Page 62 of Darling Girls

‘It’s just that . . . I was wondering . . . if I applied to be a foster parent once I turned eighteen, could – could I take him?’

A lump formed in Alicia’s throat. She realised she was in danger of crying for the second time that night. ‘That’s sweet of you. But what about uni?’

‘I don’t know. I guess I thought that if I did foster him I could get a job instead. Then I could rent an apartment for us. I know you get some money if you’re a foster parent – maybe that could help with the rent?’

‘Aaron, listen . . .’

‘I just want to know if it’s possible,’ he said.

He sounded resolute. Which meant Alicia owed him a straight answer. ‘All right. In theory, yes, it’s possible. But it would take time to be approved as a foster parent. And by the time that happened, in all likelihood Theo would already have been placed somewhere else.’

‘Oh.’ Aaron sounded both disappointed and relieved.

‘Listen,’ Alicia said, ‘I’m his case worker, and I’m not going to let him go to just any family, all right? If he’s moved to a new placement, I’ll make sure he gets the best family possible. I promise.’

Aaron didn’t respond. Through the phone she heard him swallow.

‘You’re a sweet kid, you know that?’

‘Whatever,’ he said, his adolescent voice back again. ‘I was just wondering, that’s all.’

‘Call me if you wonder anything else,’ Alicia said.

When she ended the call, she saw that Jessica and Norah were still looking at her. Jessica was leaning back against the pillows, almost reclining. Two dogs sat on top of Norah, making her look like a three-headed beast.

‘That was nice, what you said,’ Norah told her. Alicia couldn’t see her face behind the dogs. ‘About what a child deserves.’

‘Well,’ Alicia said, ‘it’s the truth.’

‘For what it’s worth, I think a child would be lucky to haveyouas their foster mother.’

It sounded like the dog had said it. Which was odd, but still nice. Perhaps this was why Alicia didn’t respond with her usual spiel about how the best way for her to help kids was to be a social worker. Instead, she merely said, ‘Thanks, Norah. That means a lot.’

In her bedroom, Alicia folded one of the thin pillows in half and lay down on the bed. She’d been waiting all day to listen to Meera’s message. It felt like an indulgent treat, after the day they’d had.

‘Hey,’ the message said. ‘Not urgent but I received a petition to terminate parental rights today for Theo Moretti. Give me a call Monday and I can talk you through the timeline and next steps.’

It was an entirely businesslike message, but Alicia closed her eyes as she listened. There was something about Meera’s voice – calm, clear and intelligent – that soothed Alicia. For this reason, she listened to the message twice more before she returned the call.

Meera answered after just one ring. ‘There you are.’

‘Here I am.’

If listening to Meera’s voicemail had been soothing, having her on the phone in real time was a trip to a day spa. Alicia imagined her in front of the television, her laptop on her knees, propping the phone between her shoulder and ear. It was possible she had a pencil in her hair.

In the next room, the dogs started barking.

‘Is Norah there?’ Meera asked. She’d met both Jessica and Norah one day at a small gathering for Alicia’s birthday – and Alicia had talked about them both enough for her to know about Norah’s dogs and Jessica’s neuroses. Still, Alicia found it touching that she remembered these details.

‘No. Well, yes. We’re away. Jessica too.’

‘Oh, tell them I said hi,’ Meera said. ‘Where are you guys?’

‘Port Agatha.’

A pause. Meera knew very little about Alicia’s upbringing, but shedidknow that Alicia had grown up in foster care – and where. As for the rest, she’d had enough experience with child protection to be able to fill in the gaps. ‘Hey, look, we can talk about this on Monday. I just thought that maybe you were as sad as me, working on a Saturday night . . .’

‘I am definitely as sad as you,’ Alicia said. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and grabbed another pillow. ‘In fact, I was going to call you too.’