Never feel alone

Chapter 32

Callie

"Can I please have some juice?" Sophia asked, trying to raise her voice above the breakfast table chaos.

"Nope," Brandon teased, sliding the bottle closer to himself. "Sorry."

"Seriously, give it to me," my sister laughed, reaching for it. "Brandon!"

"Brandon, just give it to her!" Mariana said, rolling her eyes and taking the juice bottle from her brother. "Here, Soph."

"Thanks," she smiled, pouring herself a glass. I could tell she was happy. More and more, Jesus, Brandon, and Mariana were starting to feel like our real siblings. The teasing was worth it, just to feel like we belonged.

"Can you guys please quiet down a bit?" Stef asked, coming into the kitchen. "Mama's on the phone in the next room."

Sorry," I apologized, even though I hadn't really done anything.

Thanks, Bill," Lena said into the phone, as she wandered into the kitchen. She balanced the phone against her ear as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "I understand."

Sophia turned to me with a scared look on her face. I couldn't wait for the day when she didn't have to be afraid of bad news from a social worker anymore. Hopefully, someday soon, we would never have to worry about that kind of thing again. All we had to do was get over this hurdle with our father. Then we'd be free.

I gave my little sister a nod, silently telling her not to worry.

"Yes, I'll ask them," Lena said. "Thanks again. You have a good day, too. Bye." She turned the phone off, then came to the table. "Callie, Soph, that was Bill," she told us, as if we didn't already know. "He had some news about your dad."

"What's up?" I asked.

Lena turned to Stef. "Why don't we go into the living room and talk."

Stef nodded, and we followed them into the living room. Once we were seated on the couch, she smiled. " Bill has spoken to your father about the possibility of visiting with you two."

"What did he say?" Sophia asked. Her anxiety was already replaced with excitement.

"Well," she replied. "He wants to see you girls. Bill wanted to know how you feel about seeing him this Friday, after school."

Friday? "But today's Wednesday," I piped up. "I didn't think it would be so soon."

"We could reschedule for another day if you're really not ready, honey," Lena assured me. "It's up to you."

"Please, Callie," Sophia pleaded. She wasn't doing it on purpose, but she was giving me the sad puppy dog eyes. How could I say no to her when she was looking at me like that?

I chewed my lip thoughtfully. I guess, if I had to see him, I was as ready as I'd ever be. "Friday's fine. I'd rather just get it over with. I mean, the sooner we see him, the sooner he can sign the papers and we can get adopted, right?"

"Thanks," Sophia smiled. I patted her leg reassuringly.

"Okay," Lena said. "I'll let Bill know. In the meantime, we'd better get going. We don't want to be late for school."

"Cal?" Stef called, as I got up to follow my sister and Lena.

I stopped. "Yeah?"

She reached out to squeeze my shoulder. "I know you're not thrilled about seeing your dad, love," she said quietly. "I just want you to know that I'm proud of you, for doing this for Sophia. You're a good big sister."

"Thanks," I said softly, looking into her eyes. It felt good, knowing that someone was proud of me. That was something that didn't happen very often. It meant even more, hearing it from her.