Here For Each Other

3. Visiting the Group Home

The moment Jane said yes to fostering Ashley, things immediately went into motion. Rachel said that she would bring Ashley to the house within a day or two, leaving Jane some time to prepare. Jane spent all of Sunday stocking up on food, tidying up the house, and preparing the spare bed room which would now finally be occupied. The room had been set up with gender neutral colors, as Jane hadn't known previously who her placement would be. She figured once Ashley had arrived and settled, they can decorate the room together to her liking.

Sunday came one went without any phone calls, but as Jane was driving home from work that Monday, Rachel called with some news about the current situation. Apparently Ashley had not taken the news that she would be moving well at all, and was refusing to cooperate. It was decided that it would probably help for Jane to go to the group home first so Ashley can meet her before she is sent off, to hopefully calm the nerves a little. Jane admired the immense care Rachel was treating the situation with, but she wondered if it was a bit extreme. She was starting to realize that fostering Ashley was going to be harder than she thought, not that she ever expected it to be easy.

But Jane was committed, and knew she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she backed out now. And so the plan was for Jane to drop by the group home later that evening to meet Ashley, and if all went well, she would be able to take her home immediately.

And so a few hours later, Jane was right outside the group home. With just a bit of hesitation, she rung the doorbell, to which the door was quickly opened. She was surprised when she saw not an adult, but a small girl, no over the age of 12, smiling back at her through the doorframe. The girl had long black hair that flowed well past her shoulders, and seemed full of life. Could this be Ashley? No, it couldn't be. Ashley was described as very timid and shy.

"Hi!" The young girl chirped.

"Hi there!" Jane waved back. "Is there a Rachel here? I'm here to talk to her."

"Yeah!" The girl exclaimed. "She's right over th-"

"Hey hey! Away from the door!" Came a voice from down the hall.

The girl jumped away as an older woman came into view.

"Sorry." The kid quickly apologized. "I just wanted to see who was at the door."

"It's okay dear.", The older woman responded. "But you know that it's not safe for you to answer the door alone. Why don't you get back back to dinner?"

"Okay!" The young girl exclaimed and ran out of the room.

The older woman then turned back to Jane, who had been awkwardly watching this whole time.

"I'm terribly sorry about her, some of the kids here act without thinking", the woman laughed. "How may I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Jane-"

"Oh, it's you!", the woman exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I've been so busy that it slipped my mind. I'm Rachel, we've talked over the phone." She put her hand out to shake, to which Jane happily accepted.

"Pleasure to meet you in person finally.", Jane replied. "And it's no problem, I can only imagine what it's like caring for so many kids at once!"

"Well, you about to get a little taste of that, aren't you?", Rachel chuckled.

"Assuming things go well tonight, I guess so!", Jane responded, feeling a bit nervous.

"Well come on in, I'll show you to Ashley's room!", Rachel said as she ushered Jane inside before closing the door.

~~~~~~

"First placement I assume?", Rachel questioned as they went up the stairs.

"Hm..? Oh- yeah, this would be the first.", Jane responded, being caught off guard with the question.

"I can tell.", Rachel said back. "Your actions show it. You're excited that it's finally happening, yet you're nervous of what's to come".

"My thoughts exactly", responded Jane, surprised how spot on the statement was. "I just hate the anxiety of it all, and I get the feeling that Ashley won't be the easiest placement."

"No placement will EVER be easy." Rachel stated matter of factly. "That being said though, don't stress it too much. Each placement comes with its own ups and downs, and the harder you work, the more rewarding it feels at the end.", she reassured. "And look, if things turn out bad, you can always give us a call, and we'll find a new place for her. She just can't stay here though. All of the commotion here isn't doing her any favors, and she just needs a home that she can thrive in."

"Thank you." Jane said, letting the information sink in. "I really don't think it will turn to that though."

As they rounded a corner, Rachel brought a finger up to her lips. "Ashley's room is at the end of this hall, so let's try to be quiet as to not startle her too much.", Rachel said in a hushed tone, to which Jane nodded.

Approaching the door, they found the same young girl who was at the front door earlier, holding a plate of food.

"V, what are you doing up here? I told you to go eat with the others.", Rachel gently scolded the black haired girl.

"But I finished already!", the girl argued. "And I noticed that Ashley's plate was still there so I wanted to bring it up to her."

Jane listened in awe. What a sweet, young girl, trying to make sure no one is left out.

"Well thank you honey, I appreciate it. But you know that we normally leave her plate on the counter if she wishes to grab it when everyone is gone." Rachel said back to the girl. "Besides, it doesn't look like Ashley will be eating here anymore".

"Why not..?", the young girl trailed off. She looked at Rachel and then to the woman behind her who she had just met at the door 5 minutes ago, and suddenly with the realization, there was a look of fear and sadness in her eyes. "Wait, she's leaving today?!".

"We talked about this, remember? Ashley isn't doing the best here, so we're giving her a chance someplace else." Rachel soothed the girl as she sadly nodded. "I know you want to talk to her, but it won't ever happen in the state she's in currently. However, once she settles into her new home and opens up a little, maybe we can set something up with Jane here to have you two meet again.", Rachel said, gesturing to Jane behind her, who smiled and nodded.

The girls eyes lit up at that statement, but only responded with a quiet "Okay".

Jane felt bad for her. The girl really seemed to be trying to befriend Ashley, but to no avail. If she could, she would ask to foster her as well, to not crush her dream, and to give Ashley a friend. But she knew that caring for Ashley would put a lot on her plate as it was. Though, she knew she would happily set up a play date between the two if it ever came to it.

"Now why don't you go back downstairs? I believe today is your day to help clean up.", Rachel reminded the girl.

"Oh yeah, it is!", the girl exclaimed, trying to push the bad thoughts out of her head. She started to run off with the plate still in her hands, but stopped mid step in front of Jane.

"Good luck!", she said to Jane, trying to sound as sincere and happy as possible.

"Aww, thank you!", Jane exclaimed in awe.

Rachel smiled as the girl disappeared down the hallway. "That girl is always helping around here."

"That's sweet of her."

"Okay, let's do this", Rachel whispered, gesturing to the still closed door.

Jane gulped as Rachel knocked softly on the door, but as expected, there was no response. After a few seconds of silence, she then tried the doorknob, finding it locked.

"Just as I feared. She always has this locked". Rachel then reached into her pocket. "Fortunately for us though, I have a key."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?", Jane asked. "I don't want to startle her."

"Well, no matter what we do, she's gonna be scared to some extent, so the least we can do is be as gentle as possible", Rachel explained.

Jane nodded as Rachel tried knocking one more time just incase. But the silence made it clear that Ashley was not going to open the door, and so Rachel inserted the key into the doorknob, and opened the door to where Jane would meet the young girl who would change her life forever...

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