Page 17 of Unconditional

There was clear distress in Misely’s tone, the muscles in her neck and face tight.She kept speaking as if she’d forgotten who she was talking to.

“Jail time and her kid goes into foster care.I’ve been working with Benji for nine months, and he’s probably one of my most challenging kids.He’s been in and out of care since he was six and some of his foster families have not been great.He was reunified with his mom after a long court battle, but the damage had been done.Benji doesn’t trust foster care anymore, and he doesn’t trust his mother either.”

“I’m sure there are other counselors that can help him.”That must have been the wrong thing to say because she shot me a volcanic glare.

“It tookmonthsto get him to trustmeand now he needs me and I’m not there.He’s not going to talk to anyone else, and they’ll end up sticking him with just anyone.Benji doesn’tneedjust anyone.He needs a family that I have personally vetted and approved, and I cannot do that from here.”Her fingers shoved past the band of her bonnet to her hair, pushing the fabric off her head as she deliberated.

“Okay, okay, okay,” she whispered, seeming to settle on something in her head.Then, her fingers were flying across the keyboard so rapidly that one might imagine them blurring in the air.I stood, crossing the room to peer over her shoulder.

Good evening, Barbara,

I apologize for my late response on this matter, I am currently out of town for a personal emergency and have limited access to internet connection.I will make it a point to connect my cell phone to my email so as not to miss any further correspondence on this matter.

That being said, I am incredibly disheartened to hear about Ms.Wright’s arrest and how this will impact my client's care.After careful review of his file, I’m sure you would agree that Benjamin must be placed with an experienced foster family.Under no circumstancescan he be placed with anyone that I have not previously vetted and approved.

I will attach a list of potential families that I have on hand and we can review them together tomorrow.On that note, please let me know what time you have available before 11:00 a.m.tomorrow for a quick Zoom call.Please make your best efforts to include Benjamin on that call so that I can assure him that I will be personally overseeing his care going forward.

Kindly,

Misely Fisher

Social Worker

City of Chicago’s Children’s Center

“Now we’re doingZoomcalls?”I asked and she jumped as if she hadn’t realized I’d been standing behind her.

“Yes, I am,” she said matter-of-factly, clicking on her next email.“Hostage or not, Benji needs me.His experiences within the system have made him distrustful and often times combative.I’m not going to let him land with some abusive asshole just becauseyoudecided to drag me on your weird-ass vengeance trip.”

Her fingers were typing again, sending out a response to a person named Patti and apologizing for her abrupt time off and not putting in a request ahead of time.Something about a family emergency.I guess you could call it that.

“Do you really think anythingyoudo is going to make a difference?”It came out harsher than I’d intended, but it didn’t deter her in the slightest.As if she’d heard the question a thousand times, she slapped the laptop closed and turned to face me with fire in her eyes.

“There are nearly four hundred thousand children in foster care in the United States, MacArthur.Over twenty thousand in Illinois alone.By the time a foster kid turns seventeen, overhalfhave been entered into the legal system as a juvenile delinquent.Those traumas carry over into adulthood, they spend more time in jail than in school, and the cycle goes on and on until they have kids of their own and it starts all over again.

“The foster care system in our country is incredibly inadequate, and too often caseworkers turn a blind eye on these kids.Thesechildren.I willnotbe a part of that negligence.Whether the kid is already at risk, like Benji, or a perfect angel with a better background.Not for convenience, like so many in my field do, and definitely not foryou.”

Bitterness and a foreign sense of gratitude warred together, clogging my throat.I knew firsthand exactly the negligence she was referring to, and not for a second did I think this one girl was going to make a single chink in the chain to change things in the grand scheme of things.But for the kids she oversaw, it was clear they were going to get everything from her.Despite my better judgment, I couldn’t help but admire her a little for that.

eleven

Misely

“Idon’tunderstandwhyyou can’t just be here.”Benji’s tone was petulant, but I’d been prepared for it.He was a twelve-year-old boy who had been in and out of the system since he was six, and his mother had let him down.Again.

The only stability he had to lean on in the last year was that every other week he could come to my office so we could hang out, talk, and share a mutual love of Starburst and Sour Skittles.Because of the circumstances, the only way he could see me now, when he really needed me, was through a computer screen that had to keep buffering due to the shoddy Wi-Fi connection.

“I know.I am so sorry, buddy.Our time together is important to me, I hope you know that.But a family emergency came up and I won’t be back for a few weeks.”My throat burned with my efforts to keep tears at bay.I could see through the grainy image that he was disappointed, even if he was doing a bang-up job of hiding it from Barbara, my contact at DCFS.

“But.”I cleared my throat to abate the tense silence.“Miss Barb and I are working together, and we’re going to find you a great family to stay with while things get sorted out with your mom.Where did you stay last night?”

“The Lewises.I don’t like them.”His tone was matter-of-fact, but Barbara sighed.

“You haven’t given them much of a chance, Benjamin,” Barabara chided.

My blood temperature spiked to a fever pitch but I kept my expression light and gave him another apologetic smile.“That’s all right, Benj.We can do better.Why don’t you go work on your homework for a minute and Miss Barb and I will come up with a new plan?”

He shrugged as if he didn’t care, but I knew him.He was anxious and scared and angry, coiled to lash out at any second.“Whatever.Will I talk to you again?”

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