Damaged (27 page)

“Thank you.”

Lou returned his attention to Mary. “So Anthony doesn't want the kid. I coulda told you that. You're gonna go ahead anyway? Is that any way to start marriage? Answer, no. I'm a marriage expert, too. I'm divorced twice.”

“Before you side with Anthony, you should know that he wants me to move to California.”

“No!” Lou's hooded eyes flared wide open. “You're not going anywhere. You're not allowed. Screw him!”

Mary smiled. “Lou, I forgot to mention, about the brown Subaru, please stay away from Grove Street. After what happened with Robertson, we have to give him a wide berth.”

“I know, and I'll keep digging.”

Just then John appeared in the threshold with an attractive woman, presumably Abby Ortega, the Child Advocate with whom they were supposed to meet. John said, “Good morning, Mary. This is Abby.”

“Hi, John.” Mary rose. “Abby, thanks for helping us.”

“Hi, Mary. Nice to meet you.” Abby smiled back warmly, and Mary liked her instantly. Abby had a big, friendly smile and a sweet, round face framed by glossy black hair cut in feathery layers. She had dark eyes, almond-shaped, with a tiny nose and a small mouth, and she was wearing a blue shirtdress hoisted up on one side by a heavy leather purse, messenger bag, and a cloth tote bag that rested on her shoulder.

“Good morning, everyone.” John nodded at Judy and Lou, acknowledging them. He had on a blue-and-white checked shirt, jeans, and Gucci loafers.

Lou's mouth was too full to respond, so he nodded.

“Hi, guys.” Judy smiled up at John. “Thanks for helping Mary. It's really nice of you.”

“I'm happy to.” John turned to Mary. “Good to go?”

“Sure,” Mary answered, noticing a newly worrisome crease on John's forehead.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Mary settled into a chair next to Abby, and John took a seat at his desk, behind his laptop.

“So Abby,” Mary began, “did you get to see Patrick?”

“Yes, he's a good kid, and it's so great that you're taking him.” Abby's smile evaporated. “But I have bad news. The truth is, he's not doing well. DHS intends to move him into residential care for hard-to-place kids, if you don't win at the hearing.”

“Why?” Mary asked, shocked. “What happened?”

John glanced over the top of his laptop, where he'd begun to tap out meeting notes, and Mary realized he already knew the bad news.

Abby continued, “Mary, I know you're not that familiar with the foster care system, so let me begin by putting Patrick's case in context. He comes from a very loving home where he was valued and taken good care of. That makes him highly unusual. The overwhelming majority of foster children enter the system from very challenging circumstances, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, of parents or single parents with drug and alcohol problems, things like that.”

“Yes, but remember, Patrick was assaulted at school.”

“I know, I don't mean to minimize that. But even as horrible as that was, the cases I see are worse. Of course, you understand that foster kids aren't ‘bad kids.'” Abby made air quotes. “But children in foster care may have anger issues, poor impulse control, acting out, even violence.”

John looked over. “Abby, you do know that Patrick brandished a gun at Mary and Olivia Solo, the caseworker from DHS.”

Mary recoiled. “He didn't
brandish
it.”

“I'm playing devil's advocate, Mary. You should want to hear what Abby says. You're taking Patrick into your home.”

“I'm not worried,” Mary said gently.

“Guys.” Abby signaled for a referee's time-out. “You told me about the gun and the fact is, they didn't place Patrick in the foster home they were going to, because of it. They were concerned about the safety of the other foster children.”

“So where is he?” Mary asked, surprised.

“Einstein Crisis Response Center. That's where DHS takes a child if they're concerned about his mental or emotional health, even physical health.”

“The poor kid.” Mary felt for him. “That was an overreaction.”

“I agree, but DHS is taking no chances since the Kelly case. You probably read about the Kelly case, a fourteen-year-old with cerebral palsy who died of malnutrition in the home of a neglectful mother. Nine people, including a DHS caseworker, went to prison after that, and DHS reformed to make child safety paramount.”

Mary remembered the Kelly case, which was all over the newspapers.

“DHS is in transition as we speak, and their reforms have resulted in more children being taken out of their homes, which burdens the foster care system. DHS is a fifteen-hundred-person agency that serves twelve thousand children. There are about six thousand children in Philly who live in foster care, group homes, or kinship care, which is what you want to do, Mary.” Abby nodded in her direction. “Compare it with Montgomery and Delaware Counties in the suburbs. Montgomery County has only 277 kids in foster placement and Delaware County has 435.”

“So why didn't DHS let me take Patrick, then?”

“They have to follow procedures.” Abby frowned. “Anyway, I talked to Patrick about the gun at great length, and I'm not worried about his dangerousness. He doesn't even think it was loaded and he's sorry. It's his grandfather's gun from Vietnam.”

“That's what I thought,” Mary said, relieved. “So what happened this weekend?”

“He got into a fight with an older boy at the Crisis Center. Apparently Patrick had a wallet with him?”

“Yes, it's his grandfather's wallet and watch.”

“The older boy took the wallet and scattered the pictures. There was a tussle, with Patrick trying to get the wallet back, then it turned into an altercation.” Abby shook her head, the corners of her mouth turning unhappily down.

“Why did they allow this?” Mary could imagine how upset Patrick must've been. The wallet was all he had left of Edward.

“It happened before they could stop it. I went over at five o'clock, but they had already called DHS. Also Patrick started throwing up almost as soon as he got there. At first they thought he might have the flu, then they realized it was emotional.”

“I could've taken him home with me this weekend. I could've saved him from all of this.” Mary realized that she wasn't thinking about Anthony anymore. “He just lost his grandfather. Do they not understand that? Were they told that?”

“They knew and I reminded them. By the time I got there, they had reestablished order and taken the wallet and watch for safekeeping. But there is a silver lining.” Abby smiled, bouncing back. “I interviewed Patrick and we had a very good conversation. He says hi.”

“Awww.” Mary swallowed hard. “Can I see him?”

“I think it would be better to wait, given the hearing. He really likes you. He understands that you're going to try to get him. He hopes that he can come and live with you. He wants to go to the new school, whatever you're setting up for him. He trusts you.”

“That's wonderful.” Mary felt a guilty twinge, torn in a way she hadn't been before.

“It is.” Abby's smile broadened. “I'll testify that he wants to live with you and that he should. I do not believe he is dangerous in any way. I feel very confident about our chances in the shelter care hearing.”

“Thanks, Abby.” John looked up from his laptop. “Okay, ladies, moving right along, it's time to call Susan Bernardi, the child psychiatrist. I'll get her on FaceTime. Hang on.”

“Thanks,” Mary said, as John hit a few buttons on the laptop and she pulled her chair closer, to see better. Abby slid a legal pad and pen from her messenger bag and put it on her lap.

“Hi, Susan,” John said, to the speaker on the laptop. “Susan, meet Mary, and you know Abby.”

John turned the laptop around so they could see Dr. Susan Bernardi on the screen, and Mary thought she was a striking older woman, with a chic wedge of sterling-silver hair. Her dangling silver earrings emphasized a long face with high, elegant cheekbones and hooded gray-green eyes. She sat draped in a pinkish-gray pashmina in front of a bookshelf full of professional journals.

“Hi, all.” Susan smiled, the movement blurring her image for a moment. “I'm running late, so I'll jump right in. I interviewed Patrick last evening. I learned enough to identify his issues and testify at the shelter care hearing. Time and circumstances didn't permit me to talk to all of the people involved or have a psychologist do testing that I would typically include in a comprehensive risk evaluation.”

“We understand.” John started taking notes on a legal pad. “Fill us in.”

“Patrick struggles with anxiety and depression, understandable after having lost his grandfather. It's clear that he had a close relationship with his grandfather. To suddenly lose that anchor in his life presents a major challenge for him, considering his age.” Susan took a sip from a flowered mug of coffee. “Also he lacks a support structure of siblings, extended family, or friends. He feels scared and vulnerable because he's alone, also understandable.”

Mary nodded, knowing it was true.

“He worries about what's going to happen to him and where he's going to live, also normal in the circumstances. He wants to live with Mary, he's clear on that.” Susan smiled at Mary. “He likes you. He especially liked the way you yelled at Olivia.”

Mary smiled, but didn't interrupt.

“He's worried about losing the artwork that was in his bedroom at home. He has some special red pens that he doesn't want to lose. He kept talking about some photographs of his grandfather. He's worried he's not going to get them back. Mary, do you know where they are?”

“I have them,” Mary answered. “I packed them with his clothes. I have his artwork too.”

John interjected, “Susan, did you get a chance to look at the artwork I scanned for you? The one where the kid is stabbing somebody?”

Susan nodded. “Yes, I did, and you also told me Mary's explanation, and I asked him about the drawings and he explained that they were his superheroes, among them, his grandfather. I don't believe that the drawings demonstrate that he is a violent child. That's just not my take on him.”

John made a note. “What about the gun that he pulled on the DHS caseworker and Mary?”

Susan nodded. “We talked about the gun a great deal as part of my safety evaluation. He did not know how to use it, he thought it was unloaded, and he did not know where the bullets were. He was not allowed to touch the gun, it was expressly forbidden by his grandfather. Patrick is very worried that he's going to get in trouble for even touching it. The gun was his grandfather's from the war, a souvenir.”

Mary nodded, relieved, as Susan continued.

“One has to employ a more nuanced analysis, in my view. I have to look at questions like, why did he grab the gun? What was he afraid of or whom was he protecting? Did he not want to be taken out of the house? Did he view himself as the ‘man of the house' and feel that he had to protect it? When I consider all of the circumstances, I don't see him as a dangerous child. He's a victim, not a perpetrator or aggressor. That will be my testimony at the hearing.” Susan consulted her notes. “Apart from his grieving process, he has Generalized Anxiety Disorder. He worries about being bullied, making mistakes, and the like. He's fearful, he's nervous, and he's in a depressed mood. In addition, there was a fight yesterday at Einstein between Patrick and another foster child, who took his grandfather's wallet and watch.”

John interjected, “Abby told us.”

Abby nodded, looking up from her note-taking.

Mary said, “I would be interested to hear Susan's view, too.”

Susan nodded. “Obviously, seeing his grandfather's personal effects mishandled and strewn around was very upsetting to him. Patrick didn't aggress on the boy, but wanted the wallet back. He withdrew after the altercation with the other foster child. He's shut down and probably has been for some time. Children who have experienced trauma get triggered by being in situations where they do not feel safe. They will only drive him deeper into his shell.”

Mary had felt the same way about Patrick.

“Patrick is an intelligent and sensitive child and he feels every bump along the road. He would absolutely not benefit from being placed in residential care with hard-to-place kids. It's too rough-and-tumble for him.”

Mary felt terrible, hearing the report. It was what she had expected, but it felt worse to hear it confirmed by a professional.

John looked up from his notes. “Susan, would that be your testimony?”

“Yes, John. There's no doubt in my mind that placement with Mary would be preferable. He needs quiet, he needs structure, and he would do best without other children around.” Susan checked her notes. “Now, to his dyslexia. You understand that's not my expertise, but anxiety goes hand-in-hand with dyslexia. He's embarrassed that he can't read. He's worried that other foster children will find out and tease him. I problem-solved with him, and we came up with some things he could do to help himself calm down. I taught him how to take slow deep breaths, and he said he likes to draw, so I suggested he do that, too.” Susan checked her notes again. “Next point. I got an earful about Patrick's vomiting. I explained to them that the vomiting is symptomatic of anxiety. I advised them to give Patrick some alone time during his stay. I prescribed him an anti-emetic and advised them to keep him hydrated.”

“Thank you so much,” Mary said, relieved.

“You're welcome. He's a skinny little guy, and we don't want him to end up in an emergency room for dehydration.”

Mary hadn't even thought about dehydration. She was going to have to learn a lot if she was going to take him on.