A couple of days after the funeral, Phoebe drove me to Mrs. Parker’s house. That was the longest car trip of my life. I was headed to yet another unknown home. I felt like a bag of hand-me-downs being tossed from one home to the next. I saw a sign that read: “Welcome to Peoria” and I knew we were there. Phoebe pulled into the driveway of a large two-story home with a two-car garage. The neighboring houses all had the same look. They were brick with manicured topiaries, and I couldn’t help but wonder what a foster home would be doing in the middle of this neighborhood.
I was expecting an ugly gray house. That seemed more fitting. I hesitated for a while before I unbuckled my seat belt and stepped out of the car. I walked over to the trunk and waited for Phoebe to open it. Phoebe owned an old wooden-paneled station wagon—the ones that used to be popular in the late seventies or early eighties. I was pretty sure she got the car when it first came out. I was impatiently tapping my foot as I waited for her. She was a heavy-set white-haired woman and it took her an hour to walk from the driver’s seat to her trunk.
“Hey, you Blake?” a male voice asked behind me.
I tilted my head to one side and instantly got a crick in my neck. I cringed and began to massage it as I looked at the guy standing in front of me. He was probably about my age—thirteen—but much taller than me. He had dirty-blond hair and a lanky, long body. I craned my neck as best as I could to look into his hazel eyes. He reminded me of one of the kids that was in my class last year.
“Yeah, and you are?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk today. I just wanted to get in the house and lock myself in my new room.
“Aubry,” he said, extending his hand to me, so I could shake it. I looked at his long thin fingers for a beat before I slid my hand in his and shook once.
“You live here, too?” Screw it. Might as well be polite to the kid.
“Yeah, it’ll be three of us now,” he shrugged. He had really big shoulders, but they were hollow looking. It looked like Mrs. Parker didn’t feed the boy enough.
“Do you eat?” I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together and pursing my lips.
Aubry laughed, and when he did, the creases around his mouth showed. He looked like he laughed a lot. He was cute. He seemed genuine. I liked him. I’d become an expert at reading people. Well, at least I thought I had.
“I eat a lot. Momma says if it weren’t for my metabolism and swimming, I’d be a cow.”
I nodded my head and forced a polite smile.
“Mrs. Parker is your mom?” I asked confused. Phoebe told me that Mrs. Parker fostered kids, but I didn’t expect them to be that close to her.
“Yeah,” he replied, looking at me like I was an idiot.
“Cool,” I replied with a shrug.
Phoebe finally made it to the trunk and put her key in. As she greeted Aubry, I got my suitcases out and started lugging them toward the front door when Aubry stopped me and picked two up for me. Before we made it all the way to the door, another boy stepped outside, he was dark; his skin looked like smooth chocolate. He was tall—the same height as Aubry—but his build was muscular. He had big almond-shaped brown eyes, and his black hair was low on his head. He smiled brightly at me, and I was almost blinded by his perfect white teeth.
“Hey,” he said as he eyed me up and down and made his way outside. I replied by nodding. “I’m Greg.” He stood in front of me and grabbed the suitcase out of my hand.
“Thanks. Blake. Nice to meet you,” I replied. He waved off my thanks as no big deal and turned back to the house.
“So he’s the other guy?” I whispered to Aubry who was now walking next to me.
“Nah, he lives a couple of houses down,” Aubry stated. “He goes out with my cousin Becky, and she’s always here, so he’s always here. Cool dude.”
We headed inside and a round fair-skinned woman with short brown curly hair up to her shoulders walked toward us with a huge smile on her face. I let out a breath when her kind brown eyes found mine.
“Oh, aren’t you the prettiest little thing?” she cooed before wrapping her arms around me. “I’m sorry for your loss, honey. God has a plan for all of us. I’ll make sure you’re happy here.” She whispered the last part so that only I could hear. I wondered which loss she was sorry for. I wondered if she even knew about my many losses. I nodded against her shoulder but didn’t reply.