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` CHAPTER 1 | COOKIE MONSTER | PART 2
Weeks has passed since Tre and his sister were taken from their home and it was clear that a lot more time would pass before they would be with their mother again. Faye had been arrested trying to purchase drugs and the judge was going to make an example out her. Faye was sentenced to three years in prison, a sentence she would have to serve in its entirety if she didn't finish the federal rehabilitation program or was caught with drugs again within her five year probation period. Everyone told her she was lucky, it could have been worse. But what about her children? Where would they go while she faced her demons in rehab? Faye didn't have any family, or at least not any who liked her and would be willing to look after her kids while she was incarcerated. Tre and Zoë were forced to go where all lost children went when their families could no longer care for them, Foster Care.
Alone the children sat at the entrance of the brownstone; waiting as their caseworker Marie talked to the woman they were being given to.
"This is a good place for you guys to stay while your mom is away," she told them on the ride over. "Mrs. Thornton is a very nice woman."
Mrs. Thornton was a handsome middle aged woman, short and almost perfectly round. Her big brown eyes looked kindly over her thin rimmed glasses as she gazed over at the children waiting on her stoop. She had seen so many like them in her days of being a foster parent. Children whose lives were turned upside down because of the mistakes their parents made. They were hurt and misguided, tainted by the world so early on in their lives. Mrs. Thornton knew how it felt to have no one in the world to depend on, so she dedicated her life to helping children who were left to fend for themselves.
"So how long will their mother be away?" she asked wiping her hands on the flower dress that laid snugly on her rubenesque figure. She could tell just by looking at Tre and Zoë that they had seen a lot of hardship in their young years.
"I don't know, she's in court appointed rehab. Anywhere from 30 days to three months depending on how well she responds." said Marie.
"I don't have much more space here, probably enough for one."
"Please, Mrs. Thornton. I really don't want to separate them. Couldn't you just make a little extra room?"
Softly she sighed. Mrs. Thornton knew that one was all she could legally take right now, but looking at the two siblings she couldn't bare to tear them apart. “Two isn't much different than one," she replied, waving for the children to come inside. Marie was relieved, she knew that the children would be fine at Mrs. Thornton's; she was one of their better foster parents.
"I really only have one bed left," she began leading them inside her tiny brownstone. "so the two of you will have to share. Everyone is responsible for making their own beds, if you don't know how or need help just ask." she said as she showed them to their room. There were two bunk beds and two dressers inside, this allowed more space for children to sleep, though not much for walking. Both Tre and Zoë had one bag to themselves and they were instructed to leave it beside the bottom bunk they would be sharing.
"You share a small space with other people so it is really important that you keep your room clean at all times. The floors must be clear of all trash and junk."
Looking around the room it was obvious that this was a rule that was heavily enforced. If it wasn't for the small artifacts left on the beds and dressers, you wouldn't know that three other children lived here already. Slowly they followed Mrs. Thornton out of the room, trying to pay close attention as she showed them were everything was located. There were three bathrooms, one for the girls, one for the boys, and another that was only for Mrs. Thornton. Along with the bathrooms, there were also three bedrooms, one for each of the sexes and Mrs. Thornton. The boys’ room was already filled to capacity, so he and Zoë would be sharing a bed in the girls’ room.
"On school days, I will give you breakfast and dinner and you have to make sure you come to the table on time. Don't make other's wait for you, it's rude." she told them as they passed through the kitchen and into the play room. "I have a very strict no hitting rule, I don't know how you handle problems at your house but as long as you're at Mama Thornton's you treat other's the way you want to be treated. That means no hitting, screaming, or name calling. Is that clear?"
"Yes." the children replied in unison.
There were a lot more rules here than Tre and his sister were used to. On a wall in every room were chore charts filled with things each person was expected to do in order to make the house run more smoothly. It was a tough situation to get used to; sharing such closed quarters with other kids they had never met before. But Mama Thornton, as she preferred to be called, made it clear that as long as they made an attempt to help themselves she had no problem picking up the slack. She was the mother figure Tre always needed, the nurturer and provider his mother wished she knew how to be. Mama Thornton cared about his days at school and helped with his homework once he got home; she provided the balance Tremaine desperately needed in his young life. Unfortunately, her influence didn't last very long.
Tremaine had been living with Mama Thornton for about a month and finally began to find his own stride living in her home. He excelled in school and got along well with the other children that lived in the home with him. Faye was still working through her rehabilitation program, so it was time for their one month evaluation. Marie was supposed to pay them a visit and make sure that they were adjusting properly; she was going to have information on his mother and when they could go back home to her. But she never arrived. There was another woman asking about Tremaine when 12 o'clock came around, a woman he had never seen before. She was tall, slender and dark haired, the exactly opposite of petite, blonde haired Marie. She wore a navy blue pants suit and walked with a slight limp.
"Good afternoon. Um, there must be a mistake Miss ..." Mama Thornton began.
"Stewark, Aimee Stewark. And no there is no mistake. A lot of Marie cases have gotten redistributed amongst the agency and I landed, uh. let's see." the young woman replied as she looked through her files. "Ah, here we go! Tremaine Lons."
"Only Tre? He has a sister, Zoë too. Their here together."
"Uh, nope no Zoë sorry, only Tremaine." she said double checking her files to be certain she wasn't over looking the little girl. "I wish I could tell you who has her file, but I'm really uncertain. Can we get started with the evaluation; I have a few other places I have to visit today?"
"Oh yes of course, follow me."
Aimee looked through Mama Thornton's home and everything checked out well. Tremaine had all the proper care he needed as a growing boy; he was excelling in school, even making friends with the other children. She was sure there wouldn't be any problems allowing him to stay here longer, that is until she checked his bedroom.
"You sleep in the girl's room Tremaine?"
"Yea, with my sister."
"In the same bed?"
"Uh huh."
"Mrs. Thornton, can I speak with you for a moment please?” she asked. Slowly the two women walked outside of the room leaving Tre alone. "You know this is a problem don't you?"
"Yeah, I know." she responded. Mama Thornton knew it was an issue even before Aimee asked to speak with her alone. There were certain rules she was expected to follow as a foster parent, and she was breaking two of the most important ones. Boys and girls had to have separate sleeping areas, and each child needed their own bed. But Mrs. Thornton had a silent agreement with Marie, one that would allow the children to stay with her together until their mother's short stint in rehab was over, an agreement that was slowly crumbling before her very eyes.
"You know they can't live here under these conditions. I have to move Tremaine."
"But wait hold on now, he's already gotten used to being here. His mother should be out soon right? And what about his sister, you can't separate them!"
"His mother isn't coming back soon!" Aimee said in a hushed tone.
"What do you mean?"
Aimee eyed Tre cautiously, stepping further out of earshot as she continued to explain the situation. "She left rehab Mrs. Thornton, against the judges’ orders. That means even if she is caught anytime soon, she'll have to serve three years in jail before she could even think about having custody of these kids again!"
"So his mother is gone and you want to take him away from his sister too? How fair does that seem?"
"Not fair at all Mrs. Thornton, but it's out of my control now. If Marie had done it correctly the first time we wouldn't even be having this discussion right now. But if I leave Tremaine here and someone finds out about it, you could lose your license. Now how fair is that to all the other children that could've been helped by you?"
She was right. Mama Thornton didn't want to admit it, but she was. She loved having Tre around, but if the county found out that she wasn't following the rules they could suspend her license to have foster children. That wouldn't help anyone
"Look, I know you feel bad, but you have to look at the bigger picture. You could try and save one, and potentially lose them all. Or you could sacrifice one for the greater good."
She tried to remind herself of the greater good when she was forced to look Tre in the eyes and tell him that not only did he have to leave her home, his sister wasn't allowed to go with him. She tried to remember the bigger picture as she did her best to reassure him that it wasn't his fault he had to leave alone. She tried to think of all the children she was saving as she packed up his single bag and sent him to Aimee's car, doing her best to ignore the young boys cries of forgiveness. Tre was convinced that it was something he did. It had to have done something to make Mama Thornton send him away like this. She tried with all of her might to hold back her tears as she comforted Zoë, a little girl too young to understand why she couldn't go with her brother. Or why because of other people's mistakes was she now alone in the world at the tender age of four without a single family member in sight. But she couldn't, and that night she cried. She cried and she prayed for Tre, hoping that her sacrifice would be spared. She cried and she prayed for Zoë a little girl whose life would probably never be the same again. She cried and she prayed for all the children she would see on her doorstep in her lifetime. She cried and she prayed until there were no more tears left to shed, and no more hopes left unasked.
The sun had set and it was well into the evening before Aimee found a home with space available for Tre. Never did the little boy think when he awoke that morning that his life would take such a drastic turn. But it did. He now found himself standing on a new porch, just like he had a month earlier when he first moved in with Mrs. Thornton; but this place was nothing like Mama. Thornton’s. Though it was obviously bigger than her tiny little brownstone, it felt a million times smaller. As he stepped inside of his new home he was forced to step over and around toys that were left out of their place. His new foster mother Miss. Carol was a quarter of Mama Thornton's size, but not nearly half as sweet.
"Ya room is over here. You gon share it with lil Willie and nem. You'll seem em soon" she told him pointing to the only bed in the room without sheets and a blanket. "I got some clean ones in the laundry room; I'm gon go get em. Just move that stuff off the bed and put it on the floor, they can get it when they come in," Carol replied and came back before Tre could even ask the question.
So much had happened in his life over such a short period of time. Little did he know, it was only the beginning. In time he would see many more foster homes, some would be nice, though most weren't. Each home offering there own set of unique challenges that he would be forced to face alone.