Page 35 of Home Safe

I burst out laughing, which causes Griffin’s eyes to light up even more. “I think I’ll be able to find something.”

“If not, I’m sure we can locate a Waffle House somewhere nearby,” he says. “I’d go wherever you want.” The smile on his face is so genuine that I don’t doubt that he’d really drive me to a Waffle House right this second if I asked him to.

Suddenly, I’m entirely at ease sitting here inthisrestaurant, withthisman.

Talk about unexpected.

Chapter sixteen

Griffin

Marco returns with our drinks, and Danae orders the salmon while I order a steak. When Marco leaves, I raise my cocktail glass to her. She clinks her glass to mine and takes a sip. I wait with bated breath for her reaction.

“Not gonna lie . . . that’s pretty darn good,” Danae says. She takes a second drink and adds, “The cranberry splash adds a tart counterpart to the sour fizz of the club soda and lime. It’s like a refreshing punch to the mouth.”

“I told you,” I reply with a grin and take a sip. “Jeff’s the true wizard. I’ve tried ordering the same drink other places, and they never get the cranberry ratio right.” I set my glass down on the table. “So, how’s it been balancing work along with your new responsibilities as a mom?”

“Okay, I think? It makes it easier that Jason comes with me to work every day. I’m sure it would be a lot more complicated to be working in an office and coordinating getting him to school and staying longer at after-school care,” she says. I study her as she takes another sip of her drink. “Of course, there are also challenges to him being at school with me. I knew him as a student first, and I know all of the behind-the-scenes discussions that have happened with administration about him prior to him coming to live with me. And I know about all of the social challenges he can have with his classmates.”

I nod. “That would be tough to have a teacher lens over one eye and a protective mom lens over the other eye.”

“Exactly!” she exclaims. “I wouldn’t have even thought to phrase it that way. Yes—as his mom now, especially being privy to more information about his background, my hackles rise any time something negative comes up at school. But I also know how tiring it is as a teacher to deal with those behaviors. I’m not sure which side of my brain to defer to.”

“You don’t have to answer this if the question is too personal,” I say, “but how did you go from being his teacher to being his kinship placement for adoption? Again, I know that Jason’s background is his private story, so don’t share anything you don’t want to.”

“I appreciate your understanding,” Danae replies, and I can see the truth of it in her eyes. “I can’t tell you the number of well-meaning people who found out I was adopting Jason and immediately wanted to know every sensational detail about why he was in foster care.”

I hum. “I get it. I generally don’t even tell people that Sam’s not my biological sister—I leave that to her to choose to bring up if and when she wants to talk about it. So, while getting to know you better includes learning more about Jason, I never want to overstep. Feel free to shut down any question I ask that seems too intrusive. For real,” I say.

Danae nods appreciatively. She leans forward, her voice lowering. “Jason was in and out of foster care a few times. His mom died of a drug overdose when he was a baby. His dad was on the roller coaster of using drugs and then getting clean for a while, back and forth. Jason was removed from his dad’s care a couple of times but returned when his dad took the right steps. His paternal grandmother, Cathy, helped take care of him at times, but she also has some health challenges related to decades of smoking.”

My heart fills with even more compassion for Jason and Danae as she continues. “A few months ago, Jason’s father was arrested for armed robbery and possession with the intent to sell. This wasn’t his first offense, so he’ll be in prison for quite a while. He decided to terminate his parental rights, believing it was the best thing for Jason to have a chance at being adopted into a stable home.

“There were no maternal biological family members interested in adopting Jason. Cathy had the first rights to adopt Jason as his biological family, but she didn’t think that she could handle it, given her own challenges. Apparently, Jason had talked to her about me multiple times. She sought me out and asked if I would consider adopting Jason since I was already a safe, familiar figure in his life. I thought about it for a couple of weeks, but I think I knew the instant she asked me that I would say yes,” Danae explains.

My heart hurts in so many ways. Clearing my throat, all I can manage to say is, “Wow. There aren’t really the right kind of words to respond to something like that, are there?”

“Yeah, I know,” Danae agrees. “Samantha told me that your parents adopted her and her biological brother from foster care. Were they the only kids your parents fostered?”

“Nope—they were the only two who joined our family permanently. But there were over a dozen kids who lived with us for some duration of time. My mom undoubtedly knows the exact number,” I say. “I’m sure she’d have some wisdom to pass on if you need a pep talk at any point. Although, maybe you’re already getting unsolicited wisdom from your own mom.”

I made the statement in a joking tone of voice, but the shadow of pain that crosses Danae’s face makes me wish I could take back the words. Marco arrives with our food before I can apologize for my off-hand comment. He takes a moment for me to cut into the steak to check if it was cooked correctly. When we both decline needing anything else, he leaves us to our meal and conversation.

Danae’s face is pensive as she takes a small bite of salmon. Before I start eating, I want to recalibrate the mood of our conversation.

“I’m sorry I made that comment about your mom when I don’t know anything about your family. That was insensitive of me,” I admit. “You’re welcome to tell me whatever you want to about your family, or we can move on to talking about the winter storm heading our way next week and the likelihood of you getting extra days off school.”

Danae laughs a genuine laugh, her eyes sparkling. But just as quickly, the sparkle dims. She pokes her fork around her plate before responding. “Let’s just say, I don’t currently have a close relationship with my parents.”

She looks up to meet my eyes, and there’s so much sadness in her expression. I wish I could reach over to touch her face and absorb all the sorrow residing inside her. I settle for telling her, “That’s really tough, Danae. Now that I know you don’t have your family to lean on as you adjust to motherhood, I’m even more glad that Sam connected with you to babysit. I mean, completely aside from my own gain in getting to know you as well.”

Danae gives me a small smile, and I take a bite of my steak to give her space to talk more about her family or move on.

“The tension with my parents and my . . . initial discomfort with this restaurant are actually related,” Danae says quietly, not quite meeting my eyes.

I swallow hard. “I’m sorry I brought you somewhere uncomfortable for you. Geez, I pretty royally screwed up this first date. You’ll receive zero criticism if you decide to run away screaming.”

She laughs again. “No, it’s okay. I’m enjoying it now. I’ll admit, when you first told me this was our destination, I might have preemptively judged you based on my past experiences. But I see why you wanted to come here—this must be a comfortable place for you, given the fact that you seem to know the personal life details of every employee here.”

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