The state was happy to give Amanda custody. She was in a stable marriage, lived in a good neighborhood, and had references from Sam, Helen, and half the bar. Plus, they wouldn’t have to pay anything.
It threw them for a loop when I asked where her social security money was. No one had filed it. I got a lawyer and he did the paperwork. When it was settled, they had to give all the money she was due for the last eight years to her, to us actually, as guardians. She also got seven hundred a month until she was eighteen.
We put it into a college fund. She could access it at eighteen if she went to school. If she didn’t. she got the full amount when she was twenty one. It would almost be enough to pay for the full four years, if she was careful.
Celeste wasn’t as grateful as we had hoped, complaining she should get it sooner, to buy a car.
“That’s almost four years away. Let’s see what happens between now and then.”
I ended up being the bad guy, to make it easier on Amanda. Celeste resented it tremendously, but knew better than to try to play us off each other. The first time got her grounded for a month.
She was behind in school, mostly from not paying attention. She refused help from me at first, but Amanda kind of forced her, giving her rewards for good grades, so she started listening.
…
During this time I was doing really well at my job. The campaign for the wine maker was a roaring success, and led to bigger things. My boss was scared to death I was going to leave, he knew I’d had offers, so he struck a deal with me. I could buy into the company, and he’d match every percent I bought up to seven. At current valuation, I would be able to afford about one percent a year. So in seven years, I’d have fourteen per cent of the company. Amanda and I talked it over, and decided to do it. I liked it here, so did Amanda.
…
Celeste ran away, twice. The first time she was gone fur days before they found her at a bus station a state away. Amanda cried the whole time she was gone.
She came back, defiant and angry. I waited until I could talk to her alone and laid it out.
“You know, you’d be a good kid if you’d let yourself. You’re pretty smart, it looks like you could figure out what kind of life you would have n the streets. A drugged, disease riddled whore most likely, old before your time and dead before thirty. Is that what you want? Here it is, plain and simple. You run again, and you won’t come back. In three more years you’ll be sixteen. I’ll pay your court costs for emancipation, give you your social security money, and wish you a nice life. But my wife has just about shed her last tear over you. Do you understand?”
I think I scared her. Six months later she didn’t come home from school. When she showed up, she found the doors locked. Thank goodness Amanda wasn’t there. I opened the door and talked through the screen.
“I’ve already boxed your shit. You can come in and wait for D. S. S, I’ve already called them. They should be here in about forty five minutes.”
I opened the door and let her in. She huddled on the couch, rocking back and forth. Soon she was crying, then begging.
“Please, please, please don’t send me away. I’ll be good, I promise. I didn’t mean to leave. I panicked when I got busted for smoking at school. They suspended me for three days. It’ll kill Amanda. I didn’t know what to do.”
I was surprised. She hated smokers.
“Were you smoking?”
“No, but I was with them, cutting class. Please don’t send me away.”
“Celeste, look at me.” She raised her head. “You have got to learn you have a support system. Amanda loves you. I love you. We’re a family. We’re here to provide guidance and a good home. And love. Let us do our job, all right? You should have come to us and told us what you did. We would have punished you, been disappointed, but we wouldn’t have stopped loving you.”
The tears started in earnest when I told her I loved her, and she flew into my arms, sobbing her heart out. Amanda walked in.
“What’s going on?” she asked, nervously.
“Our child is growing up, honey. She did something bad, got caught, came home, and told me all about it. I truly believe she understands what she did, and is sorry. I’ll let her tell you about it. Here.”
I handed her off and went outside, catching the D. S. S. worker at the mailbox.
“Hi, Denise. Sorry, it was a false alarm. She got caught doing something she shouldn’t have, and got suspended for three days. Nothing real serious, but she was afraid to face us. Amanda is with her now, getting to the bottom of what happened. They’re inside, if you want to check on them.”
She sighed.
“I ought to, but I think I can trust you. Now I can get home and cook Fred’s dinner, and eat as a family for once.”
“Thanks, Denise,” I said, feeling bad for taking time away from her family. “Why don’t you guys come over Sunday? I got a couple of Boston butts I been thinking about roasting.”
“That sounds good, Jace, but it’s Homecoming at our church. There’s going to be a big meal, why don’t you guys come there instead? There’s an informal competition among a few of us to see how many guests we can get to come, you guys might put me ahead.”
I told her I’d run it by the girls and went inside.
“Who was that?”
“It was Denise, honey. She saw me outside and stopped to invite us to Homecoming. You guys wanna go?”
“I wouldn’t mind it. They got that new young reverend. He’s kind of cute. I’ll give her a call, see what she wants me to bring.”
Celeste watched me, grinning. I tried to look stern but failed. She hopped off the couch.
“I know I’m grounded for a month, but I can go to church, right? Bobby Smith goes to that church, doesn’t he?”
“Celeste! You’re thirteen. You’ve got time for that later. Much later! Between you two lightning will strike the church.”
They both grinned at me, and Celeste said “Men!”, then went to help her sister with dinner.
That was the exact moment when I knew my little family was going to be okay.