Chapter 6 - A New Chapter Begins
Two months after the hearings, social services faced the monumental task of finding a permanent, stable environment for Ava and Millie. Foster homes that could handle sibling groups with trauma backgrounds were rare, and the girls were understandably terrified of strangers.
One rainy Tuesday afternoon, while I was organizing the young adult section at the library, the front bell chimed softly.
Detective Murdoch walked in, wearing a trench coat glistening with autumn drizzle. Behind him walked a tall, kind-faced woman with warm brown eyes and salt-and-pepper hair tied in a neat bun. She held a hand out to each of the little girls walking beside her.
Ava and Millie stepped into the library lobby.
Ava wore a bright blue sweater that fit her properly, and Millie was holding a stuffed plush rabbit under her arm. When Ava spotted me behind the desk, her face lit up with a brilliant, unguarded smile that I had never seen before—a smile that belonged to an eight-year-old child, not a survivor on a battlefield.
"Ms. Harper!" Ava called out, running across the tile floor.
She didn't stop at the desk; she vaulted right around the corner and threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder. Millie joined the embrace a second later, wrapping her small arms around my waist.
I knelt down, holding them both tight, blinking back hot tears of joy. "Look at you two," I whispered. "You look wonderful."
The woman with them walked up calmly, extending her hand. "Emily Harper? I’m Eleanor Vance. I’m the director of the Maple Ridge Family Kinship Network, and as of this morning, I am officially Ava and Millie’s long-term foster-to-adopt guardian."
I stood up, shaking her hand warmly. "Eleanor, I've heard wonderful things about your home."
"They've been with me for three weeks now," Eleanor said, smiling down at the girls affectionately. "We have a big garden out back, three cats that sleep on the foot of their beds, and a strict household rule that nobody leaves the kitchen until everyone has had second helpings of pancakes."
Ava looked up at Eleanor, beaming. "And there are no scoreboards. Ever."
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"No scoreboards," Eleanor confirmed, squeezing Ava's shoulder gently. "We came by because the girls insisted that the very first place we visit together as a family had to be the Maple Ridge Public Library."
Jackie walked out from the back office carrying a tray stacked high with chocolate chip cookies and juice boxes. "Well, library rules state that nobody leaves this room without a snack," Jackie announced with a wide grin. "No earning required."
