Page 19 of Fire

“Hey,” says Tucker as I shove my phone back in my pocket. “You see that, kids? Looks like you fixed Tower’s smile.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ivy

Nell looks up from her coloring book and grins, completely at ease while we wait for our caseworker in his office at The Reversal of Fortune Foundation. Paintings done by children hang on the walls, alongside photographs of grinning kids holding up awards or leaning against an older man I’ve nicknamed Keto Santa. Potted plants bloom in the corners and a large desk consumes most of the room. More photos of happy children adorn the surface.

The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and filled with hope.

Consequently, so am I.

“You look very pretty, Mommy,” Nell says as she selects a red crayon from the stack to color in a cape on a superhero.

“You know what? You look very pretty, too.” I boop the end of her nose. Her laugh soothes my nerves. Not by much, considering they’re running almost as hot as my hope, but I’ll take any relief I can get.

I had no idea what to expect, walking into today’s meeting. I’ve been to charity balls, but never been inside an actual charity, especially not with my hands out. It feels wrong to be here, knowing my father or my fiancé could outright buy me a house if they wanted to.

Not that they would. Just that they could.

I press my thumb to the spot where my ring used to be. It’s been in a drawer since my conversation with Julian. Everything he said solidified my realization that Nell and I are better off without him. That he wraps his ugliness up in what he calls advice but is really judgment and condescension that chipped away at my self-esteem for years. Nell took the news better than I expected, saying she’s happier at Grandma’s anyway, because she’s not so nervous all the time.

My heart broke when she said it. How could I let things get to that point?

I still have to tell Julian, but I need to know I have a place to live and a job to support us before I do. He’ll go for my weaknesses with ruthless accuracy. If I’m not bulletproof before I make that call, things will go badly for me.

The office door cracks open and I swallow hard, my spine so straight it would break if I fell over. “Miss Cole?”

A tall man, thin, with hair that reminds me of a dandelion puff and a beard that makes me think of Christmas, closes the door behind him. I take a breath and force a smile. There’s no reason to be afraid. None at all. Everything about this place screams safety.

“That’s me.”

Nell climbs onto her knees in her chair. “And me too! I’m a Miss Cole, too. I’m Nell, short for Penelope Michaela. And my mom’s name is Ivy Maria. I like that our middle nin-itial is the same.” She beams as our caseworker shakes her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m David Doughtry and I’m happy to be working with you two lovely ladies.”

David shakes my hand, then sits across from us at the desk and suddenly, I’m sure I’ve made a mistake. Obviously, he’ll look at my application and laugh in my face because I have so many other resources at my disposal and would have been better off if only I hadn’t made so many stupid decisions. I swallow hard and fight the urge to grab Nell and run before the humiliation begins.

“I’ve gone over your application,” David says, and I brace, because here it comes. A reminder of all the ways I’ve failed. Julian’s voice starts listing them in my head before Mr. Doughtry begins.

Enough!

That’s enough of his voice having anything to do with how I see myself.

This is my meeting, to discuss my future, and Julian has spent enough time, twisting everything I do into a mistake.

David clasps his hands and leans on the table. “It seems you and Nell here are in need of some accommodations. There was a fire?”

“It was so scary.” Nell slides her crayon back into the box and closes her coloring book. “I was ‘sleep, and I woke up coughing so hard I got tears and my whole room was smoking and the wall was just full of fire.” She sweeps her hands through the air, eyes wide and alive. “And I screamed and ran for Mommy—she sleeps on the couch and the living room is right by the door—so we got out of there really fast before even the fireman came to rescue Grandma. But now I sleep on the couch and have nightmares all the time and Mommy sleeps on a cot, and I feel real bad because I don’t think she sleeps good either.”

David listens to the entire story without interrupting her once, which is more than I could say for Julian. Nell can’t go more than two sentences without him telling her she talks too much.

“You don’t say.” David gives her a gentle smile.

“I do say.” Nell rests her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. “Have you ever had a fire in your house?”

“I haven’t, but if I do, I hope I’m as brave as you were about it.” David smiles at Nell who beams in return. Something about him says he has children of his own who’ve grown into wonderful adults, who still come to family dinners and bring his grandkids for weekend visits.

He turns that warmth my way. “Usually, applications like yours can take some time to process.”

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