Fostered

Chapter Sixteen

 "I'll be honest, looking for you was quite the challenge." Officer Heflin says as he picks up his burger.

"Oh? How come? I thought you guys have all the little delinquents like me on file." I remark, eating a fry.

He shakes his head, "Believe it or not, your slate is a hell of a lot cleaner than most."

"Shocking," I add, adding more salt onto my fries.

"After I moved out here and started working with the New York department, I wondered if this was where you ended up. I did some digging, called up a few old colleagues, and then you finally turned up. I couldn't believe it." He tells me, "I contacted Hallie and she couldn't even keep herself together when I reminded her who I was."

I smirk, "Hallie's always emotional, though... What made you move out to New York?"

"My daughter passed away in a car accident a few years ago. After I finally made peace with it—Or, at least, as much peace as I could—I decided to move my wife and I out to New York. At first she thought I meant the city... She didn't like that. But once she saw the area, she fell in love. We've been here ever since." Officer Heflin explains.

"I'm sorry about your daughter... That's terrible..." I frown, looking down at my remaining french fries.

"I just tell myself that everything happens for a reason." He says as he finishes his hamburger, "Just like when I found you."

"Ah, shucks." I chuckle as I finish my lunch.

"So..." He wipes off his hands with a napkin, "How do you feel? About me adopting you?"

"I don't know. Nobody has ever wanted to adopt me. I didn't think it would ever happen." I admit.

"Sorry it took me so long. Like I said, it was quite the challenge to find you." He says, shrugging his shoulders.

"At least you got around to it in the nick of time," I laugh, "My birthday's in a few months."

"Then you'll be aged out, right?"

"Yes sir. Then I'd be kicked out to fend for myself," I inform him.

He nods, "Well, we'll keep you around until you're good and ready to go. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." I say, actually noticing that I'm kind of excited to have some place to call home.

"I'm glad." He tells me cheerfully, "You know, it's good to see you this way."

"What do you mean?" I ask before taking a sip of my lemonade.

"You have a good head on your shoulders and you know who you are... You took care of yourself. I think you turned out great." Officer Heflin says with a proud smile on his face.

I roll my eyes at the sappiness and try to look away to shield the dull blush on my cheeks, "Ah, come on."

"Most kids wouldn't turn out so well. You've seen it, I'm sure. But you... You're resilient. That's something to be proud of."

"You're not going to be a cheese all the time, right?" I joke, causing him to laugh.

He shakes his head, "No, no. If you think this is bad, just wait till you meet my wife. By the way, she's absolutely thrilled to meet you. Sorry she couldn't be with us today. She has a big meeting for her company."

"What does she do?"

"She's the vice-president of a fashion company. She does a lot of traveling. If that's something you're interested in, I'm sure she'd love to bring you along on some of her trips." Officer Heflin tells me just as the waitress arrives to drop off the check.

"That's pretty cool. I wish Hallie's job made her travel... Well, I mean... Further than a couple hours outside the home." I say.

He smiles, "It can be quite the hassle sometimes. I bet if you talked to her about it, she'd be glad to have a travel buddy. I don't usually tend to go with her. These old bones are always holding down the fort."

"Old bones? You could still wrestle a bear and win." I argue with a laugh.

"I don't know. I've wrestled lots of grizzlies in my day. I'm not sure I have it in me anymore." He banters.

"So, are you retired then?" I twirl the straw around the rim of my glass.

Officer Heflin nods slowly, "Mhm. I retired a year and a half ago after a little accident. Left my knee all messed up, so I couldn't do things the way I used to. Ended up having to get a couple of surgeries and by then, I didn't have it in me anymore."

"That sucks," I frown, "I'm sorry. Do you ever miss it?"

"All the time... But, I took up a new hobby that keeps me occupied."

"What's that?"

"You're looking at an amateur blacksmith." He declares as he slides the bill to the edge of the table with his credit card inside.

I lift my brows, "Really? You can make, like, swords and shit?"

He bellows with laughter, "I haven't made a sword yet. I can make knives. Maybe you and I can try a sword, though."

"For real?" I perk up.

"Why not? I have plenty of time on my hands. My only condition is that you have to pick the type of sword."

"This is going to be so badass." I say excitedly.

"I'm glad you think so. My nieces poked fun at me for wanting to be a renaissance man." He tells me.

"Pssh," I fold my arms, "No good taste."

We leave the restaurant and walk out to his narc car. I get into the passenger's seat a lot more willing to than the first time. On the drive back to the home, he tells me what his house looks like and how he hopes that I'll like it. He even promises that I can decorate my room however I want. I can even repaint it if I want to. I'm so excited about everything that's to come. It's a weird, foreign feeling. But that doesn't mean that it's bad. I'm going to work on letting myself feel things like that more. Like how I learned to let myself feel for Calla. I'm going to work on getting better.

When we pull up to the curb outside of the house, I'm almost reluctant to go. It'll be a few weeks before I'm able to move all of my things into the new house. It'll also be a while and a few court documents until I'm able to have parents of my own. I know that the wait will be worth it. I'm not really sure where all of this positive energy is coming from, but I don't think I ever want it to stop. I can't wait to dump all of this on Calla once I get inside. Before I open up my door and get out of the car, I turn to Officer Heflin.

"I appreciate you taking me to lunch. It was really great," I smile.

He waves his hand like it was nothing, "Of course, kid. No problem."

"And, ah... Thank you."

"Like I said, no problem." He assures me with a chuckle.

"Not that." I shake my head, "I mean for saving my life a second time."