Bringing the Light

8. Stephen Jacob

I opened my eyes and everything around me was white. And blurry. I couldn't see clearly.

"Hi, Stephen," a voice beside me said. I turned my head and saw a blob beside me. "You're okay, sweetheart."

"Mommy?" I rasped out. My throat was dry.

"No, sweetheart. It's Miss Arlene."

I blinked and my vision cleared. It was Miss Arlene beside me. She smiled at me but her smile looked a little sad.

"Where's my mommy?" I asked, getting scared. I wasn't allowed to sleep out anywhere. And I didn't know where I was. I started to cry and felt stupid because I'm eight. I shouldn't cry. Big boys don't cry.

"I'm not quite sure where your mommy is right now. But Stephen, we've seen what your mommy and Alex did to you. You're not going home, honey."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Where would I go? I only have Mommy.

"Sweetheart, your mommy hurt you. Very badly. And she's been hurting you for a long time, hasn't she?"

I didn't want to tell Miss Arlene that Mommy hurts me all the time. And Alex and sometimes their friends.

"Sweetheart, we've seen that scars, the bruises and the bones that were broken before. It isn't safe for you to be at home. Your mommy needs help to be a better mommy. So you're going to stay with some friends of mine for a little while while we help your mommy."

I couldn't stop the tears. Mommy's friends hurt me sometimes. Would Miss Arlene's, too? And I didn't want to live with other people.

"I want my Mommy!" I wailed. Miss Arlene came and sat beside me and put her arms around me.

"I know, baby. But right now, your mommy isn't a happy mommy. And we want to make sure she can be the best mommy for you."

"My shoulder hurts," I whined. Mommy would hit me if I whined usually. But Miss Arlene just looked at me, smiled and told me she'd ask a nurse to come give me something.

While we waited for the nurse, Miss Arlene told me that I'd had surgery to fix my shoulder and I wouldn't be able to use it for six weeks. She said they wanted to make sure I could eat okay, too and then I would go meet the Fosters.

The nurse gave me a needle into a tube in my hand and my shoulder started to feel better. But I also started to feel tired. Miss Arlene told me to just sleep. And that she'd be beside me until she had to go home.

I spent three days in the hospital. I got to try macaroni and cheese! It was yummy! And pizza! And spaghetti and pudding and ice cream! I don't like meatloaf because it looked gross and smelled funny but the chicken nuggets were yummy!

One time, Miss Arlene even went to McDonald's and brought me a cheeseburger and French fries and a chocolate milkshake! And it came with a toy! She called it a Happy Meal. I could see why it was called that. It made me happy.

The next day I left the hospital with Miss Arlene. All I had with me was the toy from McDonald's, a change of clothes some of the nurses gave me and a really cool jacket Miss Arlene gave to me. It was so warm and cozy. And a little fluffy, too.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are very excited to meet you," Miss Arlene said as we drove away from the hospital.

"I thought they were called Fosters?" I asked from the back seat, where I was playing with my little ET toy. He was a funny-looking brown alien.

Miss Arlene laughed, but it didn't sound mean. It sounded happy.

"Oh sweetheart. No. They are called foster parents. They take in children like you whose mommy and daddy need help to be better parents, or if they can't be parents at all anymore. They're like temporary parents."

"Oh. Do I have to call them 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'?" I asked.

"No, sweetheart. You call them Mr. and Mrs. Thompson unless they tell you you can call them by their first names. Okay?"

"I guess," I said.

"Miss Arlene?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Yes, Stephen?"

I liked talking to Miss Arlene. She never yelled and never sounded bored to hear me.

"What about school? Will I go back to my school?" I asked as we drove through a neighborhood I didn't recognize.

"I don't think so, sweetheart. Your school is pretty far from here. You'll probably go to the one near the Thompson's."

"Oh," I said. I didn't know if I liked that.

Miss Arlene turned into a driveway, and a man and a woman came onto the porch. They both waved at Miss Arlene as she got out of the car. She opened the back door to let me out and led me up the path.

"Stephen, this is Eric and Tracey Thompson. They're going to be your foster parents."

"Hi there, Sport," Mr. Thompson said with a smile. I smiled shyly at him.

"Hi Stephen," Mrs. Thompson said. "Are you hungry? Would you like a snack? Or some lunch?"

"I'm okay, thank you," I said. Miss Arlene had taken me to McDonald's again, but this time I got chicken nuggets and fries and milk. And another ET toy. I held both toys in my one good hand. Miss Arlene had the shopping bag with my clothes.

"He's going to need more clothing," Miss Arlene told Mrs. Thompson.

"Why don't you two come on inside and we can get Stephen settled. I made cookies, Stephen. Chocolate chip. Would you like one?"

"No, thank you. I'm okay," I said. Mommy didn't let me have cookies.

"Alright. That's alright. You can have one later if you'd like," Mrs. Thompson said.

Miss Arlene led me into their house. There were toys on the floor in the front room, and someone was watching TV.

"That's Alexander," Mrs. Thompson said. "He's a foster child, like you. He's 12.  Alexander, say hello to Stephen."

The boy looked over, frowned at me, grunted something that I guess could be 'hi,' and returned to watching TV. 

"Let me show you where you'll be sleeping," Mrs. Thompson said and led me upstairs.