Up for Adoption

11. The Decision is Made

Soon after our meeting concluded, Austin called and said he was held up at work and couldn't come pick me up. And Macy was apparently busy so having her pick me up was out of the question. For a moment I thought I would have to ride the bus and the thought of being in that crowded space with a bunch of strangers was unnerving. But then, thankfully, Gina offered to drive me home. I'd prefer if Austin drove me but I felt comfortable enough with Gina to let her give me a ride. Except for when we got to her car and got in, she put the key in the ignition and it wouldn't start. She tried a few more times and then groaned out loud.

"Great, just great!" She said. "The dang car must be busted!"

I was annoyed but I could tell that Gina was even more frustrated than I was. And the best way I knew how to deal with a person who was frustrated was to not say anything. Which worked for pretty much every other situation I had ever been in.

Gina got out of the car and made a phone call and I waited inside while she talked. I then looked out the window and saw Brady walking out of the shelter and over to a van sitting the parking lot several feet away from Gina's car. Standing in front it was a woman who had the same color hair as Brady and was wearing a dress and had a handbag slung over her shoulder. She smiled as Brady approached her and placed her hand on his shoulder. It was obvious she was his mother; they talked for a moment and then Brady hung his head while she rubbed his back in a soothing manner. I couldn't help wanting to go over there and hug Brady but I was afraid of what he would say or what his mom might say. Besides, I wasn't the type of person who just gave out hugs. I just wasn't at that level with Brady yet, though I wanted to be.

Gina tapped on my window and ushered me to come out. "I've called a mechanic," she said. "But he won't be here until later, much later. It doesn't look like I can give you a ride home after all but..." she looked at where Brady and his mom were standing. "Maybe they can, would that be okay with you?"

I looked over at Brady and his mom, who were in the midst of a conversation; I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of riding with a stranger but the thought of him being there as well put me at ease. I didn't see what I had to lose so I nodded in agreement and we walked over to their car.

"Hi, Hilary," Gina greeted the woman cheerfully.

"Oh hi, Gina," Hilary said. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Gina said and patted my shoulder. "This is Kendall, she's another one of our volunteers. She and Brady work together quite frequently."

"Oh yes," Hilary smiled at me. "Brady told me about you, it's nice to meet you, Kendall." 96

I nodded and looked down, hoping no one saw me blush.

"So I have a favor to ask," Gina said. "I was supposed to give Kendall a ride home but my car broke down and it's going to take awhile for the repairman to show up. I already told her brother we'd take her home so I was wondering if maybe you could."

"Well, we would," Hilary said. "But Brady has a skateboarding competition that's in less than an hour and we have to be there pretty soon."

Great, just when I thought I was going to get to spend some time with Brady. On top of that, I would probably have to get a ride with Bree or Tom. Tom wouldn't be so bad but I wouldn't be able to bare sitting in a car with Bree. I could just tell she thought I was weird by the way she looked at me when she wasn't looking at her phone and I wasn't really fond of her either. I think I would rather ride the bus.

"Maybe she could come with us," Brady suggested.

"Who could come with us?" A girl's voice piped up as the window in Hilary's car rolled down. I recognized the voice almost immediately and looked up in shock at Olivia's face in the hole. She looked equally surprised to see me, her eyebrows rising up before she glared at me.