offsetting minors | s. crosby

Learn to Walk

Two weeks later, I'd crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's I needed to so that I could be instated as a temporary guardian for Justin while CPS determined whether his current foster parents were fit to be his guardians. From what I could tell, and from what Justin's case worker Linda had told me, the interviews and home inspection hadn't gone too well and it was looking pretty evident that Justin would no longer have to be in their care.

When I'd brought the idea up to Justin of him coming to live with me, he seemed thrilled about leaving the foster house and I realized that maybe I'd underestimated how bad things had been for him there. My own childhood had been marred by the fear and anxiety I experienced after I left my parents, and that was the last thing I'd ever want for Justin.

After, we'd worked hard with the social worker to put him in my care. It hadn't been easy to convince the group of men assigned to Justin's case that as a single young woman with an incredibly busy career that I would be the best choice for a guardian, but I think Justin's dimples and maybe a small alligator tear he let out in the court room may have been the catalyst they needed to grant me custody. Everything was on a temporary basis- the social worker would pop in every so often to see how Justin was adjusting to his new living situation- but if things went well, we'd be able to sign permanent adoption papers.

Kayla thought I'd gone crazy when I first told her that I was thinking of bringing home a kid, but she was quick to fall in love with Justin as soon as I'd brought her to the hospital to meet him. I'd toyed with the idea of moving into a larger place, but since Kayla and I had just signed the lease on our apartment, it seemed easier to convert the extra office space in our apartment- which neither of us had ever stepped foot into- into a small makeshift bedroom for Justin. It's not huge but it's got a huge bay window in the back corner and it had been sitting empty since Kayla and I hadn't been able to make up out minds as to how to furnish the room. 

And that's where Justin and I are currently sitting on the cherry wood floor at 6AM, trying to make sense of the IKEA bookshelf instruction manual that's been the source of most of our confusion for the past few hours.

After hearing another groan of discontent, Kayla pops her head into the room, her hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head and her body sweaty from where she'd been practicing yoga on the living room floor. She'd tried to rope Justin into trying some of the easier poses with her, but I think the both of them gave up on that pretty quickly after he couldn't even get the hang of the downward dog.

"Are you ready to call Sidney for help yet?"

I send her a halfhearted glare. "I went to medical school. This is just like surgery, except with more parts and instructions that aren't in English. I can do this by myself, thank you very much."

"Is that why you've been staring at all of those screws for the past hour?"

I hold up one of the ambiguous pieces that I've been glaring at along with the manual. "Does this look like D or F to you?"

"I think it's E," Justin pipes in.

Kayla laughs and rolls her eyes before leaving the doorway, presumably to hop in the shower. "Call your boyfriend!" She yells as she heads down the hallway.

"He's not my-" Justin cuts me off with an all-too-knowing look that makes me roll my own eyes. "Why do you look so smug, kid?"

He dodges my question by simply handing me my cell phone and I look at him, offended.

"What, you think I can't do this either? I live with the least supportive people on the planet."

He laughs at me and I realize with a defeated sigh that they're both probably right and my lack of household skills is becoming painfully obvious. I begrudgingly find Sidney's contact number in my phone and call him.