Tantrum

Ch. 6 A Little

*** Spencer's POV ***

What a weird night. It ended up okay on most accounts, but I can't stop thinking about poor Gwen being blindsided by that news. The shock that these kids came to her not only with psychological baggage, but physical scars from their former life. It's not uncommon in foster care kids, but this wasn't that situation. They were kids she knew. Her best friend's kids. She had to deal with the betrayal that a woman whom she defended all this time kept her kids' abuse hidden.

I did my evaluation of the home environment and didn't find much. All readily fixable. If Gwen was struggling with her alcohol use, she was at least smart enough to clear it out. I'm hoping that I just caught her on a few bad days, but that will be an ongoing part of my assessment.

We got a late start because of the state she was in when I arrived. Mason started hinting about being hungry so Gwen excused herself to start dinner while I took time talking with the boys. I decided to chat with them separately because of their age difference and the root of their concerns.

Mason squirmed in the chair opposite mine. I could tell he was nervous by the beads of sweat on his forehead. He kept glancing into the kitchen like he expected Gwen to disappear if he left her out of his sight for too long.

"Mason, I want to talk to you about my job and what I'm going to be doing for the next few weeks. Is that okay?" I ask.

He nods, but still stares past me. I need to get through to him so I make a suggestion. "Do you have any Lego that we can build together while we talk?"

His head pivots so quickly that I am afraid that he might have given himself whiplash. His face registers his excitement. "You like Lego?"

"I do." I admit truthfully. I'm that adult who started building again after a long hiatus from one of my favorite childhood hobbies.

"Stay there." He commands and runs out of the room.

Gwen pokes her head into the dining room. "You just earned yourself a play buddy for life."

"It'll help get him out of his head a bit. Hell, I'm an adult and it helps me do that too." She smiles and returns to the kitchen. I haven't seen her smile much and I like the way her face wears it.

"Okay, here." Mason presents me with a half-built technic set and a box of parts. He glances in the direction of the living room. "I got this for Christmas and Tim was supposed to help me, but he hasn't."

"How can I help?" I ask. For the next twenty minutes, Mason hands me parts and tells me where they go. He knows what he is doing just fine, but seems to enjoy my company as he elaborates on the build and other Lego sets he has. I listen, knowing I need to shift the conversation but not having the heart because he seems so content.

Interestingly he is the one who brings it up. "Aunt Gwen says you aren't going to make us leave. Is that true?"

I look to him, but his focus is honed in on the pieces in front of him. "Do you want to leave?"

That gets his attention. "No!" He shyly looks down at his pieces. "Is it bad to admit that I like living with Aunt Gwen better than my mom and dad?"

"Not at all. What do you like the most?" I ask.

He smiles. "Her mac and cheese. It's not the boxed stuff. It has real cheese and broccoli and ham in it."

I chuckle. That actually sounds amazing. "Anything other than food?"