Among The Wildflowers

𝕆𝕟𝕖: Packing Up

Marcus could hear the screaming from the sidewalk as he approached the small yellow house. The siding had somehow become more grimy than the last time he had been here. The weeds growing alongside the path leading to the front door had now decided to take over the rest of the yard.

Avoiding the various toys strewn across the front porch, he made his way to the door. Once he knocked the children inside became quiet. Marcus could hear them being ordered upstairs.

The door swung open and a stout woman of middle age appeared before him, the sad smile she wore didn't match the pleasure in her eyes.

"Mr. Beckett, oh thank God that you're here!" the woman said wearily, opening the door wider and waving him inside.

Stepping into the house, Marcus was immediately overwhelmed by a sweet smell emitting from the kitchen.

"Mr. Beckett, please make yourself at home in the living room. I have some cookies that need to come out of the oven."

Marcus watched the woman saunter into the kitchen, swinging her hips a bit more than he thought necessary. He took a seat on the couch and glanced around the room. He could tell that it had been cleaned up in a hurry. Toys were thrown into a basket in the corner that was overflowing onto the floor. Trash had been tossed into the fireplace or stuffed in between couch cushions. A few odd pieces of clothing we're sticking out of a desk drawer.

His attention was then drawn back to his hostess as she made her way into the room, a plate of fresh cookies in her hand.

"I hope you like chocolate chip cookies, Mr. Beckett," she said with a wink.

"I do, Mrs. Daniels, thank you."

"No problem," she plopped down beside him, perhaps unaware of the two empty chairs across from them, "and please, call me Evelyn."

Marcus cleared his throat, he was already more uncomfortable than he had been last time. He had hoped that this woman had found a man other than him to flirt with, but it was now evident that she hadn't.

"Okay, Evelyn," he hated the way her eyes sparkled when he said it, "let's get down to business."

She smiled, "There's nothing I'd like to do more."

Marcus couldn't help the frown that appeared on his face,"Wonderful. Now I know we spoke a little about this over the phone, but why don't you remind me why this situation isn't working out."

A loud sigh left Evelyn's mouth as she put on a sorrowful expression, "Well, this wasn't an easy decision, Mr. Beckett. In fact, my husband and I, we didn't even want to call you and tell you about all this. But, we felt like we had no other choice. That child is troubled and, well, she's difficult."

When she stopped speaking, Marcus gestured for her to continue.

Evelyn let out another sigh, "She gets into trouble. Often. We've had multiple calls from the school saying that she's cussing at her teachers or starting fights with other students. We've tried to handle it ourselves, but she refuses to obey and we've really done all we can."

Marcus nodded to himself, he'd heard this before from other families who Isabella had been placed with. In some cases, he'd even been called to a school she'd been attending so he could pick her up because of the problems she'd caused.

"I see," was all he said.

Evelyn placed a hand on his shoulder,"I'll go get her."

She stood, walked to the bottom of the stairs and yelled out, "Isabella Nicole Riley, Mr. Beckett's here for you!"

Isabella appeared at the top of the stairs and slowly made her way down. Once she was at the bottom, a firm hand wrapped around her upper arm.

"You listen to me, girly," Evelyn whispered harshly, "if I hear one negative word from you about you're time here we're gonna have a repeat of yesterday."

Isabella's eyes went wide with understanding, she felt the grip on her arm tighten as she tried not to cry out.

"You remember what happened yesterday, don't you?"

The girl gave a small nod, tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them back.

"We don't want that to happen again, do we?" Evelyn asked, her voice hard.

"No," was the whispered response.

"Good, now get in there," Evelyn gave the small girl a shove towards the living room.

Everytime Marcus came to pick her up from another home, Isabella couldn't hide her grateful smile, and this time was no different.

Marcus gave her a stern look and gestured for her to sit down in the seat across from him.

Once the situation was discussed, the paperwork signed, and all Isabella's things packed up, she and Marcus stood to leave.

"Mrs. Daniels, it's been a pleasure. I'm sorry that we couldn't meet again under better circumstances."

Evelyn walked them to the door, giving Marcus that same sad smile, "So am I, Mr. Beckett. Maybe we could meet for lunch sometime?"

Isabella rolled her eyes as Marcus replied, "Well, I'd have to check my schedule."

"I haven't said a day yet," Evelyn said with a frown.

"I'm a very busy man, Mrs. Daniels. In fact, I have an appointment I must be at in ten minutes. It's been lovely. Goodbye."

With that, Marcus grabbed Isabella's hand and they walked briskly to the car parked next to the sidewalk.

He popped the truck and gently placed the girls suitcase inside.

"You know everything she just told you is bullshit, right?"

Marcus shook his head at the young girls language.

"Get in the car, Nic."

"Oh, so you don't know it's bullshit."

Marcus pointed a finger at her, "I don't want to hear another foul word come out of your mouth, young lady. You've caused enough trouble already."

The little girl crossed her arms defiantly,"Fine, let me put it this way. She was straight up lying to you, Marcus."

The man let out a sigh as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. When he finally opened them, he saw that she had done as he asked and was now in the backseat of the car.

He shook his head as he realized that this would probably be the longest drive he'd ever make in his life. But he also knew it would be worth it if it meant that Isabella Nicole Riley would finally find her forever.