I sit in the kitchen the next morning…feeling everything that Claudia was feeling when she was sitting in that exact spot, days before it was time for her to move out.
Mama Nadine: So, did Miss Hillary give you some information to get you started?
Alida: Yeah…I need to go to Strangerville today to meet with somebody who’s supposed to help me find a place to live. Can I go?
Mama Nadine: Of course…just be careful. I’m sure everything will work out for you.
I’m not as confident about it, but it’s still nice to hear.
After talking to Mama Nadine, I go into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed…not exactly looking forward to my tasks for the day. After I leave the bathroom…we sit down to eat some of Mama Nadine’s special gummy bear pancakes.
The twins…particularly Molly is extra chatty this morning because she and Emily’s dad is coming for a visit today. I’m shocked to hear that, but I’m happy for them.
George Canfield, Molly and Emily’s father, arrives after breakfast for a supervised visit. They both run to him as soon as he enters the house.
George: My girls! I’m so glad to see you both.
He gives both girls big long hugs. Then they all sit on the couch and they fill him in on everything that’s happened since they’ve arrived at Mama Nadine’s. He goes on to tell them about the AA meetings he’s been attending to help him stop drinking. I can tell that he’s very sad to be apart from them. It’s inspiring to know that there are still parents out there who are fighting to get their kids out of foster care. Maybe Molly and Emily won’t have to go through what the rest of us have to go through when they become adults.
I take a S-Uber and travel two towns away…arriving in Strangerville just before noon. Unfortunately, the business office staff is on lunch break when I get there, so I have to find a way to pass the time until they return.
I head downstairs to the information center and use one of the computers to begin looking up stuff on Strangerville and its history…which I have to say is very, very interesting.
At 12:30, I head back upstairs to meet with Hali’a Pusage, the lady that runs an organization called Alliance for Independent Living…which helps to find homes for kids who age out of foster care.
Alida: Hi…Ms. Pusage, I really need your help.
Hali’a: That’s exactly what I’m here for. How can I help you?
I talk with Hali’a for at least an hour. She gives me a ton of information and even points me to a house that’s available across the street. When I tell her that there’s no way I can afford to buy a house…she lets me know that her organization helps with the cost of purchasing a home. All I would have to do is fill out some paperwork and she’d handle the rest. I breathe a sigh of relief.
After the meeting, I head across the street to check out the house that Hali’a told me about. It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but I can see Michael and me living there and eventually making it a home.
Just like Oasis Springs, Strangerville is incredibly hot…and happens to be in the middle of a heatwave. It’s something that I’d have to get used to. Despite feeling like I’m about to melt…I decide to take a look around the neighborhood to see what Strangerville has to offer. I discover an ice cream shop in the middle of a trailer park, not too far from the house. Just what I need…
After I’ve sat down and ordered a nice big ice cream cone…I overhear a lady at the hostess station talking.
Maci: Hi…I was supposed to be meeting my husband here – Robert Beasley…but I don’t seem to see him. Do you know anything about that?
I look up when she says Mr. Beasley’s name and I realize that the lady must be Maci…his wife. I listen closer…
Hostess: I’m sorry. He was here, but he left…he wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry he missed you, but you’re late and he has someplace else to be.
Maci: *annoyed* He left!? *big sigh* I should have known he’d pull something like that.
Hostess: Again, I’m sorry. Would you still like to be seated?
Maci: Uh…no. That’s okay. Can you tell me where the nearest bar is instead?
Mrs. Beasley leaves after the hostess tells her that there’s a bar right across the street. The waitress brings me my cone and I sit there realizing that Mr. Beasley is very much married, but he still made a pass at me. It just confirms to me that Mama Nadine is probably so much better off without him. None of it is my business so I concentrate on finishing my cone, then leave the ice cream shop and head home…feeling so much better about my future.
(Generation 1 Chapter Summaries)
