Runaways (Orphans 5)

We all piled into his Jeep. Anita held Butterfly in her lap and the three of us squeezed in behind them. Tommy pulled away, bouncing over the dirt road. Still, Butterfly's eyes did not open. Anita rocked her and kissed her forehead. She stroked her hair and held her tightly. All of us looked at each other, each thinking the same thing. If Butterfly dies, it will be because we had decided to run away. It was our fault. Heads bowed, we prayed and held hands. The Jeep rocked as Tommy shifted down and made turns.

And then, miraculously to us, Butterfly moaned. Anita increased her consoling and kissing. She rocked her more and called to her and finally, Butterfly's eyelids fluttered. Color returned to her face.

"She's better, Tommy," Anita declared, laughing through her tears. "She's better."

"Good, great, but we still better take her to the hospital," he said.

By the time he pulled in, however, Butterfly was fully alert. She actually walked into the emergency room, holding Anita's hand. The three of us waited with Tommy in the lobby while Anita went into the examination room with Butterfly.

"That was the first time we failed to bring her out of it ourselves," Crystal reminded us. "It was Anita who did it."

Tommy's eyes widened and he nodded. Nearly an hour later, Anita came out to tell us Butterfly was doing fine.

"All her vital signs are good. The doctor feels it was caused by a psychological shock; which is not to say it isn't serious. She needs a great deal of care and nurturing," she said, telling Tommy more than us. He nodded. "She won't get it where she's going, Tommy "

He simply nodded.

Afterward, Tommy decided to take us to a small cafe nearby for breakfast. No one was really very hungry, however. We left more on our plates than we put in our stomachs. The ride back to the ranch was slower, quieter. When we got there, we organized ourselves, gathered what little we had, and waited for Tommy to take us to the sheriff's office.

"Anita gave me this dress," Raven said, showing us the beautiful deerskin garment. "She said it belongs to me because I wear it well. Tommy and Anita have been so nice to us. I'm glad you ran out of gas when you did, Brooke."

"Me too."

It was f

inally time to go. Anita decided to go along and sat with Butterfly in front again. The social worker from the child welfare agency was waiting for us at the sheriff's office. She was a pleasant lady of about forty with curly, dark brown hair. While we waited, she went into an office with Tommy and Anita and caught up on details. They were in there a long time, and I could see through the windows that the woman, Mrs. Wilson, was on the phone. She talked with Tommy and Anita some more and then Tommy came out by himself.

"It will be a little while longer," he said.

"Where are they taking us?" I asked quickly.

"That's not exactly been determined yet, but it looks like you'll return to New York. Don't worry-- you won't be going back to the Lakewood House." He paused. "Mrs. Wilson would like to speak with Janet."

Butterfly, who had her head bowed most of the time, looked up with surprise.

"Is that okay?" Tommy asked. Butterfly looked at Crystal and Crystal nodded. Then she nodded. Tommy reached for her hand and took her into the office. He returned and asked us if we would all like an ice cream soda. "We have an old-fashioned soda fountain here," he said. "Come on."

We went out with him and down to a drugstore that had a fountain with booths in the rear.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Crystal. She shrugged.

"What's new about being caught up in bureaucratic delays, Brooke?" she said.

Tommy got us sodas and we sat in a red booth with chrome buttons.

"Every time I come here, I think I traveled back in a time machine," he said.

"It's nice," Raven admitted, gazing around and sipping her soda.

"You girls have been through a lot together. Years, huh?"

"Yes. There were times we thought, we hoped, we would be separated to go to nice homes, but as time went by, we realized it was getting less and less likely," Crystal said. She then told Tommy about the most recent chance Butterfly had had to be adopted and how Louise had sabotaged it.

He shook his head.

"It's very sad when people are cruel to children. I have something to ask you girls," he continued. "I know from the short time I've been with you that Butterfly would never do anything without your approval. We asked Mrs. Wilson if we could take her in with us, be her foster parents and eventually adopt her."

"You did?" Raven asked.