Until the Stars Fall From the Sky (15 page)

Kiera sho
ots me a meaningful look, “You’re not going to get an argument from me. But, why do you think so, Mindy?”

“’Cause he performed a miracle, just like in church. Becca’s asleep! Becca don’t sleep for nobody. My grandma says she’s possessed by the devil and nobody’s allowed to touch her.” Mindy stands on her tiptoes to whisper in Kiera’s ear, “I do it anyway, ‘cause I think Nana’s crazy. Babies can’t be bad. That’s jus’ silly. They jus’ eat and poop.”

Kiera puts her arm around Mindy’s frail shoulders. “You’re one smart chick, Girlfriend.”

An EMT approaches
as he dons gloves and rearranges his stethoscope. “I understand I may have overlooked a patient over here,” he observes in a perky voice.

Instantly, both Kiera and Mindy spear me with glances that would have wounded a lesser man. “In my professional opinion, Becca’s diaper rash looks infected. Since they were on the call anyway, they said they’d check it out,” I explain. As my chest rumbles with the sound of my speech, Becca stirs, her cheek sweaty and her bottom lip pops out.

“Miss Kiera, Becca has owies on her girl parts and they bleeded. I tried to fix it with Dora Band-Aids, but they didn’ work,” Mindy added.

“Mindy, who changes Becca’s diaper at home?” Kiera inquires gently.

Mindy scrunches up her face in concentration as she guardedly explains, “Me, mostly. Except when we have company, I’m not ‘upposed to when people are around. I was doin’ a real good job too. Just like on TB, until Nana got mad at me for usin’ too many. Then, I couldn’t do it no more ‘cause she tooked the diapers away.” Mindy leaned toward me as she confided, “Becca get’s really stinky. So, I tried using paper towels, but they leak.”

I swallow hard before I answer, “Mindy, you are an awesome big sister. You did everything you could.” I reached out and gave her a small half hug. I ha
ve to turn away to hide the tears that are forming in my eyes.

~*~

As we drive to the hospital to meet the girls, Kiera is shredding the fast food napkin in her lap. She barely touches her food. “Pip, babe, please try to drink your smoothie. It’s going to be a long day,” I gently prompt.

Kiera looks startled by my presence as she articulates her thoughts, “I’m sorry. You’re right; I should, but I can’t right now. I keep running the file in my head. Is there something I should have said that I didn’t? Last I heard, her plan didn’t call for reunification because of her complex medical needs. I would have never supported that given Mindy’s medical needs. The grandmother is just toxic, and I didn’t have enough information about the mother to make a recommendation. They needed to do a thorough home study. We have to figure out where the ball got dropped and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Kiera, I’m sure that all of that will be done, but not today. Today, there is a cute little girl with freckles that needs you to be her hero.” I say as I kiss the back of our interlaced fingers.

“But I
— ,” Kiera protests.

I interrupt her protests, “Pip, obviously I don’t know all of the background in this case, but I can see some things that have gone very well; most of them can be traced directly to you. You developed an incredible rapport with a child that had no reason to trust adults. That bond likely saved her life today. You empowered her with safety skills that allowed her to rescue her sister. While we may quibble with her methods, she tried very hard to think it through and keep it together.”

“I should have done more,” Kiera cries. “I could have done more if I had known.” Fat tears are rolling down her face and she is trembling.

“Pip,” I reply gently, “I’d venture to guess that virtually every adult in those babies’ lives should have done more. Unfortunately, we can’t rewrite history. However, I know you and
I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe now that you are aware of the situation. You have to be okay with that, or your job is going to eat you alive.”

“Yeah, I know,” she concedes, “but it’s hard not to feel responsible. I struggle with the balance all the time.”

I pull the truck into the hospital drop zone and put it into park. Before I lift Kiera out of the truck, I put my hands on her shoulders and catch her gaze with mine. “Pip, I know we’ve got a crap-load of issues to work through and sort out. I’m by your side and I’m going to be there until.”

Kiera smiles up at me through her tears as she replies, “I know that too. By your side is exactly where I want to be.”

~*~

I can hear Mindy’s squeals of delight from down the hall. I knock lightly on the door and peek my head around the corner. As soon as she sees me, Mindy shrieks, “Mr. Jeff! Guess what?”

“What?” I answer, playing along.

“It’s like magic! The whole bed moves an’ all I have to do is push a button. Isn’t it cool?” Mindy continues, barely taking a moment to breathe, “An’ the nurse said she would bring me as many milkshakes as I want! Can you beliebe it?”

“Wow! That is exciting news,” I confirm. “Are you having lunch next?”

“No,” Mindy pouts, “The nurse said I hafta to take a shower first.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” I say as if we’re involved in the heist of a Candy Land board, “you go do whatever it takes to make princesses beautiful these days, and I’ll be back with a surprise later. No princesses with smelly feet allowed.”

“You promise?” Mindy asks skeptically. “You’re not jus’ trickin’?”

“I promise,” I reply, shaking her hand and ending with a pinky swear.

As the nurse takes Mindy off to the shower room, I rush off to find Kiera. When I finally locate her, she is sitting in a dark corner of the nursery gently rocking Becca and watching her sleep. “It’s a miracle what a little hot soap and water and a warm meal can do. I wish she didn’t have to use formula. It’s so much better for her immune system if she doesn’t,” she whispers, taking care not to wake the softly snoring baby.

Unbidden, my mind conjures up an image of Kiera on my grandma’s back porch nursing a pudgy baby in the old worn rocker. It’s a more appealing thought than I ever imagined

“What are you smiling about, PC?” Kiera asks when she spots me watching her.

“I’m just thinking how naturally this all comes to you,” I blurt, suddenly embarrassed by the direction of my thoughts.

“Funny,” Kiera remarks as she grins up at me, “I was just thinking the same thing about you as I watched you with the girls earlier. You didn’t seem fazed by any of it.”

I laugh softly as I respond, “Oh, I was terrified. I just learned from having Gabriel that it’s important for them to never see you sweat. Speaking of that, I have to go run some errands for a certain princess we know.”

“I’ll be up in a few minutes,” Kiera says, trying to stretch her back out, “I know I don’t want to miss this.”

When I return to Mindy’s room, she is sitting up in bed watching cartoons. “Sponge Bob is so stupid,” she mutters, “Everybody knows you can’t talk underwater. Besides, that all the fishes talk in different languages.”

“Very good point, Mindy,” I allow, “I’ve never thought about it that way.” My tone must have been too patronizing, as the little imp rolls her eyes at me. Oh yes, I’ve gone toe to toe with the best legal minds in the nation, and I’ve just been schooled by a six year old.

“Hey Mindy,” I ask, trying to recover from my faux pas, “would you pop this into the DVD player for me?”

Mindy snatches the movie from me and examines it thoroughly. She sets it back down very gently. “Mr. Jeff, it’s a princess movie,” she remarks softly, her voice barely a whisper.

“I know, Sweetheart, that’s why I picked it for you,” I explain, but I’m baffled by her reaction. Gabriel loves to get presents. At her age, he would have been so excited that he would have been jumping off of the furniture.

“I love princess movies! But, it’s new,” she states simply as if the explanation is clear. “I’m ebil. Nana said ebil girls don’t get new toys, ever.”

“Well, your Nana was wrong. You are not evil. You never have been evil. Even if you were, I’m giving you this because I think you deserve it for being so brave,” I state emphatically.

“So, it’s mine always, and I don’t have to gibe it back to the liberry?” Mindy asks, her eyes full of hope, but her expression is doubtful.

“No, sweetheart, it’s yours to keep forever,” I respond with a reassuring smile.

Mindy runs to the DVD player and delicately places the disk in the holder and presses play. “Will you sit in this chair, please, Princess Mindy?” I ask, bowing deeply at the waist.

Mindy giggles as she replies, ”I guess so.”

After Mindy sits down, I take a wide-tooth comb and start gently combing out her tangles.

Mindy starts vibrating with excitement as she blurts, “Mr. Jeff, you’re gonna fix my hair fancy, ain’t you?”

“We’ll see if a certain Princess can hold still long enough for me to finish,” I tease. Immediately, Mindy becomes as still as a stone statue. After a couple of minutes, I have to say, “Mindy, sweetheart, it’s okay to breathe. I just can’t have you bouncing, because
I’m afraid it will cause me to pull your hair.”

Mindy slumps down in her chair just slightly. “Okay Mr. Jeff, I was ascared you was gonna stop,” she whispers, her chin quivering.

I adopt a very fake, very over-the-top French accent and say, “Oh no, Monsieur Jeff must complete Princess Mindy’s look to make the Kingdom happy.

Mindy erupts with the first belly laugh I’ve heard all day as she responds
, “Okay, I’ll try to be still, but it’s hard ‘cause I have the wiggles real bad.”

I pat her on the shoulder and chuckle as I say, “Just try your best, sweetheart. That’s all anyone can ask.”

Kiera comes screeching around the corner in a blur, plunks her purse on the table, and says breathlessly, “Geez-O-Pete, I can’t believe I’m late for the makeover. I love makeovers.” Kiera digs through her purse and produces two bottles of nail polish and nail kit. “It’s time for your mani/pedi ma’am. Would you prefer Pink Pearl or Frosted Creamsicle?

Mindy raises her hand like a
schoolchild and Kiera calls on her like a pupil, “I want Frosted Cream toes please,” Mindy answers.

“Your wish is my command, my dear,” Kiera responds with a grin. For the next few minutes, Mindy gets the spa treatment of her life as I carefully French braid her hair into pigtails. As a special treat, I purchased some ribbons from the gift shop and I’m weaving them into her hair. I tuck a yellow rose behind her ear.

I don my French accent as I declare, “Monsieur Jeffery pronounces Princess Mindy finished and fit to rule the kingdom.”

Kiera hands Mindy a new tube of grape Chap Stick from her purse, “Hold on, a true princess never reigns with chapped lips,” she says.

Mindy giggles as she responds, “You’re silly, Miss Kiera. Nobody in my kingdom is going to care if my lips are shiny.”

Kiera’s laugh sounds like wind chimes as she covers her face with her hands as she confesses, “Okay, you busted me. I just like to use it because it tastes yummy.”

“Okay, I want some, please,” Mindy decides. Kiera is putting the last minute touches on her as Mindy is scrambling to stand on Kiera’s thighs so she can get a better look in the mirror. When I reach out to steady her, she grabs my hand in a death grip. I glance down at her. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is opening and closing like a fish. I shoot Kiera a worried glance, but she merely shrugs.

“Holy Sh
— !” Mindy stops short when she sees Kiera’s expression. “Mr. Jeff is an angel for reals because he turned me into one. Look at my hair Miss Kiera, there are magic ribbons in it! I’m perfect. I can be anything I want to be.”

Spontaneously, we all join together in a group hug. I kiss the top of her head as I agree, “Yes, Mindy, you are amazing and the sky is the limit for you.”

I wake up in excruciating pain. The muscles in my back are in tangled knots and feel like they are on fire. I carefully edge out of bed, not wanting to disturb Jeff. Today has been an exhausting day both physically and emotionally, and Jeff held up like a rock star. He claims to be Mr. Science, driven by analysis, logic and cold hard facts. Still, what I witnessed today was pure art. The squishy kind of human interest stuff that drives him nuts was precisely where he excelled. He comforted an inconsolable baby and found a princess hiding inside a scared little girl.

As I wiggle out from under his arm, he reflexively nestles me closer to his side and his eyelashes flutter. I freeze for a moment waiting for him to settle. I wonder what he would think if he knew about what the Crisis Placement Officer asked me before we left the hospital. I haven’t been given the clearance by my supervisors — or anyone else for that matter — to share this information, but they have asked me to do a short term placement with Mindy and her sister since they are so clearly bonded to me. Apparently, Mindy’s last foster family didn’t know that she was part of a sibling group, and now they have suddenly become “unavailable.”

When I got my foster care license, it was more of an aspirational goal. I had envisioned that I would do this someday in the fuzzy future when I had the perfect partner. I never in a million years thought the day might come when I was technically single and still in school. On the other hand, I am only one class away from my degree; my performance evaluations have been great; I own my own home and my relationship with Jeff seems to be back on track. The big deciding factor for me is the simple fact that this is Mindy and her surprise sister, and they don’t need one more person they trust
to let them down.

The difficult part of this decision is going to be figuring out logistics. This is so frustrating; I can’t get started on that until I can talk to people, which I am not allowed to do yet. This thinking around in circles is driving me crazy! I let out a sigh of frustration and shift in bed to reduce the spasms in my back. As an especially vicious spasm hits, I gasp and grab my leg to try to prevent the uncontrollable tremors.
             

I feel Jeff’s arm tighten around my waist as he sits up against the headboard and hauls me up on to his lap in one fluid motion. “Pip, are you okay? Do you need something?” he asks, his voice roughened with sleep.

“No,” I answer reflexively, and then I remember the conversations with my Dad and Heather. “Yes,” I decide, and then add a pensive “maybe.”

Jeff laughs as he responds, “Well, since I’m almost a lawyer, and you’ve given me three answers to choose from,
I’m just going to pick the one I like the best. I’m going to go get your muscle relaxants and some Motrin like last time because I can see your Charlie horses. Is there anything else you need?”             

“I could use a dip in the hot tub. My back is tied up in knots,” I reply rolling my shoulders.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Jeff chides. “I would have been happy to give you a massage. I had a trainer in college that was getting his PhD in Exercise Physiology. I know all types of pressure points to relieve your pain and to help you mellow out.”

“You were so tired. I didn’t want to bother you,” I answer with a shrug.

“I may be tired, but I’m never too tired for you,” he reassures me.

As we’re sitting in the hot tub, Jeff eyes me appreciatively as he murmurs in my ear with his deep sexy voice, “Pip, I didn’t think anything was going to be able to top the tie-died bikini, but you look smokin’ hot in your racing gear too. That suit leaves nothing to the imagination, and I have a very active imagination.” He kisses his favorite spot behind my ear. I moan in delight and my nipples contract into tight buds. As he pointed out, there is no hiding my reaction under the thin Lycra
— so, of course because I’m me — I blush.

“Ah Pip, no need to be embarrassed. I think it’s unbelievably sexy that I can turn you on.”

“Well, I can’t very well hide it, can I?” I grumble, as I blush even more. The crazy thing is I’m not really all that embarrassed in front of Jeff. Lord knows, the man has gone out of his way to make me comfortable, and it’s clear he thinks I’m pretty. Yet, there is something about him that makes me blush like Rudolph’s nose.

Jeff smirks a little as he stands and leans over me to get the bottled water, giving me an up close and personal view of his very enlarged crotch area. He catches my line of vision. “Do you really want to argue that girls have it harder than guys? At least you have the option of a padded bra. There aren’t really any anti-boner underwear to deal with this, and I’m in this state any time I think of you now.”

I laugh out loud at the thought of padded underwear for guys to disguise erections. If someone could do it in a tasteful way without chafing, I suppose they would have an infomercial home run. “Okay then, I’m just going to put on my big girl panties and my padded bra and concede that point to you. It
is
more awkward to be a guy when you’re horny,” I concede.

“You’re giving up that easily?” Jeff winks and
teases, “I was hoping for some in-depth, hands on exploration of the matter.” He moves to stand between my legs and presses me up against the side of the tub to give me a deep plundering kiss. The man has a magic tongue that is making me a very happy girl until I shift my weight to get a better angle and another wave of spasms hit. As the pain hits, I’m unable to hide my grimace of pain and sharp intake of breath.

“Damn, I should have known better,” Jeff, mutters as he breaks away, “What is it about you that makes me act like some hormonal teenager borrowing his dad’s Studebaker for the first time?”

“I don’t know Jeff. Didn’t this whole conversation get started because I couldn’t control my body’s reaction to yours? It seems like we’re on pretty even playing ground at this point.” I remark, with a deep sigh of frustration.

“
If you say so, but you need me to keep a level head and help you, not to try to get in your pants,” Jeff argues.

“May I remind you, I
am an equal participant, not some victim of your nefarious plan?” I try to explain, “I would still be kissing you and enjoying it — thank you very much — if my stupid body didn’t have other plans.”

“Okay, you’re right, but I have training and should have known better,” Jeff tries once more to shoulder the blame.

“Jeff, listen to me.” I demand sternly, “I’ve been having muscle spasms since about 2:30 this afternoon. I was too stubborn to take a break, and I didn’t tell anybody. So, now I’m paying the price. This one isn’t on you. It’s on me. I can’t ignore my body anymore.”

“Damn straight!” Jeff exclaims, “You should have said something. You’re no good to those kids if you kill yourself in the process. Let me get you inside, and I’ll get your meds and a massage.”

True to his word, Jeff not only gets my meds, but also makes grilled fish and vegetables while I am in the shower so I won’t have to take them on an empty stomach. He brings them to me while I’m getting dressed. He frowns when he notices me grimace as I struggle to get my shorts pulled up.

“Why don’t you just ask me for help, if it hurts you to do it?” Jeff asks as he sets the tray down. “What do you need me to do?” He walks over to the side of the bed and sits down as he strokes my shoulder. Randomly, I notice that he has dressed in some very worn Levi’s and a chambray shirt that looks as soft as butter.

“I don’t know why I can’t ask for help. I know it’s stupid. It’s a pride thing I guess,” I answer sheepishly.

“Kiera, you are the strongest person I know
— female or male. Although, Mindy gives you a run for your money. If you ask for help, it’s not going to make you look weak. In fact, it will make me feel better because I’ll feel like I’m useful,” Jeff explains.

“Okay, here goes…Can you pull up the back of my shorts?” I ask, frustration making my voice shake. “I can’t seem to get them up.”

I lift my entire body up off of the bed using the trapeze bar to enable Jeff to reach under me and fix the back of my shorts. It’s all I can do not to collapse from laughter when I see the look on Jeff’s face. “Whoa! Look at those guns,” he jests, “remind me not to encounter you in a dark alley. You would annihilate me.”

“Just reach under me and fix the back, please, you’ve already caught me. There is no need to butter me up,” I reply sardonically.

“My grandpa taught me that it’s always necessary to butter up a woman,” Jeff states as he grins and gently untangles my shorts from the sheet underneath me. “Ready for your dinner and a rerun of M*A*S*H?”

I decide that fighting Jeff’s strong caretaking gene would be about a
s productive as spitting in a windstorm. I give up and go with it. “Okay, I’m starving,” I acquiesce.

After we eat dinner, Jeff encourages me to lay down so that he can give me a massage. Oddly, he starts at my head, as he did the night of the dance. He carefully arranges my hair so that it’s not in the way and begins rubbing my temples and brow area. As he glides his thumb across my eyebrow and down my cheek, the astounding tenderness of the gesture is my undoing.

All of the emotions that I’ve been holding in check all day, come boiling to the surface, and tears begin to leak out of the corners of my eyes. Jeff immediately lifts his hands from my face, mistaking my tears as a sign of physical pain. I reach up and place his hands back onto my face. “No, you’re not making me cry. It’s this whole day causing my tears. Jeff, what if I’m not enough? How many more kids like Mindy are out there? I can’t possibly save them all. How do I choose which ones to save?”

“I actually don’t believe we choose. Call it God or the
universe; I believe we are put where we are needed. We were clearly needed in the 7-11 today. If you had rescued Mindy before, there is a chance that you might never have found Becca. Both those girls need our help, so I have to believe it worked out the way it was supposed to.” Jeff pauses to scrub his face with his hand and sighs as he says, “Kiera, I don’t know how you do it day in and day out. When I was changing Becca, I wanted to run my fist through the wall. How could someone not notice that their child is bleeding? After, I found out that Mindy was trying to fix that mess with Band-Aids, I felt even worse.”

I feel an overwhelming need to comfort him because he looks so profoundly sad and distressed. He didn’t sign up for this, I did. All the poor man did was try to come over and apologize, and he ended up being confronted by a nightmare. I reach up to touch his face and begin to apologize, “I’m so sorry I drug you into all of th
— “

Jeff’s brows suddenly draw together in confusion “Are you under the impression that I somehow didn’t want to be at your side today?” he inquires.

“Well, yes, I shouldn’t have brought you into this case or my world. It’s too painful. It’s going to color our relationship,” I argue.

Jeff glowers
and looks angry. I’m afraid I have royally screwed things up again. He answers in short staccato speech, “Of course it is going to change the nature of our relationship because now I have concrete proof that you are even more amazing than I thought you were, and now that I’ve met those little girls, I’d move heaven and earth to ensure that they are okay.”

“So, you’re not upset that I involved you?” I push. I study his face carefully to see if I can see any signs of regret.

“No, Hershey Bars No! I’m just sorry I didn’t meet you before now, so we could share this burden. We are in this together until the stars fall from the sky,” Jeff replies emphatically. He gathers me up in his arms and leans down to kiss me.

I giggle at his use of my fake cuss word, astonished that he even remembers it. Jeff adopts a look of mock outrage as he exclaims, “What’s up with this? I’m proclaiming my undying love and you’re laughing?”

I feel a blush overtake me as I mumble between chuckles, “Sorry, about that. It’s just that my dad’s goofy little cuss words seem really silly coming out of your mouth. Yet, I’m so charmed that you bother to use them because you know it puts me at ease. It makes me love you just that much more.”

Jeff’s eyes widen briefly, and then they warm and crinkle in the corners as a slow grin spreads across his face and his sexy dimples make an appearance. “Really, Pip?” he asks, his voice a low rumble.

“Really, really.” I respond as I arch up to plant kisses on his dimples. I save the most fervent kiss for his amazingly talented mouth. I savor the firm feel of his lips against mine and the warm earthy scent of his cologne. He kisses the spot right below my earlobe, and I have to catch my breath as a jolt of sensual energy passes through my body. I arch my back in a wordless invitation. I feel Jeff’s body respond to mine, and I feel a sense of empowerment.

His eyes dilate and his nostrils flare slightly as he breathes deeply between kisses. I watch him peel the strap of my camisole down my arm. The combination of the heat in his eyes and the feel of the fabric on my skin make the rather simple motion incredibly erotic. “This good?” Jeff’s deep voice rumbles in my ear. He kisses my collarbone tenderly. I had no idea that this area was so sensitive, but it feels as if there is a direct current that leads to the core of me.

“Very good,” I gasp, as he lightly scrapes his teeth over my collarbone and then takes away any sting with kisses. My hips buck with pleasure. Jeff answers back in a dance as old as time. Jeff eases my other strap down so that my arms are pinned to my sides. He studies my face intently seeking direction. I smile, even when he’s being a bad boy, Jeff is still a gentleman. I nod.