Poor thing. What must he be thinking and feeling? To be abandoned by his family, to be in a new situation, not knowing anyone, not being able to communicate with anybody.
She couldn’t blame him for building the barrier. Not belonging anywhere was tough. She understood how it felt. Though her situation wasn’t nearly as extreme.
The boy sat staring at the wall, not moving, no expression on his face. Possibly a cover for his fear and confusion. He was cleaned and clothed, but it was hard to believe he was a boy. His long blond curls and his intense blue eyes made him look like a girl.
Maven turned from the observation glass towards Lizzie. “He’s beautiful. Almost angelic.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you’d been around for baths or dressing him.”
“A handful, huh?”
“That’s an understatement. It took three workers to get the job done. He freaks out when anybody touches him. Besides refusing to communicate, he appears to have some behavioral issues.”
“He might not be refusing to communicate. It’s possible he
can’t
communicate.”
“I suppose you might be right. But either way has the same results so—”
“But there’s a big difference between can’t and won’t. Monumental difference.”
Lizzie’s blond waves shook along with her head. “See, this is what I mean. That’s why you are the perfect person to foster this child until we find out where he belongs. You understand the difference. That means you’ll be more patient, kinder, more loving. And he needs as much of that as he can get.”
Another tug on her heart. Maven shut down her pity. There was no way she could take care of this child. “Not going to happen, so stop the guilt trip, Lizzie. I said I’d help. Besides, he has a perfectly safe place to stay until you find out where he belongs.”
“If we find out. And yes, he’s safe, but not necessarily happy or loved. Every child deserves to be loved, to belong somewhere. And right now, this poor little boy has nowhere to belong. Are you going to go in?” Her friend touched her arm. “I’m not trying to put you on a guilt trip. Really.”
All by himself.
So sad.
Maven hardened her heart to Lizzie’s words and answered. “No I’m not going in, you are.”
“Me?” Lizzie sounded as surprised as she looked.
“That’s right. I want to see how he reacts when you try to communicate. Go in and talk with him, try to get him to play. I’ll knock on the mirror when I’ve seen enough.”
~*~
Lizzie walked into the room.
The boy showed no reaction. Had he heard her?
Lizzie stood outside of the circle of toys. She smiled. “Hi.”
Not even a slight movement. Maybe he was deaf. But even then, he’d be aware that she was in the room.
Lizzie moved from beside him to directly in front of him. “Hi. How are you, sweetie?”
He stared straight ahead at the wall. No eye contact. No response to her voice.
Lizzie stepped inside the circle.
The boy’s muscles tensed. Well, maybe he hadn’t heard Lizzie, but he sure knew she was there. That was clear from his body language, but he still didn’t look at her.
Lizzie sat down cross-legged in front of him.
He scooted away from her to the far edge of the circle of toys. It was obvious he had no desire to interact with her.
“Hi, sweetie. What’s your name?”
Instead of looking at Lizzie, he tilted to one side so he could stare around her and at the same spot on the wall that he’d been watching before she came in.
“My name is Lizzie.” She picked up the small red fire engine beside her. “Do you—”
“Aaaahhhh.” The boy screamed as he lunged for the toy in Lizzie’s hand. He wrenched it from her grip, and then threw it across the room. Still screaming, he stood up. One by one, he picked up the other toys and threw them around the room, some of them hitting the wall and others not. The screaming continued as Maven watched through the observation window on the other side.
Lizzie stood up backing away from him. Her gaze moved to the mirror, begging Maven to free her.
Maven knocked on the window.
Lizzie rolled her eyes and headed for the door.
The boy was still screaming when she left.
As soon as the door closed, the boy stopped screaming.
Lizzie opened the door to the observation room. “Wow. I didn’t expect that sort of reaction. Most kids like me—or at least tolerate me.”
“He’s not most kids.”
“You can say that again. I feel so horrible. I didn’t mean to upset him like that. And I didn’t know how to comfort him since he doesn’t like to be touched.” She wiped at her tears.
“It’s not your fault, Lizzie. And I don’t think there’s anything either of us can do to comfort him. He definitely has some autistic tendencies.”
They both stared through the mirror as the boy retrieved each of the toys and replaced them into their original positions of his circle. When it was complete, he sat down and stared at his spot on the wall once again.
4
A quick review of the recording showed he’d not only replaced the toys in the exact same order, but as far as Maven could see, they were almost in the exact same spot as before.
Very interesting.
“OK, my turn.” Maven turned towards Lizzie. “I guess I’ll give it a try. Hopefully, I can make some sort of connection with him.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“Don’t count on it.” She walked out of the observation room and into the boy’s space.
Ignoring the boy, she went to the toy bins at the side of the room. Picking up a small pink teddy bear, she walked to the opposite wall and placed the toy. One by one, she chose toys and formed her own circle, a car, a helicopter among them.
At first, the little boy didn’t react. After the sixth toy, his gaze followed Maven as she moved from one side to the other choosing toys and forming her own circle.
When her circle was completed, she sat in the middle just as the boy was in the middle of his circle. Her back was to him. After ten minutes or so, she turned to face him, still not looking at him directly.
He was watching her.
With deliberate slowness, she picked up the pink teddy bear. First, she held it, and then she rocked it for a moment before replacing it in her circle. She sat quietly, refusing to look directly at the boy.
He leaned forward and picked up the brown teddy bear in his circle. He rocked it as if it was a baby, and then replaced it to its rightful spot. His gaze moved to Maven.
After a moment, she chose a toy car. Rolling it back and forth, she made car noises. After a few minutes, she replaced it and waited.
Sure enough, the boy picked the red fire engine, and then imitated the car noises.
Maven smiled. The boy wasn’t completely deaf or he couldn’t have done that. He still might have a hearing loss, but not so much that it would prevent him from communicating. One question answered.
After several more toys and imitations, she was positive the boy wasn’t deaf. His refusal to communicate had nothing to do with a hearing loss.
Her guess was that either he was traumatized by whatever events led him to be abandoned in the park or some form of autism. Possibly a combination of the two.
Maven walked out of her circle and to the door. She waited with her hand at her side.
A minute or so later, the little blond boy stood. He stepped carefully out of his circle and walked to Maven. He stood quietly for several moments, and then the back of his hand brushed hers.
5
Maven attempted to lift the picture frame from its hangers on the wall. As it began to slip from her hands, she called out. “Too heavy. Paul, can you give me a hand? Quickly.”
Paul, her neighbor, set the trunk down and rushed over. He took the other side. They walked it from the bedroom to the garage. “Stop trying to do everything alone. I don’t mind helping, Maven.”
“I know. I know. Sometimes, I’m too independent for my own good.”
“Well, try to remember that the next time you need help. There’s no reason to hurt your back when I’m right here.”
“OK. OK.”
Everything that had been in the room was now in Maven’s side of the garage.
“Why are we doing this again?” Paul asked.
“I suspect the boy might be autistic. The less stimuli around him the better. I thought he’d be more comfortable in a simple room instead of the archaic room I decorated.”
“But you have no idea how long he’ll even be with you. This is a lot of work considering he might not be with you next week.”
“True, but he might be. Most of these things are antiques. I’d hate for him to break them or ruin them somehow.”
“How exactly would he do that?”
Maven shrugged. “Who knows, but better safe than sorry.”
He twisted one way and then the other to stretch out his back.
“Is your back hurting?”
Paul grinned. “What? Are you thinking about feeling guilty about that now?”
“No, I just—”
“Stop it. My back is fine. I’m not as young as I used to be. I get a little creaky now and then.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. This workout plan with Lizzie is going to kill me.”
“Maybe, but it must be working, you look great. Not that you didn’t look great before.”
She flushed at his compliment. “Now, whose mouth is working overtime?”
“We’re quite the pair, aren’t we? Are you sure you’re up to being a foster mother to a special needs child?”
“Not in the least. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m not up to the task.”
“Then, why are you doing it?”
“You weren’t there. When he touched my hand, my heart went all ooey-gooey. It was a God moment. I’m sure of it. I couldn’t turn my back on him after that.”
He arched his brows. “Even so, this will be tough.”
“I know, but sometimes God calls us to do the tough things.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Paul nodded. “But you’ve had your share of tough things, Maven. It’s all right to take the easy road now and then.”
“I know, but I’m sure God wants me to do this. And besides it’s only temporary.”
“Or so you think! What time is he coming?”
Maven looked at her watch. “Lizzie said she’d call me after they got all the paperwork done, but I’m not sure when that will be.”
“I can’t believe they approved you so quickly.”
“It’s an emergency situation. And since I’ve already done the BCI fingerprints and background search for my teaching license, it speeded things up considerably.”
“Just goes to show you, the Man can get things done when He wants to.”
“If by the man you mean God, then you’re right. And Lizzie, of course. She is a force to be reckoned with when she sets her mind on something. And she’s determined the boy wouldn’t have to spend another night at the emergency shelter for children.”
“That’s Lizzie, always taking care of business.”
“I think she was as worried about the caretakers as for the boy. It wasn’t easy on any of them.”
“You can’t keep calling him the boy.” Paul held the screen door open as they walked back into the kitchen.
“I know, it’s sad. Imagine, not to be able to even tell someone your name. But we can’t just make up a name for him.”
“Why not?”
“It might confuse him even more.”
“I suppose. That sort of makes sense, but I still think he needs a name. Everyone needs a name. How about a glass of water before I lug out that heavy monstrosity?” He pointed at the antique trunk sitting in the hallway.
“Talk about giving me a guilt trip.”
“Just kidding.” He grinned at her.
“Not a problem. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you helping me.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
A friend? There should be a better name for someone who’d saved her life, but a friend he was. A good one.
“Well, once again you’ve gone beyond the call of duty, Officer Paul.”
When the trunk had been lugged to the garage, Paul looked at her. “I know you’ve got a lot going on right now, and I hate to add to it. But I made myself a promise.”
She smiled, knowing it was more of a smile than a grimace. In spite of developing Bell’s palsy more than a year before, God wasn’t finished with the healing. Her recovery was slow but sure. Her speech was much better even if her lips didn’t move quite the way they were supposed to. “Well, it’s important to keep promises. Even to yourself. So how can I help?”
“I promised myself that before I got a year older I would ask someone out on a date. I haven’t been on one since my wife died. And since tomorrow’s my birthday, I only have today left if I’m going to keep that promise. How about it? Want to go out for dinner tomorrow?”
Maven stared at him. Their friendship was important to her. But that’s all it was—a friendship. There was no way she wanted to be involved in a romantic relationship with anyone. She’d been blessed with a wonderful husband. Now that he was gone, that part of her life was over.
“I don’t think so, Paul.” She had an easy way out of this sticky situation. “There’s no way I can leave my foster child alone so soon after getting him. I don’t want him to think I abandoned him.”
“He can come with us. I don’t mind.”
“I don’t think so. You have no idea what kind of a fuss he might make at a restaurant. And neither do I.” Maven’s phone rang and she ran to the living room to grab it, thankful for the interruption. “Hi, Lizzie. What’s going on?”
“Nothing good.” Lizzie sounded cranky and disappointed.
“The judge won’t let him come live with me?”
“I have no idea. He’s reviewing the case and said he’d make a decision tomorrow, but I’m sure he’ll agree with our request.”
“Well, can’t he come and stay for the night under the emergency care act?”
“Not since he’s been with us for three days now. The judge said to keep him where he is until he reviews you and the case. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have made a promise I couldn’t keep.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Paul walked into the living room.
Maven had wanted to talk to Lizzie privately about his invitation.