, as if she expected Cerise to say she wanted to give the boy back. It hurt a little that Daphne didn’t have faith in her, even though Cerise had said she wanted to be Finn’s foster mom.
“Yes, everything’s great with him. We had a fun day yesterday.”
“You did? What did you do?” Cerise could imagine Daphne sitting back in her chair, her shoulders relaxed now that she didn’t have to find a new place for the kiddo to stay.
“It started off with me taking Finn for a pancake breakfast and while we were there, we ran into a friend of mine. He works on a ranch and he invited us out to go horseback riding. Finn had the best time. He looked so natural on the back of the horse. After lunch Brodie spent some time with him showing him how to skip stones over water.” The words rushed out of her and, by the time she clamped her lips shut, her chest was heaving as if she’d run a marathon.
“Well, that’s great. Sounds like it’s exactly what Finn needed.” Daphne paused and Cerise thought she could make out the tapping of a pen. “I’m sure you didn’t phone just to give me an update. You’ve never done that before. What’s going on, Cerise?”
Daphne was always straight to the point, which Cerise always appreciated. “I wanted to talk to you about Finn’s future. This is the third time I’ve had him, but this is the first time that when I picked him up, he seemed so closed in on himself. He wasn’t the same little boy I picked up that first time. I think Poppy’s back-and-forth is taking a toll on him. I don’t want to see the good work his parents did in raising him for the first seven years of his life go to waste. I’m sure they wouldn’t either.”
A sigh trickled down the line. “I hear what you’re saying but, unfortunately, our hands are tied. Poppy is the legal guardian for Finn. I don’t like what she does any more than you do, and wish it could be different.”
“Well, maybe it could be. What if I put in an application to adopt him? It’s clear Poppy doesn’t really want Finn. She’s using him to fill a void until her next boyfriend comes along. Finn told me yesterday that one Poppy’s boyfriends was really nice to him. They played video games and got on really well, then he woke up one day to find out that Poppy was taking him to the home. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was jealous of the relationship that Finn was forging with the boyfriend and she didn’t like it.”
“As I said, I hear what you’re saying, and I would love to encourage you to adopt Finn. I think you’d be a wonderful mom to the boy. I can tell how much you love him. But I’ve got to be honest, the chances of that happening are slim.”
Devastation slammed into her like a dump truck and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out at the news. God, she’d been expecting to hear it, but it didn’t make it any easier to bear.She’d been hoping for a different outcome. An outcome more in her favor. “I know it’s not going to be easy, and it may not work out, but I don’t want to give up on this, Daphne. I know what it’s like to be in the system and forgotten about. To be the one kid who gets looked over each and every time a family considers adopting a child. I don’t want that to happen to Finn. I don’t want to see him lose his self-esteem so that he jumps at the first bit of attention he’ll get from the wrong type of kids and wreck his life. He’s not destined to be a drug addict or dealer or a criminal. He’s destined for greater things.”
No way was she a psychic or anything, but she truly believed that Finn was meant to do wonderful things in the world.
“Your passion is admirable, not to mention your belief in the boy. As much as I don’t think anything will come of it, I’ll gather the paperwork for you to look over and start proceedings. You’ll want to get a lawyer as well. I can recommend some good ones that specialize in adoption. And, of course, we’d need to speak to Poppy about this, as she is Finn’s rightful guardian.”
Cerise wished she had some glitter to throw up in the air. Yes, it would cause a mess, but it would be so worth the clean-up. Instead. she settled for a fist pump to no one in particular. “Thank you, Daphne, for everything, believing in me and giving me the name of a lawyer. It means the world to me.”
“I know, but I want to caution you that you shouldn’t say anything to Finn about this. I don’t want him to get his hopes up.”
“Oh, absolutely. I’d never say anything to him until it was confirmed that it could be a real possibility that I can adopt him.” Not to mention that Poppy had to be onboard with her plans and would be happy for Cerise to adopt Finn.
“Good. And another thing...” Daphne paused again, but this time the silence stretched.
“Yes?”
“This Brodie ... how serious are things with the two of you? And is this the Brodie that’s on the Hunt VFD?”
Cerise blinked a couple of times at the question. “Umm, we’re just friends. And yes, he is. Do you know him?” It wouldn’t be a stretch if Daphne did. After all, her husband, Gene, was involved with the HVFD.
“Oh, okay then. And yes, I know Brodie, and he’s a good guy.” Was Daphne disappointed with her answer?
“Why did you ask?”
“It’s just if you were in a relationship, a serious one, it would go a long way to helping your cause. I don’t want you to go out and organize a fake relationship to help your case. The judge and lawyers will see right through that. But having Brodie as a character reference for you, as well as a friend to Finn, is a positive as well.”
“Right, well, umm, yeah, we’re friends. I thought being single would be a hurdle I’d have to get over, but I also feel like I’ve got enough going for me to prove that I’m more reliable than his aunt. I own my home clear and free, since I paid the mortgage off last month. I’ve got a good job. All the things Poppy doesn’t seem to have.” Her financial security had taken discipline, hard work, and luck with a fortuitous stock purchase which had given her a nice payout. In the end it had all been worth it and now she had a home that was all her own and couldn’t be taken away from her.
“Yes, and those are all things that will be looked at by the judge, but there is the matter of the last wishes of Finn’s parents to consider. They wanted him with family.”
Again, all true, but would they be happy with what their only family member was doing to their son? Cerise kept those words to herself.
“I know that. I just want what’s best for Finn.”
“We both do. I want you to know that I’ll be on your side, too. I can see how much you want this and how good you will be for Finn.”
“Thanks, Daphne. That means a lot.”
“Right, well, I’ve got a meeting in five minutes. I’ll email you some names of lawyers by the end of the day and also attach the paperwork for you to print out and start completing.”
