Mute | A New Beginning

Chapter 11

The relationship that continued to bloom over the next two weeks, was nothing short of magical for those who were witnessing it. Mrs Moore was doing her very best to allow the two as much time together as possible, planning as many meetups as their schedules would allow. The caretaker had been in this position often enough to know what was coming soon, and she couldn't be prouder of her little Arlo.

Naturally, Mrs Moore had been discussing the next leg of the journey with Scarlett, being completely transparent about the process and how best to approach such a large change in people's lives. Honestly, she couldn't be more excited to get the ball rolling.

One of the topics she had broached with the blonde woman was how well she thought the bond was forming. The caretaker was taking extra care to make sure that both sides felt as comfortable as possible, and so, before she asked someone to retrieve Arlo from her activities, she sat down with Scarlett in the meeting room at Little River, on one of their organised days last week.

Another thing Mrs Moore wanted to gauge, was how confident Scarlett was feeling. The woman, almost as if testing Scarlett, was drawing up hypothetical after hypothetical, listening to the woman's answers. However, Mrs Moore never wanted the blonde to feel as though she was failing or close to it, so she made sure to let her know that if she had any questions or queries, it was okay to not know or to ask for advice. This did wonders for Scarlett's confidence, which was already growing higher each minute she spent with the girl. Although she was self-assured, she also wasn't delusional, and she knew that some days would be harder than others, and sometimes she may not always have the right answer, or even any answer.

For Mrs Moore, that was one of the best responses that Scarlett could have given. It meant that she was aware of the sometimes challenging reality that is taking in a child that may present certain difficulties. However, the fact that her enthusiasm was unwavering, despite this awareness, showed Mrs Moore that she was more than willing to put in the effort for Arlo.

Only after that meeting was Mrs Moore comfortable with going ahead with their planned scheduled visit.

Now that the potentially pivotal yet somewhat boring part was over, the fun could finally be had when it came to making plans for the near future.

Today was an especially big day. Today was the day that Scarlett and Mrs Moore were planning on taking Arlo out to the store to pick out furniture and decorations for the room that would be hers at Scarlett's house if all goes to plan.

This was often one of the most stressful phases. It signified an almost permanent decision. There had been instances in which cold feet had transformed into a mass product return to the stores, where the items had been previously purchased. Although Mrs Moore, through years of practice, had mastered the balance between presenting the permanent, and reassuring minds that it was never too late to back out if at least one person didn't feel right about the situation.

However, it was important at Little River that the child be involved in as much as possible. Often in their lives, there isn't much that they are able to feel in control of, but this was something that gave them the power to dictate what they wanted their environment to look and feel like, considering they would be spending their time there rather than the orphanage.

An early call time gave them a head start on their jam-packed day and so, at 8 AM, Scarlett had arrived at Little River to collect her two companions for the day. She was beyond excited to take this next step and she sincerely hoped that this wouldn't stress or scare away little Arlo. Scarlett really had come to adore everything that embodied that child.

The duo was quick to make their way outside to the car once Scarlett had let Mrs Moore know that she had arrived. The caretaker had told Scarlett, before she left her home, to contact her once she was at Little River, not wanting to waste any valuable time, and it allowed the woman to keep the car running, instead of turning it off and on again within the space of 2 minutes.